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The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia
The American Midwest An Interpretive Encyclopedia This first-ever encyclopedia of the Midwest seeks to embrace this large and diverse area, to give it voice, and help define its distinctive character. Organized by topic, it encourages readers to reflect upon the region as a whole. Each section moves from the general to the specific, covering broad themes in longer introductory essays, fill... more »ing in the details in the shorter entries that follow. There are portraits of each of the region's twelve states, followed by entries on society and culture, community and social life, economy and technology, and public life. The book offers a wealth of information about the region's surprising ethnic diversity--a vast array of foods, languages, styles, religions, and customs--plus well-informed essays on the region's history, culture and values, and conflicts. A site of ideas and innovations, reforms and revivals, and social and physical extremes, the Midwest emerges as a place of great complexity, signal importance, and continual fascination. From Choice
"The American Midwest considers 12 states that the editors believe have a particular sense of identity: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin...Other essays are affectionate and penetrating portraits of the 12 states as viewed by local experts...Summing Up: Recommended. All levels." July 2007 -- J. Drueke, University of Nebraska--Lincoln From Ohioana Quarterly, Summer 2007 "Middle-American people, landscapes, and culture all stand to benefit from this weighty work of scholarship...provides us with a holistic guide for understanding ourselves, our neighbors, our regional landscape, and our place on the national stage."« less