Overview

With this Dickensian tale from America's heartland, New York Times writer and columnist Dan Barry tells the harrowing yet uplifting story of the exploitation and abuse of a resilient group of men with intellectual disability, and the heroic efforts of those who helped them to find justice and reclaim their lives. In the tiny Iowa farm town of Atalissa, dozens of men, all with intellectual disability and all from Texas, lived in an old schoolhouse. Before dawn each morning, they were bussed to a nearby processing plant, where they eviscerated turkeys in return for food, lodging, and $65 a month. They lived in near servitude for more than thirty years, enduring increasing neglect, exploitation, and physical and emotional abuse--until state social workers, local journalists, and one tenacious labor lawyer helped these men achieve freedom. Drawing on exhaustive interviews, Dan Barry dives deeply into the lives of the men, recording their memories of suffering, loneliness and fleeting joy, as well as the undying hope they maintained despite their traumatic circumstances. Barry explores how a small Iowa town remained oblivious to the plight of these men, analyzes the many causes for such profound and chronic negligence, and lays out the impact of the men's dramatic court case, which has spurred advocates--including President Obama--to push for just pay and improved working conditions for people living with disabilities. A luminous work of social justice, told with compassion and compelling detail, The Boys in the Bunkhouse is more than just inspired storytelling. It is a clarion call for a vigilance that ensures inclusion and dignity for all.

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9781504735643

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Reviews

"A moving tale...Their stories, pieced together through extensive research and interviews, are both riveting and often difficult to read, though Barry tries to end on a positive note. -- ""Publishers Weekly"" The Boys in the Bunkhouse is not just a book about the victims but also a book that turns those victims into real men. Dan Barry has written them into history, as only a journalist could. -- ""Newsweek"" As an expose of a moral catastrophe, this is a vital piece of reportage. -- ""New York Times Book Review"" Barry's book can't right all those wrongs, but it at least documents them eloquently and in a more permanent way. -- ""Kansas City Star"" Disturbing yet beautifully told. -- ""America Magazine"" Gently, empathetically, and indelibly, Barry conveys a tale of unthinkable brutality. -- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"" Hard-hitting journalism shot through with flourishes of the best literary nonfiction. -- ""Minneapolis Star Tribune"""

A moving tale...Their stories, pieced together through extensive research and interviews, are both riveting and often difficult to read, though Barry tries to end on a positive note. -- Publishers Weekly Gently, empathetically, and indelibly, Barry conveys a tale of unthinkable brutality. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Disturbing yet beautifully told. -- America Magazine Barry's book can't right all those wrongs, but it at least documents them eloquently and in a more permanent way. -- Kansas City Star The Boys in the Bunkhouse is not just a book about the victims but also a book that turns those victims into real men. Dan Barry has written them into history, as only a journalist could. -- Newsweek Hard-hitting journalism shot through with flourishes of the best literary nonfiction. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune As an expose of a moral catastrophe, this is a vital piece of reportage. -- New York Times Book Review

Author Information

Dan Barry is a reporter and columnist for the New York Times. In 1994 he was part of an investigative team at the Providence Journal that won the Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles on Rhode Island's justice system. He is the author of a memoir, a collection of his About New York columns, and Bottom of the 33rd, for which he won the 2012 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Maplewood, New Jersey. Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award-winning narrator, has received critics' praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs, Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.

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