This is a strange little book, but still very important. The story it tells is something like a long parable: the style is simple, the characters are almost stylized figures, the story itself is invented. And yet…and yet the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking. In short, Henry and the Great Society is the story of Henry, a man living in a dead-end cultural context, pursuing a lifestyle that was perhaps a hundred years behind the times, and what happens to him when life modern suddenly becomes a possibility. A series of seemingly insignificant decisions, each seemingly beneficial in itself, inexorably destroys the self-sufficient, productive, peaceful, and contented Henry, transforming him into a thoroughly modern man: dependent, debt-ridden, unhealthy, overworked, worried. Henry's family is torn apart as his wife and children find a life to live outside the home. Because HL Roush can barely flesh out the characters of Henry, his wife Esther, and his children, it is much easier for the reader to project themselves into the story. . Every time Henry takes another step away from agrarianism and towards the Great Society, your heart sinks and you want to shout a warning: Don't do it, Henry! Don't you see what a high price you will pay for such an insignificant gain? But in the meantime you know that you were just as inclined as Henry to choose the same path. In fact, you are much further along that path, because of your choices and those of those who came before you. You are completely immersed in the life of dependency, specialization, and wage slavery that Henry is steadily moving towards, and so you know exactly how much Henry is throwing away, exactly what kind of slavery he is selling himself into. We recommend that you stop reading the book at the end of Henry's story (p. 86). You won't want to do this, because the ending is very dark and you will be looking for a respite from the story, something to encourage you. Unfortunately, the final part of the book consists of H.L. Roush's theological reflections on the story, and for the most part they are not edifying. It's best to reflect on the story yourself, perhaps read it to your children too, and together as a family consider what went wrong for Henry, how he could have avoided the downward spiral, and what lessons can be applied to your own circumstances..