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The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland
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.
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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 17, 2016
205 people are currently reading
2443 people want to read
About the author
Dan Barry
111 books68 followersDan Barry is a longtime columnist and reporter for The New York Times and the author of four books, including the forthcoming “The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland.” Set to be released in May 2016, the book tells the story of dozens of men with intellectual disability who spent decades working at an Iowa turkey-processing plant, living in an old schoolhouse, and enduring exploitation and abuse – before finding justice and achieving freedom.
As the “This Land” columnist for the Times, Barry traveled to all 50 states, where he met the coroner from “The Wizard of Oz,” learned the bump-and-grind from a mostly retired burlesque queen, and was hit in the chest by an Asian carp leaping out of the Illinois River. He has since recovered -- though the condition of the carp remains unknown.
He has reported extensively on many topics, including the World Trade Center disaster and its aftermath and the damage to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He has also been the City Hall bureau chief, the Long Island bureau chief, a sportswriter, a general assignment reporter, and, for three years, the “About New York” columnist – all for the Times.
Barry previously worked for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Conn., and for The Providence Journal, where he and two other reporters won a George Polk Award for an investigation into the causes of a state banking crisis. In 1994, he and the other members of the Journal’s investigative team won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles about Rhode Island’s court system; the series led to various reforms and the criminal indictment of the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court.
Barry has also written “Pull Me Up: A Memoir”; “City Lights: Stories About New York,” a collection of his “About New York” columns; and “Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game,” which received the 2012 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 316 reviews
November 15, 2016
This was a book that I wanted to open and start the minute I had my hands on it. However, with a backlog of books to read, I regretfully put it on a shelf. Luckily I found a challenge that it fit into perfectly and gave me a reason to move it up in line.
This is a non-fiction book that reads as smoothly as fiction. In places you tend to forget that it is non-fiction. This story is excruciatingly true. It was of great interest to me because I followed this story in the local news - both broadcast and print - while it was happening. This story took place approximately 35 minutes from me. It was local news in 2009.
2009. That was when the details finally came out. However this story started 35 yrs ago. Thirty five years ago when 32 men where shipped from a mental institution in Texas to an abandoned school house on a hill outside the small Iowa town of Atalissa. Human Trafficking. These men were brought to Atalissa to work in the Louis Rich turkey processing plant located in West Liberty Iowa. Slave Labor. All the men lived in the same old school house, among the cockroaches and rats. That cost them each $600 a month. Their food cost them, their health care cost them - these were indentured servants - often scolded and treated like children - or worse, outright abused. They were allowed an allowance at $5.00 per week, or withheld as punishment, as the house manager felt appropriate. At first the community welcomed them and they welcomed the community. Then as "house managers" changed so did their association with the community. "The Boys" as they were called became withdrawn. Withdrawn to the point that family members from Texas began to question whether they were even still alive.
After many failed and over looked attempts by the Iowa Department of Human Services to help - Muscatine Iowa became the leading division to recover the lives of these men. After involving the EEOC and going to trial they won their case - $240 million dollars, to be divided between the men. They recently settled for about $25,000 per man.
Most of these men are still alive, ranging in age from 50 to 75 years old. At the release of the book only 2 men had passed away. Most of the men still live locally - some returned to Texas - some returned to family.
Side bar*** Louis Rich was aware of this servitude. Our local West Liberty plant processes mostly turkeys. * Happy Thanksgiving*!
This is a non-fiction book that reads as smoothly as fiction. In places you tend to forget that it is non-fiction. This story is excruciatingly true. It was of great interest to me because I followed this story in the local news - both broadcast and print - while it was happening. This story took place approximately 35 minutes from me. It was local news in 2009.
2009. That was when the details finally came out. However this story started 35 yrs ago. Thirty five years ago when 32 men where shipped from a mental institution in Texas to an abandoned school house on a hill outside the small Iowa town of Atalissa. Human Trafficking. These men were brought to Atalissa to work in the Louis Rich turkey processing plant located in West Liberty Iowa. Slave Labor. All the men lived in the same old school house, among the cockroaches and rats. That cost them each $600 a month. Their food cost them, their health care cost them - these were indentured servants - often scolded and treated like children - or worse, outright abused. They were allowed an allowance at $5.00 per week, or withheld as punishment, as the house manager felt appropriate. At first the community welcomed them and they welcomed the community. Then as "house managers" changed so did their association with the community. "The Boys" as they were called became withdrawn. Withdrawn to the point that family members from Texas began to question whether they were even still alive.
After many failed and over looked attempts by the Iowa Department of Human Services to help - Muscatine Iowa became the leading division to recover the lives of these men. After involving the EEOC and going to trial they won their case - $240 million dollars, to be divided between the men. They recently settled for about $25,000 per man.
Most of these men are still alive, ranging in age from 50 to 75 years old. At the release of the book only 2 men had passed away. Most of the men still live locally - some returned to Texas - some returned to family.
Side bar*** Louis Rich was aware of this servitude. Our local West Liberty plant processes mostly turkeys. * Happy Thanksgiving*!
February 6, 2017
4.5. My bad: I gave up several offers to work out at the (much needed) gym to finish this compelling story about an abusive bunkhouse/group home/indentured slavery situation. What thoroughly presented casework. The town of Atalissa, Iowa (population 311 in 2010) and the names, the details, the history, so impressively researched. The cover claims Dan Barry is the closest thing to a contemporary Steinbeck, however, I cannot confirm this, as I have to read Steinbeck yet. A most perfect companion to reading about Rosemary Kennedy's story last year, as it parallel's much of the lack of dignity and equality in the past treatment of people who have intellectual disabilities. But as a worker in various group homes over the years (and every place I've gone to has been so different and incomparable), I've met many amazing, undeterred, caring coworkers along the way.
