CRUNCHING GRAVEL: A Wisconsin Boyhood in the...

CRUNCHING GRAVEL: A Wisconsin Boyhood in the Thirties by Robert Peters (University of Wisconsin Press: $10.95; 122 pp.). Peters’ straightforward coming-of-age story presents the rewards and trials of farming during the Depression. Although farm families could generally get by on what they produced, the daily struggle took its toll on Peters’ relatives, causing more than one act of violence. The ordinariness of the life he describes makes it interesting: chores, mischief, harsh winters, burgeoning sexuality, hearty meals--a tough but satisfying life that is rapidly disappearing.