Socioeconomic trends in New York state over the past half century, how living in rural areas affects health and health care, and the burgeoning "civic agriculture" movement are the topics of three new books by development sociology faculty at Cornell.

The books are Socioeconomic Trends and Well-Being Indicators in New York State, 1950-2000 (New York State Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, 2004), co-authored by Paul Eberts, professor of development sociology, and research consultant Kris Merschrod, Cornell Ph.D. '81; Critical Issues in Rural Health (Blackwell Publishing, 2004), edited by Nina Glasgow, a senior research and extension associate, Lois Wright Morton, Cornell Ph.D. '99, and Nan Johnson, professor of sociology at Michigan State University; and Civic Agriculture: Reconnecting Farm, Food and Community (Tufts University Press/University Press of New England, 2004) by Thomas Lyson, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Development Sociology.