I like page 156:
"The congregants wept as they sang, so free of pretension was the moment, so powerful. It came to be seen as a lesson in essential truth, taught by men who thought to be less functional than the rest of the congregation, yet in some ways seemed much more grounded. They remembered the important stuff."
I like page 156:
"The congregants wept as they sang, so free of pretension was the moment, so powerful. It came to be seen as a lesson in essential truth, taught by men who thought to be less functional than the rest of the congregation, yet in some ways seemed much more grounded. They remembered the important stuff."
Read
May 26, 2016Dan Barry is a wonderful writer, using his reporter's skill to fashion a story about a tough subject that reads easy. The heroes of this book are the rescuers of mentally disabled men who have been living in increasingly squalid conditions in a haunting derelict schoolhouse in Iowa, working at unspeakable jobs in a turkey processing plant owned by a company in Texas, in what has been called virtually slavery. Exploited and abused, they have been there since the 1970's. Barry brings to life the men themselves, each a memorable person, following through with the lives they find after their 2009 liberation. This important book hopefully will make an impact on awareness of treatment of some of our most vulnerable citizens.
April 13, 2018
This book hurt my heart. The capacity for cruelty, especially when higher profits are the driving force, makes for a tragic story. And that is what this was. Turkey farms basically enslaved the mentally handicapped and gave them 5 dollars a week for decades. They started as kids (or young adults) in state homes for the disabled located in Texas. They were then forced to go work at turkey farms and lived in total poverty (on $5/week) until they were old, old men. Now one might think this happened back in the early to mid 1900's, but the shocking thing is that this was discovered in this century....in 2009 to be exact. It was a well hidden secret. Shocking.
The research on this was well organized and I like the way the author presented the information. So 4 stars. I just wish the turkey corporation had stepped up when they lost the lawsuit against them. That would have been nice.
The research on this was well organized and I like the way the author presented the information. So 4 stars. I just wish the turkey corporation had stepped up when they lost the lawsuit against them. That would have been nice.
January 6, 2017
This is both a sweet book and a horrifying book. It is about 32 men with intellectual disabilities who worked in a turkey processing plant in a small town in Iowa for decades in the 1970s 1980s and 1990s. They were underpaid and overworked and mistreated and loved by many in the small town where they lived. They participated in the community life and the religious life of the town and were well-known to the people of the town. At the same time the people of the town had no idea of their life within the bunkhouse where they lived. The conditions of their life were occasionally realized yet ignored. They came to Iowa from far away, mostly from Texas. The company that employed them was also in Texas.
This is a book about people with disabilities and how they were eventually rescued from inhumane circumstances. It is about how they eventually won a large judgment in court and their lives after they left the bunkhouse for better lives. It is about the people who rescued them and the people who loved them yet were unaware of their conditions.
I listened to the Audible book and it was pretty good. The book bounced around a little bit going from one aspect of the story to another. Not exactly linear but not too hard to follow. What was a little difficult was transitioning from the sweet to the horror to the sweet. It covered a lot of territory including the national politics of disability rights. The story of the company that provided these individuals to Turkey processors in several states was interesting. The owner of the company actually came to Iowa and lived with the boys (that's what the disabled men are called) for quite a while and was an interesting character who in a strange way was very generous with the men.
I gave this book for stars not because I thought it was so well written although it was pretty good and intriguing to listen to. I gave it four stars because it highlighted a social issue using the personal stories of the disabled men. In spite of the court victory the men didn't end up with a lot of money and the bad guys didn't end up in prison.
This is a book about people with disabilities and how they were eventually rescued from inhumane circumstances. It is about how they eventually won a large judgment in court and their lives after they left the bunkhouse for better lives. It is about the people who rescued them and the people who loved them yet were unaware of their conditions.
I listened to the Audible book and it was pretty good. The book bounced around a little bit going from one aspect of the story to another. Not exactly linear but not too hard to follow. What was a little difficult was transitioning from the sweet to the horror to the sweet. It covered a lot of territory including the national politics of disability rights. The story of the company that provided these individuals to Turkey processors in several states was interesting. The owner of the company actually came to Iowa and lived with the boys (that's what the disabled men are called) for quite a while and was an interesting character who in a strange way was very generous with the men.
I gave this book for stars not because I thought it was so well written although it was pretty good and intriguing to listen to. I gave it four stars because it highlighted a social issue using the personal stories of the disabled men. In spite of the court victory the men didn't end up with a lot of money and the bad guys didn't end up in prison.
June 21, 2016
Do you remember the shocking story of intellectually disabled men who were rescued from a slave-like environment in Atalissa, Iowa? I do, and I was anxious to learn more! The men were moved from Texas to live in an abandoned schoolhouse in rural Iowa. They worked from 1974 until they were rescued in 2007 at a turkey packing plant, doing the nastiest jobs in the facility. The company they worked for controlled every aspect of their lives. They kept most of their earnings, including social security, for rudimentary room and board. They were denied medical treatment and were physically and mentally abused. After their rescue, the men won a lawsuit with unprecedented damages of $240 million. Unfortunately, they did not end up getting near that amount in the end.
The content of this book is incredibly thorough. It is full of facts and interviews, but it reads like a long news story. This journalistic style bothered me for most of the book, but it was still worth reading. The book gives every side of the story, even that of the company owners. In my opinion, the author went a bit easy on the bad guys, which prevented me from feeling as much sympathy as I should have.
