With this Dickensian tale from America’s heartland, New York Times writer and columnist Dan Barry tells the harrowing yet uplifting story from the exploitation and abuse of the resilient band of men with intellectual disability, and the heroic initiatives of those who helped these 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 within an old schoolhouse. Before dawn each morning, these were bussed about The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland to a nearby processing place, where they eviscerated turkeys in substitution for meals, lodging, and $65 a month. They lived in near servitude for more than thirty years, long lasting increasing neglect, exploitation, and physical and psychological abuse-until state interpersonal workers, local journalists, and one tenacious labor attorney helped these men achieve freedom.

Sketching on exhaustive interviews, Dan Barry dives deeply in to the lives from the men, documenting their thoughts of suffering, loneliness and fleeting delight, aswell as the undying hope they maintained in spite of their traumatic circumstances. Barry explores how a small Iowa town remained oblivious to the plight of these men, analyzes the countless causes for such profound and chronic carelessness, and lays out the impact of the men’s dramatic courtroom case, which includes spurred advocates-including Chief executive Obama-to push for just pay out and improved operating conditions for people living with disabilities.

A luminous function of social justice, told with compassion and compelling details, The Males in the Bunkhouse is more than simply inspired storytelling. It really is a clarion require a vigilance that ensures addition and dignity for those.