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    Plowed Fields Book Two: Angels Sing, The Garden, Faith and Grace and The Fire
    Plowed Fields Book Three: The War, The Dream and Horn of Plenty
    Plowed Fields Book One: The White Christmas and The Train
    Audiobook series3 titles

    Plowed Fields Trilogy Series

    Written by Jim Barber

    Narrated by Bruce Conger

    ()

    About this series

    For much of the Sixties, Joe Baker has wrestled with reconciling his own desire and ambition with loyalty and responsibility to his family. The oldest of six children, he has led his brothers and sisters with quiet charisma. But what happens when his instincts fail him? When we first met Joe and his family, it was December 1960, and a rare white Christmas was blowing toward their farm in South Georgia. As the decade unfolded, they battled drought, fire and other hardships that threatened the family’s livelihood. In Book Three—the riveting conclusion to the Plowed Fields trilogy—the Bakers and their neighbors move from the tobacco field to the battlefield, from main street to city lights, from the church doors to the gates of Hell. Tom Carter, Joe’s best friend and his sister’s fiancé, finds himself slogging through the muck and mud in Vietnam, while an old flame entices Joe to participate in an antiwar demonstration. The resulting firestorm consumes the community, their friends and the Bakers themselves. As the tumultuous events of 1968 give way to the final year of the Sixties, Joe fulfills his dream of becoming a newspaper reporter and immerses himself in the South’s last stand against school integration. The ensuing battle pits old adversaries like Lucas Bartholomew and Bobby Taylor, as long-simmering animosity unleashes the unthinkable and wields devastating consequences. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber tells about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances, making good decisions and bad mistakes, pulling together and falling apart, and dealing life and death in the process. Ultimately, it is a brilliant Southern saga of reconciliation and redemption as Joe and his family rediscover the value of forgiveness and belonging.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMorgan Bay Books
    Release dateFeb 20, 2023
    Plowed Fields Book Two: Angels Sing, The Garden, Faith and Grace and The Fire
    Plowed Fields Book Three: The War, The Dream and Horn of Plenty
    Plowed Fields Book One: The White Christmas and The Train

    Titles in the series (3)

    • 1

      Plowed Fields Book One: The White Christmas and The Train
      Plowed Fields Book One: The White Christmas and The Train

      Plowed Fields Book One: The White Christmas and The Train

      Jim Barber
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      On a cold December day in 1960, Joe Baker finishes plowing the largest field on his family’s farm in South Georgia and acknowledges the well of restlessness running deep inside him. Joe appreciates the good life provided by his parents, but his heart yearns for something else. So begins "Plowed Fields," setting the stage for a conflict that will nag at Joe for the next decade as he tries to reconcile his own desire and ambition with loyalty and responsibility to his family. Book One in the Plowed Fields Trilogy begins with “The White Christmas,” introducing Joe and his family, along with a host of friends and acquaintances who will shape their fates during the next decade. The Baker family is anchored by patriarch Sam, whose pirate’s appearance disguises a gentle giant of goodness, and his son, Matt, who is capable of strength and force when necessary but unafraid of tenderness when the moment requires a softer touch. "Plowed Fields also features Lucas Bartholomew, a black farm worker, and Bobby Taylor, the spitting image of a civil rights-minded Yankees’ vision of a racist. Tensions erupt early between the Bakers and Taylors, sparked by a senseless act and fueled by Bobby’s campaigns for the sheriff’s job against Matt’s best friend, the aristocratic and troubled Paul Berrien. In “The Train,” Joe confronts racial prejudice in his school and community and feels the strain of taking an unpopular stand. A girl claims his heart and a heroic deed plants a seed of hate that will fester as the decade unfolds. Beautifully told, slow-burning and haunting, Plowed Fields is a mesmerizing saga of people coming together and falling apart, relying on God and losing faith, and pushing forward and fighting back in times of crisis.

