Plow the Dirt but Watch the Sky

Despite-or maybe because of-the repetitious toil, regular exposure to weather extremes, and
smelly proximity of large animals, farm life on the Great Plains was a blessing for Martin Kufus.
It instilled a work ethic, tolerance for unpleasantness, and appreciation of the outdoors-even if
Kufus didn't follow his forefathers into agriculture. The tractor-driving, manure-shoveling farm
boy instead would become a camera-packing newspaper reporter, Russian-speaking Army
paratrooper, foreign correspondent (briefly) in the Middle East, editor of a controversial military
magazine, volunteer firefighter and flood rescuer, homeland-security specialist, and armed guard
on a cargo ship in African-pirate waters. These and other experiences comprise 26 whistle stops,
chapters "A is for America" through "Z is for Zodiac," in the narrative journey Plow the Dirt but
Watch the Sky. Kufus' unvarnished descriptions of mistakes, tragedies, and family dysfunction
additionally give this book a self-revelatory quality (perhaps familiar to readers of working-class
nonfiction like J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy). A well-lived life doesn't require wealth, a famous
surname, or a metropolitan upbringing.