Best known for his classic handbook, "Five Acres and Independence," M. G. Kains contributed a second gem to back-to-the-land literature: his true-life adventures in "We Wanted a Farm." Kains shows how he and his family moved from New York City apartments to a full-fledged farm in easy stages: first to a rented suburban house where they grew a large vegetable garden, then in a purchased suburban house where they concentrated on fruits and berries,...