      On a cold December day in 1960, Joe Baker finishes plowing the largest field on his family’s farm in South Georgia and acknowledges the well of restlessness running deep inside him. Joe appreciates the good life provided by his parents, but his heart yearns for something else. So begins "Plowed Fields," setting the stage for a conflict that will nag at Joe for the next decade as he tries to reconcile his own desire and ambition with loyalty and responsibility to his family. Book One in the Plowed Fields Trilogy begins with “The White Christmas,” introducing Joe and his family, along with a host of friends and acquaintances who will shape their fates during the next decade. The Baker family is anchored by patriarch Sam, whose pirate’s appearance disguises a gentle giant of goodness, and his son, Matt, who is capable of strength and force when necessary but unafraid of tenderness when the moment requires a softer touch. "Plowed Fields also features Lucas Bartholomew, a black farm worker, and Bobby Taylor, the spitting image of a civil rights-minded Yankees’ vision of a racist. Tensions erupt early between the Bakers and Taylors, sparked by a senseless act and fueled by Bobby’s campaigns for the sheriff’s job against Matt’s best friend, the aristocratic and troubled Paul Berrien. In “The Train,” Joe confronts racial prejudice in his school and community and feels the strain of taking an unpopular stand. A girl claims his heart and a heroic deed plants a seed of hate that will fester as the decade unfolds. Beautifully told, slow-burning and haunting, Plowed Fields is a mesmerizing saga of people coming together and falling apart, relying on God and losing faith, and pushing forward and fighting back in times of crisis.

    • 2

      Plowed Fields Book Two: Angels Sing, The Garden, Faith and Grace and The Fire
      Plowed Fields Book Two: Angels Sing, The Garden, Faith and Grace and The Fire

      Plowed Fields Book Two: Angels Sing, The Garden, Faith and Grace and The Fire

      Jim Barber
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      In Book One of the Plowed Fields trilogy, we met Joe Baker and his large family as a rare white Christmas descended on their South Georgia farm. It was 1960, and the family seemed poised on the brink of a grand experience in the years to come. As the decade progresses, the Bakers see their fortunes rise and fall, beginning with an illness that shakes the family at its very core. Prosperity comes calling when it’s least expected, but a harrowing ordeal forces a reckoning with faith that nearly shatters the family. In Book Two of this three-part novel in episodes, Joe and his family give us an intimate portrayal of the farming life. They also encounter more unexpected turmoil with their friends and neighbors, including Lucas Bartholomew, Bobby Taylor and Sheriff Paul Berrien, stoking the conflict that will bring the family face-to-face with fire and famine, war and peace, and good and evil. Amid a severe drought, this mesmerizing family saga builds to an exciting climax as one violent act leads Joe to mete out his own vicious brand of retribution. Ultimately, the Bakers will need an act of daring and courage to save them from utter ruin. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber has created a place and characters that feel like home and family. The pages drip with the sweat, grime and grit of field work, the bone-tired stress of trying to make ends meet and a passion for life in this magnificent story of one’s family’s search for belonging. Book Two will leave you eager to for the conclusion of the Plowed Fields trilogy.

      In Book One of the Plowed Fields trilogy, we met Joe Baker and his large family as a rare white Christmas descended on their South Georgia farm. It was 1960, and the family seemed poised on the brink of a grand experience in the years to come. As the decade progresses, the Bakers see their fortunes rise and fall, beginning with an illness that shakes the family at its very core. Prosperity comes calling when it’s least expected, but a harrowing ordeal forces a reckoning with faith that nearly shatters the family. In Book Two of this three-part novel in episodes, Joe and his family give us an intimate portrayal of the farming life. They also encounter more unexpected turmoil with their friends and neighbors, including Lucas Bartholomew, Bobby Taylor and Sheriff Paul Berrien, stoking the conflict that will bring the family face-to-face with fire and famine, war and peace, and good and evil. Amid a severe drought, this mesmerizing family saga builds to an exciting climax as one violent act leads Joe to mete out his own vicious brand of retribution. Ultimately, the Bakers will need an act of daring and courage to save them from utter ruin. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber has created a place and characters that feel like home and family. The pages drip with the sweat, grime and grit of field work, the bone-tired stress of trying to make ends meet and a passion for life in this magnificent story of one’s family’s search for belonging. Book Two will leave you eager to for the conclusion of the Plowed Fields trilogy.