I live in Waterloo, Iowa, and loved reading about my little city's contribution in helping these men in the last part of the book. I didn't realize that many of them live here now. My best friend from college is from Atalissa, which also peaked my interest in the story.
The content of this book is incredibly thorough. It is full of facts and interviews, but it reads like a long news story. This journalistic style bothered me for most of the book, but it was still worth reading. The book gives every side of the story, even that of the company owners. In my opinion, the author went a bit easy on the bad guys, which prevented me from feeling as much sympathy as I should have.
I live in Waterloo, Iowa, and loved reading about my little city's contribution in helping these men in the last part of the book. I didn't realize that many of them live here now. My best friend from college is from Atalissa, which also peaked my interest in the story.
July 17, 2016
This book was an eye opener for me, I usually am not attracted by books about social issues... Sometimes they get too real for me , but I loved this book, it deals with the deplorable treatment of a group of people who suffered from mental problems , how their treatment was ignored by everyone around them and asks the question ... Who is to blame for this? And it turns out we all kind of are .... Like I said .... Eye opener !
February 9, 2021
3.5 stars.
This is the story of a group of mentally disabled men in Texas who first worked for Henry's Turkey Service. The young men are sent to a home in Texas where they learned turkey processing. Eventually the company moves them to work at a company plant in Atalissa, Iowa. The bunkhouse boys are housed in a converted old schoolhouse nearby. The book discusses the background of many of the men which greatly humanizes the characters.
Fast forward to the latter chapters of the book and three decades later Iowa state social workers are surprised to find the men - most old with physical ailments by now - are still living in a now decrepid schoolhouse. They are still employed by the company for $5 takehome pay a week in near slave like conditions. One man is routinely chained to his bed at night so he doesn't cause trouble. Then comes the criminal and civil investigations and lawsuits against the owners and managers on site.
The story is certainly compelling with excellent journalistic research. However, I did not find the writing to be at the level of a solid historian here, which is what this book needed since it went back more than 50 years. There was also some journalistic jingo inserted here and there that threw me off. The paragraph structure has a 'Life of Henrietta Lacks' unevenness and could have benefited from more editing.
Despite the mediocre rating, I am glad I read it as it packs an emotional punch. We should all understand a great many more of the social issues facing our country. FWIW I have enjoyed Barry's other writings like 'Bottom of the 33rd'.
This is the story of a group of mentally disabled men in Texas who first worked for Henry's Turkey Service. The young men are sent to a home in Texas where they learned turkey processing. Eventually the company moves them to work at a company plant in Atalissa, Iowa. The bunkhouse boys are housed in a converted old schoolhouse nearby. The book discusses the background of many of the men which greatly humanizes the characters.
Fast forward to the latter chapters of the book and three decades later Iowa state social workers are surprised to find the men - most old with physical ailments by now - are still living in a now decrepid schoolhouse. They are still employed by the company for $5 takehome pay a week in near slave like conditions. One man is routinely chained to his bed at night so he doesn't cause trouble. Then comes the criminal and civil investigations and lawsuits against the owners and managers on site.
The story is certainly compelling with excellent journalistic research. However, I did not find the writing to be at the level of a solid historian here, which is what this book needed since it went back more than 50 years. There was also some journalistic jingo inserted here and there that threw me off. The paragraph structure has a 'Life of Henrietta Lacks' unevenness and could have benefited from more editing.
Despite the mediocre rating, I am glad I read it as it packs an emotional punch. We should all understand a great many more of the social issues facing our country. FWIW I have enjoyed Barry's other writings like 'Bottom of the 33rd'.
October 14, 2016
"With pen and paper, she recorded the breaches in the duct-taped ceilings; the mouse droppings on kitchen shelves; the moldy mattress propped up against the hallway wall; the cockroaches." She was a social worker called to investigate conditions at an old schoolhouse converted to house 32 intellectually handicapped men (low IQ) who worked at a nearby turkey processing plant. They had been there 30 years. This is the poignant story of their near-slavery living conditions, not particularly bad at first, but deteriorating as the men aged. I cringed while reading about how turkeys are killed and eviscerated, how the men engaged in this slippery, smelly, shit-fluttering process with seeming alacrity, even when, as the years passed, it deformed their fingers and harmed their health. Supervisors seemed indifferent or perhaps just overwhelmed by the care challenges. Author's writing and thoroughness of reporting and is superb. He interviews plant operators, townsfolk and the men, even to their "retirement" to group and nursing homes.
June 8, 2024
A beautifully written account of a heartbreaking story. The author does a thorough job of researching the history and personalities behind all that transpired. There are certainly villains in this tale but there are also many folks with good intentions who lacked the education, the commitment, the insight, perhaps even the courage to stand up for these men over the long haul. Excellent book.
July 24, 2016
Thank you to Goodreads Giveaway for this book. What an amazing story. I only wish it wasn't true. Over 30 men with intellectual disabilities were forced to live in a decrepit old schoolhouse while working in a turkey processing plant for what amounted to slave wages. They lived and worked under inhumane conditions, with "caretakers" who stole from them, bullied, abused, and sometimes tortured them. This went on for over 30 years. Over the years some whistle-blowers tried to stop what they found going on, but no one would listen. The people in the town who saw them out and about, thought everything was fine, since they didn't want to look too closely. Finally someone contacts the right person and blows the lid on this whole sordid operation.
