Rural America often seems like an afterthought in our urban-suburban community. Yet rural places make up 97 per cent of the nation's land and are home to one quarter of the population. Since World War II, rural America has undergone profound changes: the relative decline of agriculture, forestry and mining in favor of manufacturing and service industries, the rise of retirement and recreation communities, the construction of elaborate transportation and communication networks, and the invasion of the countryside by expanding suburbia.