In Manhattan or Los Angeles, the presence of Michael Korda can instantly transform any soirée into a literary event, but in the barnyards of Dutchess County, New York, the name of Simon & Schuster's editor-in-chief carries little cache. In that rustic locale, sows mean more than No. 1 bestsellers, and a mastery of septic systems gains more respect than being bosom buddies with Joe Heller. So when Korda bought a Pleasant Valley farm, he migrated rapidly to the bottom of the pecking order. But silly city slicker that he was, Korda decided to outlast the amused stares of his skeptical neighbors, and, little by little, he learned the tricks of a farmer's life. This uproarious and endearing memoir might delight the Dutchess Country gentry as much as Korda's early attempts at fence-mending. More funny than Tuscany.