Dan Barry does a remarkable job in telling this story. You really get to know each of the "boys", men really. Every chapter starts with a picture, usually of one of the men at the heart of this story. Your heart breaks as you learn of the physical toll that the turkey processing jobs took on each of the men. You really wonder how this could be happening in this country, at this time. You will get angry as you read about the abuse these men suffered, and you will shed tears of joy as their servitude comes to an end.
My only warning: you may not want to eat any turkey for a while after reading this book.
A definite recommend.
Dan Barry does a remarkable job in telling this story. You really get to know each of the "boys", men really. Every chapter starts with a picture, usually of one of the men at the heart of this story. Your heart breaks as you learn of the physical toll that the turkey processing jobs took on each of the men. You really wonder how this could be happening in this country, at this time. You will get angry as you read about the abuse these men suffered, and you will shed tears of joy as their servitude comes to an end.
My only warning: you may not want to eat any turkey for a while after reading this book.
A definite recommend.
June 9, 2016
Never in my dreams did I imagine that something like this could take place in the good old USA, but it did, right in Atalissa, Iowa. Thirty something intellectually disabled men living in a run down old school house for decades, exploited and abused, working in a turkey processing plant for a mere $65/month! There where many whistle blowers throughout the years, but these complaints all fell on deaf ears, it was always someone else's problem.
Stripped of their families and dignity, the author did a wonderful job of telling each man's story, giving them the utmost respect, and also gave each one of them a face (loved the pictures!) and a voice.
In closing this review, like "the boys," after reading this, I don't think I ever want to eat turkey again and also, I would just love to meet them and give them all a hug! And maybe we could go out to dinner at the Golden Corral and karaoke afterwards.
Thank you to the author, Dan Barry, for bringing light to this situation and hopefully this tragedy will be prevented from happening in the future.
Stripped of their families and dignity, the author did a wonderful job of telling each man's story, giving them the utmost respect, and also gave each one of them a face (loved the pictures!) and a voice.
In closing this review, like "the boys," after reading this, I don't think I ever want to eat turkey again and also, I would just love to meet them and give them all a hug! And maybe we could go out to dinner at the Golden Corral and karaoke afterwards.
Thank you to the author, Dan Barry, for bringing light to this situation and hopefully this tragedy will be prevented from happening in the future.
September 26, 2019
Ya know... I had to go back and amend my first review. This book is a solid 5 stars and I'll tell ya why.
This book took me through every emotion; There was laughter, there were tears of rage and sadness. But most of all there was head shaking at the lack of humility in this world. I'd like to say there's always hope for a world without slavery but that's like hoping for a world without suffering.
What amazed me throughout every page was the infallible amount of research and detail poured into this tragic story of modern-day slavery. Dan Barry really blew my pants off (figuratively, thank God) with an undeniably pristine account.
My heart goes out to "the boys in the bunkhouse".
This book took me through every emotion; There was laughter, there were tears of rage and sadness. But most of all there was head shaking at the lack of humility in this world. I'd like to say there's always hope for a world without slavery but that's like hoping for a world without suffering.
What amazed me throughout every page was the infallible amount of research and detail poured into this tragic story of modern-day slavery. Dan Barry really blew my pants off (figuratively, thank God) with an undeniably pristine account.
My heart goes out to "the boys in the bunkhouse".
June 2, 2016
An incredible true story of a terrible crime of humanity. I am glad I read it, but there were definitely times that I had to set it down and think about something else. I especially like the way the author helped the reader to know each of the victims personally. Excellent writing.
December 30, 2016
Well written and researched, the story of these men is heartbreaking.
January 23, 2018
After reading a couple chapters and putting this book aside, I finished it in the last 9 hours, with tears running down my face.
May 24, 2016
You wouldn't think that 19th century slavery would still exist in 21st century America, but these intellectually challenged “boys” were essentially slaves, victims of human trafficking. For decades. And this book tells their heartbreaking story.
These young men, teenagers, eventually old men, fell through the cracks and were rented out to the Louis Rich turkey processing plant by Henry's Turkey Service, sent from Texas to Iowa. They were badly treated and grossly underpaid for horrible, physically damaging work, as they were working in an abusive industry, hanging, killing, gutting, or artificially inseminating turkeys. And the companies involved made boatloads of money while these men lived in squalor.
Perhaps there really were good intentions initially, with profit thrown in as a plus – I don't know. But whatever the intentions, things went south, and very badly.
I have nothing but contempt for those who abuse and take advantage of the vulnerable. I have special contempt for the Neubauers, who both physically and psychologically abused their charges while they were supposed to be caring for them, supervising them.
There were brave whistle blowers starting back in the '70s and for years after. And they were ignored. The state of Iowa, even after all this came to light, didn't really seem to give a flip.
There was so, so much incredible injustice. Some really bad guys, some really good ones, and much too much turning a blind eye.
The book was well written. I thought it could have used a little judicious editing, because it did seem somewhat drawn out. And the author occasionally went on tangents that didn't really add to the story. I really didn't care to learn about the founding father of Atalissa. Despite that, this is a fascinating story, but be prepared to have your heart broken for these men. 4 1/2 stars
These young men, teenagers, eventually old men, fell through the cracks and were rented out to the Louis Rich turkey processing plant by Henry's Turkey Service, sent from Texas to Iowa. They were badly treated and grossly underpaid for horrible, physically damaging work, as they were working in an abusive industry, hanging, killing, gutting, or artificially inseminating turkeys. And the companies involved made boatloads of money while these men lived in squalor.
Perhaps there really were good intentions initially, with profit thrown in as a plus – I don't know. But whatever the intentions, things went south, and very badly.
