This week's news magazine features a profile of husband-and-wife authors Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas. They have written a new book entitled: "Hollowing Out the Middle," an argument that it will take more than just free land initiatives to reverse rural America's brain drain. It will require that the towns themselves adopt a new way of thinking.

In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Carr and Kefalas spent six months in a 2,000-resident town in northeastern Iowa (given the pseudonym Ellis in the book). To research the decline of rural America, they interviewed hundreds of current and former residents, whom they categorized as Achievers (those who leave), Stayers (those who remain), Seekers (those who leave to travel or join the military), and Returners (those who leave and come back).

They speak to Newsweek about their experience and what they believe can be done to stop the emigration from this country's heartland.