Charles D. Thompson, Jr., is the author or editor of six previous books, including Border Odyssey: Travels Along the U.S./Mexico Divide. He has also directed six documentary films, all of which have focused on rural life either in the United States or Latin America. His latest film, produced by Farm Aid in 2017, is Homeplace Under Fire. It concerns the thirty-year history of farm advocacy as supported by Willie Nelson and others. Currently Thompson is at work on a new film about Appalachian small farming. Thompson is the Professor of the Practice of Cultural Anthropology and Documentary Studies at Duke University. He's also a champion of a number of community causes that center on food, farming, and justice.