I have nothing but contempt for those who abuse and take advantage of the vulnerable. I have special contempt for the Neubauers, who both physically and psychologically abused their charges while they were supposed to be caring for them, supervising them.
There were brave whistle blowers starting back in the '70s and for years after. And they were ignored. The state of Iowa, even after all this came to light, didn't really seem to give a flip.
There was so, so much incredible injustice. Some really bad guys, some really good ones, and much too much turning a blind eye.
The book was well written. I thought it could have used a little judicious editing, because it did seem somewhat drawn out. And the author occasionally went on tangents that didn't really add to the story. I really didn't care to learn about the founding father of Atalissa. Despite that, this is a fascinating story, but be prepared to have your heart broken for these men. 4 1/2 stars
March 21, 2018
All Iowa Reads Choice for adults. Discussed at WIT book club. I was not enthusiastic about this book going in, but it was a memorable, important experience. Good crowd at book club. Some new people and a very lively discussion. A group of mentally challenged men from Texas are moved into an old school building in a very small town in Iowa. They work at a turkey processing plant and are paid very little. Their living conditions steadily deteriorate over decades. Despite many warnings, those who should help them don't until a breaking point is reached. And this is 2009, not the dark ages. Countless questions and themes emerge. Barry is a tenacious and thorough investigator and does a good job of telling the story. A lot of repetition in the book and some "poetic" passages are cringeworthy, but these are easy to overlook with the important story and messages of this book. The Sioux City Public Library will have a discussion of this book in the fall and I'll be eager to attend.
February 2, 2020
This was an interesting book. At times, it was a bit long (wordy) but I appreciated all the stories. I also felt Dan Barry made readers understand (a bit more) how something like this could happen so recently. The stories of what the men went through is disheartening.
June 26, 2024
This book is a for sure must read. So many perspectives which helped the reader to create their own point of view. The writing and researcher was excellent. Although a hard topic to read about, I was extremely interested.
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September 4, 2017Willie Levi complained one day about a pain in his leg, in his knee, complained to his supervisor at the packing plant where Willie shackled live turkeys, upside down, into hangers that would carry them to the kill floor. Willie Levi told his super that his leg hurt, hurt bad, but the super told him to keep working because he wouldn’t have Willie slacking off, so he followed orders, kept working, kept on and kept on, just as he had for years, for decades.
Willie Levi is a looming presence in Dan Barry’s Boys in the Bunkhouse; he's a man gifted to talk to turkeys, a “turkey whisperer,” Barry calls him, because something in his voice calmed those birds as he delivered them to their deaths.
But Willie hurt his knee, he said, so when the whole story broke—how several dozen developmentally disabled adult men from Texas were working for scratch in an Iowa turkey plant, living in unimaginable filth, the social workers who freed Willie and his friends from the grievous exploitation they’d suffered asked him if he had any medical problems. Willie pointed at his leg, said it hurt. Immediately, someone took him to an urgent care facility in nearby Muscatine, where the diagnosis was simple but painful—Willie Levi had a broken kneecap he’d lived and worked with for far too long.
That Willie Levi story is one of hundreds New York Times reporter Dan Barry relates in a heart-rending compendium of stories, all of them concerning the “boys,” a bus full of men sent up north to Iowa from Texas to work packing plant jobs no one reading these words would do, men intellectually disabled, who lived in squalor unimaginable in rural Iowa.
Countless characters people these stories, not simply “the boys from the bunkhouse” either, although most of them, like Willie, are here. There are heroes, men and women—reporters and social workers—who went out of their way to free the men from their 21st century slavery. Some you'll meet are heroes, some are certainly not. Some didn’t care, didn’t act, kept their mouth shut when they should have spoken.
But there are no snarling villains. Dan Barry’s marvelous reporting doesn’t indict the plant or Louis Rich, doesn’t even damn T. H. Johnson, the Texas entrepreneur once universally applauded for creating jobs for men thought otherwise unemployable. For some time, what Johnson was up to created sterling benefits for the boys—jobs, spending money, a place in life.
Neither does Barry lay a glove on Atalissa, the tiny dying Iowa town where people brought the boys into their love and care, danced with them and gave them a place in town celebrations, took them to church.
The story is surprising in many ways. You’ll be amazed at what Atalissa gave, but saddened to realize that all that giving was never enough. The Boys in the Bunkhouse is not simply an indictment of the horrors of life on a kill floor or some broadside against rural provincialism; its primary concern is examining our own longstanding instinct to look past people we’d rather not see.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland is a marvelous read. When you close the cover and put it down, it won't simply stay on the shelf; it's a sad reminder of Jesus's words that “the poor you have with you always.”
Nations and cultures can be judged, a friend of mine used to say, not by their GNP, but by how compassionately they care for their own less fortunate. Dan Barry’s wonderful book is a moving reminder of something so sadly easy to forget—what it really should mean to be human.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse is this year’s Sioux County’s "One Book, One County" selection.
Willie Levi is a looming presence in Dan Barry’s Boys in the Bunkhouse; he's a man gifted to talk to turkeys, a “turkey whisperer,” Barry calls him, because something in his voice calmed those birds as he delivered them to their deaths.
But Willie hurt his knee, he said, so when the whole story broke—how several dozen developmentally disabled adult men from Texas were working for scratch in an Iowa turkey plant, living in unimaginable filth, the social workers who freed Willie and his friends from the grievous exploitation they’d suffered asked him if he had any medical problems. Willie pointed at his leg, said it hurt. Immediately, someone took him to an urgent care facility in nearby Muscatine, where the diagnosis was simple but painful—Willie Levi had a broken kneecap he’d lived and worked with for far too long.
