Ronald Blythe's 1969 book Akenfield - a moving portrait of English country life told in the voices of the farmers and villgers themselves - is a modern classic. A bestseller, it has been translated into more than twenty languages around the world.<BR>On the thirty-fifth anniversary of the book's publication, writer Craig Taylor returned to the village in Suffolk on which Akenfield was based. Over several months he sought out locals who had appeared in the original book to learn how their lives had changed, he met newcomers to discuss their own views, and he interviewed Ronald Blythe himself, now in his eighties.<BR>The resulting book reverberates with their voices and offers an unforgettable portrait of rural society at a time of great change. Young farmers, retired orchardmen and Eastern European migrant workers talk about farming in an age of globalization; commuters, weekenders and retirees discuss the realities behind the rural idyll; and the local priest, teacher, pub owner and many more describe the daily pleasures and tribulations of life in a small village.