    • 3

      Plowed Fields Book Three: The War, The Dream and Horn of Plenty
      Plowed Fields Book Three: The War, The Dream and Horn of Plenty

      Plowed Fields Book Three: The War, The Dream and Horn of Plenty

      Jim Barber
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      For much of the Sixties, Joe Baker has wrestled with reconciling his own desire and ambition with loyalty and responsibility to his family. The oldest of six children, he has led his brothers and sisters with quiet charisma. But what happens when his instincts fail him? When we first met Joe and his family, it was December 1960, and a rare white Christmas was blowing toward their farm in South Georgia. As the decade unfolded, they battled drought, fire and other hardships that threatened the family’s livelihood. In Book Three—the riveting conclusion to the Plowed Fields trilogy—the Bakers and their neighbors move from the tobacco field to the battlefield, from main street to city lights, from the church doors to the gates of Hell. Tom Carter, Joe’s best friend and his sister’s fiancé, finds himself slogging through the muck and mud in Vietnam, while an old flame entices Joe to participate in an antiwar demonstration. The resulting firestorm consumes the community, their friends and the Bakers themselves. As the tumultuous events of 1968 give way to the final year of the Sixties, Joe fulfills his dream of becoming a newspaper reporter and immerses himself in the South’s last stand against school integration. The ensuing battle pits old adversaries like Lucas Bartholomew and Bobby Taylor, as long-simmering animosity unleashes the unthinkable and wields devastating consequences. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber tells about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances, making good decisions and bad mistakes, pulling together and falling apart, and dealing life and death in the process. Ultimately, it is a brilliant Southern saga of reconciliation and redemption as Joe and his family rediscover the value of forgiveness and belonging.

      For much of the Sixties, Joe Baker has wrestled with reconciling his own desire and ambition with loyalty and responsibility to his family. The oldest of six children, he has led his brothers and sisters with quiet charisma. But what happens when his instincts fail him? When we first met Joe and his family, it was December 1960, and a rare white Christmas was blowing toward their farm in South Georgia. As the decade unfolded, they battled drought, fire and other hardships that threatened the family’s livelihood. In Book Three—the riveting conclusion to the Plowed Fields trilogy—the Bakers and their neighbors move from the tobacco field to the battlefield, from main street to city lights, from the church doors to the gates of Hell. Tom Carter, Joe’s best friend and his sister’s fiancé, finds himself slogging through the muck and mud in Vietnam, while an old flame entices Joe to participate in an antiwar demonstration. The resulting firestorm consumes the community, their friends and the Bakers themselves. As the tumultuous events of 1968 give way to the final year of the Sixties, Joe fulfills his dream of becoming a newspaper reporter and immerses himself in the South’s last stand against school integration. The ensuing battle pits old adversaries like Lucas Bartholomew and Bobby Taylor, as long-simmering animosity unleashes the unthinkable and wields devastating consequences. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber tells about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances, making good decisions and bad mistakes, pulling together and falling apart, and dealing life and death in the process. Ultimately, it is a brilliant Southern saga of reconciliation and redemption as Joe and his family rediscover the value of forgiveness and belonging.

    Author

    Jim Barber

    Jim Barber grew up in South Georgia, helping his family raise hogs and working on his uncles’ tobacco farms while pursuing his dream to become a newspaper reporter. His first “public” job came at age sixteen, covering sports for his county newspaper, The Berrien Press. Jim spent the bulk of his newspaper career with United Press International’s Atlanta bureau before a short stint with the New York Daily News led him to transfer to the world of corporate journalism and a twenty-five-year career with Georgia Power and Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest utilities. A state and national award winner for his writing, Jim previously co-edited three published books: Atlanta Women Speak, a collection of speeches from notable women such as Jane Fonda, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and author Pearl Cleage, as well as Journey of Faith and Art from our Hearts, both church histories. While his work on the family farms is a distant memory, Jim does enjoy raising gardens in his backyard, especially tomatoes for his wife of nearly thirty-five years. Jim doesn’t eat tomatoes, but he does play a lot of tennis and works part-time as the administrator of his church. He and Becky live in Atlanta near Stone Mountain, which he climbs faithfully almost every day. They have three grown daughters, one son-in-law (soon to be two), and three grand dogs. Visit the author’s website at www.jimbarber.me.

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