That Willie Levi story is one of hundreds New York Times reporter Dan Barry relates in a heart-rending compendium of stories, all of them concerning the “boys,” a bus full of men sent up north to Iowa from Texas to work packing plant jobs no one reading these words would do, men intellectually disabled, who lived in squalor unimaginable in rural Iowa.
Countless characters people these stories, not simply “the boys from the bunkhouse” either, although most of them, like Willie, are here. There are heroes, men and women—reporters and social workers—who went out of their way to free the men from their 21st century slavery. Some you'll meet are heroes, some are certainly not. Some didn’t care, didn’t act, kept their mouth shut when they should have spoken.
But there are no snarling villains. Dan Barry’s marvelous reporting doesn’t indict the plant or Louis Rich, doesn’t even damn T. H. Johnson, the Texas entrepreneur once universally applauded for creating jobs for men thought otherwise unemployable. For some time, what Johnson was up to created sterling benefits for the boys—jobs, spending money, a place in life.
Neither does Barry lay a glove on Atalissa, the tiny dying Iowa town where people brought the boys into their love and care, danced with them and gave them a place in town celebrations, took them to church.
The story is surprising in many ways. You’ll be amazed at what Atalissa gave, but saddened to realize that all that giving was never enough. The Boys in the Bunkhouse is not simply an indictment of the horrors of life on a kill floor or some broadside against rural provincialism; its primary concern is examining our own longstanding instinct to look past people we’d rather not see.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland is a marvelous read. When you close the cover and put it down, it won't simply stay on the shelf; it's a sad reminder of Jesus's words that “the poor you have with you always.”
Nations and cultures can be judged, a friend of mine used to say, not by their GNP, but by how compassionately they care for their own less fortunate. Dan Barry’s wonderful book is a moving reminder of something so sadly easy to forget—what it really should mean to be human.
The Boys in the Bunkhouse is this year’s Sioux County’s "One Book, One County" selection.
January 20, 2018
eight oh four ay em, the 20th of january 2018, saturday morning and it is almost getting light out, winter...just finished, i really liked it, four stars, kindle, library loaner, good read. an amazing story. to think i lived in iowa not far from where most of this story transpired, when it transpired...or, some of it...the telling covers a period of years, decades.
so many men let down by so many for so long. and there is in the telling an aside...from a lwyer's perspective, about another incident to do with indians, none that speak english, used...oklahoma was it? as well as turkey processing places in other places where seems like a matter of degree, or percentages maybe, same kind of thing.
much of the story has high-lights of the high-points in the lives of these men...church, social gatherings, parades, going to a store...all bookshelves between long periods of wrong. and as incredible as it seems now...for all i know, this can still be done...but one thing that enabled this to happen is that "by law"...then, perhaps now as well, one could hire, work, and pay a person...developmentally, intellectually disabled...that was the law. at the same time, the outfit ultimately responsible was found (probably not in an actual court, so much for due process, i say) guilty of wage sin/wrong...and nobody, apparently, pursued the matter. let down by so many for so long.
i'd be curious to see what the turkey processing plant was like...after...the boys left for good. they worked side-by-side with others? what of them? what of the plant, the parent corporation, louis rich foods. at one point...i think it was an official with them...the parent...reported abuse by a...over-seer of the boys...for naught. and even the working arrangement...that is dinkie...mau mau...this henry turkey something or other...they supply labor...and they get paid. by the parent company. even now...being self-employed...i'd heard from another about being able to hire...certain people...and i think even the pay is not entirely the employer's responsibility...never looked into the matter, so don't know how much truth there is to the matter...just saying.
the poor will always be with us...and as long as we walk the earth, i imagine stories like this will continue to be told in one fashion or degree or another. worth a read.
so many men let down by so many for so long. and there is in the telling an aside...from a lwyer's perspective, about another incident to do with indians, none that speak english, used...oklahoma was it? as well as turkey processing places in other places where seems like a matter of degree, or percentages maybe, same kind of thing.
much of the story has high-lights of the high-points in the lives of these men...church, social gatherings, parades, going to a store...all bookshelves between long periods of wrong. and as incredible as it seems now...for all i know, this can still be done...but one thing that enabled this to happen is that "by law"...then, perhaps now as well, one could hire, work, and pay a person...developmentally, intellectually disabled...that was the law. at the same time, the outfit ultimately responsible was found (probably not in an actual court, so much for due process, i say) guilty of wage sin/wrong...and nobody, apparently, pursued the matter. let down by so many for so long.
i'd be curious to see what the turkey processing plant was like...after...the boys left for good. they worked side-by-side with others? what of them? what of the plant, the parent corporation, louis rich foods. at one point...i think it was an official with them...the parent...reported abuse by a...over-seer of the boys...for naught. and even the working arrangement...that is dinkie...mau mau...this henry turkey something or other...they supply labor...and they get paid. by the parent company. even now...being self-employed...i'd heard from another about being able to hire...certain people...and i think even the pay is not entirely the employer's responsibility...never looked into the matter, so don't know how much truth there is to the matter...just saying.
the poor will always be with us...and as long as we walk the earth, i imagine stories like this will continue to be told in one fashion or degree or another. worth a read.
August 12, 2019
Sad but very elegantly written true story of 32 men who came from various state schools and institutions because of intellectual disability. (There were many more, but the book focuses on the last group before their rescue.) They were hired . . . well, more accurately, sent as young men to a turkey processing company that agreed to try to train them and put them to work while also giving them a place to live. Ultimately, these men end up as slaves; they receive $65 per month in addition to room and board (in a house that eventually becomes a filthy health hazard), but they can't leave, and some of the “supervisors” really abused them, while others took better care of them.
