FLO MORSE has studied American communities since 1971, when she wrote Yankee Communes: Another American Way. She has also written How Does It Feel to Be a Tree? (1976), and The Story of the Shakers (1986). A former reporter for The New York Herald Tribune, she has published poetry and has reviewed books for The New York Times Book Review, The Shaker Quarterly, The Shaker Messenger, and other publications.