The story is fascinating, though, and tells a sad history of the treatment of the disabled in our country, of people who just ditched their children because they didn’t want to take care of them any more, of people who believed the state schools were good places but then couldn’t get in touch with their children, of people who felt they were doing society a favor by putting the men to work, of other people who really seemed to have cared about the guys and took excellent care of them but thought keeping virtually all their money and making sure they didn’t leave was justified.
As much as it is tempting to see good and evil, good guys verses bad guys, I don't think it's that simple. Neither does the author, although he tends to be a little more willing to assign blame on some of the people than I. But he carefully researched this complicated story (remember, the victims here mostly suffer from intellectual disabilities, which adds a level of complexity to the task of reconstructing the past); maybe he’s right about some things that really gave me pause, such as the culpability of the residents of Atalissa, Iowa, where the “boys,” as they were known, ultimately ended up. Those men were active residents in the community, but the residents were apparently unaware of the abuses. I felt bad for those residents; it seems that they were very fond of the men, and because when they had seen the living arrangements things hadn’t deteriorated so badly. They also weren’t aware of the financial arrangements.
This is quite well written and I found it to be a very quick read; it’s engrossing, and because of the narrative style of the author it’s a quick read.
The story is fascinating, though, and tells a sad history of the treatment of the disabled in our country, of people who just ditched their children because they didn’t want to take care of them any more, of people who believed the state schools were good places but then couldn’t get in touch with their children, of people who felt they were doing society a favor by putting the men to work, of other people who really seemed to have cared about the guys and took excellent care of them but thought keeping virtually all their money and making sure they didn’t leave was justified.
As much as it is tempting to see good and evil, good guys verses bad guys, I don't think it's that simple. Neither does the author, although he tends to be a little more willing to assign blame on some of the people than I. But he carefully researched this complicated story (remember, the victims here mostly suffer from intellectual disabilities, which adds a level of complexity to the task of reconstructing the past); maybe he’s right about some things that really gave me pause, such as the culpability of the residents of Atalissa, Iowa, where the “boys,” as they were known, ultimately ended up. Those men were active residents in the community, but the residents were apparently unaware of the abuses. I felt bad for those residents; it seems that they were very fond of the men, and because when they had seen the living arrangements things hadn’t deteriorated so badly. They also weren’t aware of the financial arrangements.
This is quite well written and I found it to be a very quick read; it’s engrossing, and because of the narrative style of the author it’s a quick read.
January 27, 2020
This is truly a surprising true story. I thought that when I initially started listening to this book that it took place in the distant past. It does not. The events take place in modern times and likens itself to a workhouse prison system.
The book opens with social workers finding a large group of 60-70 men who have varying degrees of mental disability living in an abandoned school house together. The building is not the best, and in many cases, the men are living multiple people to a room, and the accommodations are not very nice. Sometimes just a mattress on the floor. The building is infested with creatures. The men are largely self-sufficient, but have been working in servitude, sometimes for 20+ years at a turkey factory nearby. They are doing hard labor, killing and readying turkeys for food production.
Their salaries were "managed" by their employer, Henry's Turkey Service, who paid them below minimum wage and then docked their pay for room and board (which is an exorbitant amount, considering the conditions they were found in). The men would be given a small allowance each week, which they would spend at the local convenience store on soda, beer, and snacks.
While many seemed happy at the lifestyle and being surrounded by other men who did the same work, they were taken from their families. Most of the men were from Texas and the plant was in Iowa. Despite the men asking after their families, many were never given an answer or a means to contact anyone outside the turkey plant. They also never received any medical attention, so once they were rescued, many had dental problems and physical disabilities. Despite their complaints to management, they were ignored.
Some were punished in their off-hours if they did not perform in a satisfactory manner. They were shamed in front of the other men, or maybe they weren't given their allowance to spend at the store. One attempted to escape and died of frostbite on his journey. And yet, the operation continued.
The big question here is: how did this happen in a first-world country? How were these men overlooked for so long? Is America's desire for cheap turkey justify treating people in this manner? The story is still mind-boggling, and no amount of court justice can give these men back the time lost with their families or their health. A troubling story, but one that is worth being heard.
The book opens with social workers finding a large group of 60-70 men who have varying degrees of mental disability living in an abandoned school house together. The building is not the best, and in many cases, the men are living multiple people to a room, and the accommodations are not very nice. Sometimes just a mattress on the floor. The building is infested with creatures. The men are largely self-sufficient, but have been working in servitude, sometimes for 20+ years at a turkey factory nearby. They are doing hard labor, killing and readying turkeys for food production.
Their salaries were "managed" by their employer, Henry's Turkey Service, who paid them below minimum wage and then docked their pay for room and board (which is an exorbitant amount, considering the conditions they were found in). The men would be given a small allowance each week, which they would spend at the local convenience store on soda, beer, and snacks.
While many seemed happy at the lifestyle and being surrounded by other men who did the same work, they were taken from their families. Most of the men were from Texas and the plant was in Iowa. Despite the men asking after their families, many were never given an answer or a means to contact anyone outside the turkey plant. They also never received any medical attention, so once they were rescued, many had dental problems and physical disabilities. Despite their complaints to management, they were ignored.
Some were punished in their off-hours if they did not perform in a satisfactory manner. They were shamed in front of the other men, or maybe they weren't given their allowance to spend at the store. One attempted to escape and died of frostbite on his journey. And yet, the operation continued.
The big question here is: how did this happen in a first-world country? How were these men overlooked for so long? Is America's desire for cheap turkey justify treating people in this manner? The story is still mind-boggling, and no amount of court justice can give these men back the time lost with their families or their health. A troubling story, but one that is worth being heard.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2018
Thoughtful look into a human tragedy that put Iowa, individuals with disabilities, and government regulations in the national spotlight.
This 2018 All Iowa Reads Selection is an easy read yet a difficult one to digest. At its premise is a group of men with intellectual disabilities brought to the state from Texas to work in a turkey processing plant, in jobs that few others wanted. For 30 years, they completed the same repetitive tasks and participated in the activities of the small community in which they lived. Then, one Sunday morning in 2009, they were gone and the doors to the dilapidated, old schoolhouse where they had lived were opened.
They were known as "the boys" to everyone in the small Iowa town who embraced them and to those in the Texas organization who hired them but few knew of the mistreatment they received and the injustices levied against them due to their disabilities. New York Times reporter and columnist Dan Barry picks up on reporting by the Des Moines Register, delves deep into the lives of these men, and explores society's role in taking care of its most vulnerable members.
I suspect readers will want to point fingers and place blame on someone or some organization as they progress through the book--and there are surely ample reasons to do so--but we should, instead, consider our individual voices and what we can do to ensure the proper care and treatment of everyone we come into contact with.
Read as a selection of my local library's book club.
This 2018 All Iowa Reads Selection is an easy read yet a difficult one to digest. At its premise is a group of men with intellectual disabilities brought to the state from Texas to work in a turkey processing plant, in jobs that few others wanted. For 30 years, they completed the same repetitive tasks and participated in the activities of the small community in which they lived. Then, one Sunday morning in 2009, they were gone and the doors to the dilapidated, old schoolhouse where they had lived were opened.
They were known as "the boys" to everyone in the small Iowa town who embraced them and to those in the Texas organization who hired them but few knew of the mistreatment they received and the injustices levied against them due to their disabilities. New York Times reporter and columnist Dan Barry picks up on reporting by the Des Moines Register, delves deep into the lives of these men, and explores society's role in taking care of its most vulnerable members.
I suspect readers will want to point fingers and place blame on someone or some organization as they progress through the book--and there are surely ample reasons to do so--but we should, instead, consider our individual voices and what we can do to ensure the proper care and treatment of everyone we come into contact with.
Read as a selection of my local library's book club.
July 27, 2018
To hear the premise of this book was extremely unsettling to me. 32 men with intellectual disabilities who worked in a turkey processing plant in North Liberty, Iowa for 3 decades from mid 1970 to as recent as 2007. They were underpaid, overworked and mistreated asked to do the absolute worst jobs at the turkey processing plant. The only housing available at the time was an old abandoned schoolhouse in a nearby town (Atalissa). As I delved into this book, I realized if i looked hard, some positives could be found. The original idea of getting these men out of institutions and to help provide them with work, an income, their own housing all while supervised really wasn't a horrible idea at it's core. And then there were the towns people of Atalissa who grew to love the men and embrace their presence in the town. They participated in the community life and the religious life of the town and were well-known.
There were a few who supervised the men in the house that took good care of them (though none of the supervisors had a degree in social work or special education) However, over time the men were exploited, shamed, living in unclean conditions, and severely underpaid. The conditions of their life were occasionally realized yet ignored. They had come to Iowa from far away, mostly from Texas, their families unable to care for them
I listened to this book on Audible
There were a few who supervised the men in the house that took good care of them (though none of the supervisors had a degree in social work or special education) However, over time the men were exploited, shamed, living in unclean conditions, and severely underpaid. The conditions of their life were occasionally realized yet ignored. They had come to Iowa from far away, mostly from Texas, their families unable to care for them
I listened to this book on Audible
June 1, 2017
A fascinating story of mentally handicapped men shunted into involuntary indentured service by a turkey processor that took them out of Texas state institutions to living on site at processing plants in Iowa and elsewhere. State institutions themselves seem to prison-like and inhospitable that I don't think it was until late in the book and then "boys" were elderly that I understood the weight of cruelty and financial mismanagement left them impoverished and broken, despite opportunities and a need for better working conditions and long-term planning. It almost seems that abandoned by their state and families with no oversight the men were gradually more and more taken advantage of until the decades past and their doom was complete.
February 28, 2018
I was recommended this book by my mother. I was born and raised in Iowa a little over an hour from where this took place. I can only vaguely remember hearing about it at the time. Thinking back I was through the town of Atalissa in 2008 and probably drove by the “bunkhouse”.
I really enjoyed the book and thought it very informative and well written. It caused me to run the the full gamut of emotions. Laughing, crying, anger. It really caused me to think and have some self reflection.
I really enjoyed the book and thought it very informative and well written. It caused me to run the the full gamut of emotions. Laughing, crying, anger. It really caused me to think and have some self reflection.
June 23, 2018
This was a terrific book, even though the subject matter was very difficult to handle. It just proves, once again, that we need to really see what is going on around us. It’s the citizens of Atalissa had asked more questions, these men might have been rescued a lot sooner. Agencies that received tips over the years failed to investigate properly or claimed that they had no authority to act. these men were available in so many ways it’s heartbreaking.
January 24, 2020
This is an interesting book -- the story of a turkey processing operation in Texas that hired developmentally disabled Texans and put them to work, first in Texas, and then in rural Iowa. What starts as a positive story erodes into a story of exploitation and abuse and a government and media slow to react despite some opportunities for a quicker intervention. Well-written and researched, a good piece of investigative journalism.
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