The New York Times Book Review - Marc Lacey
There is a feeling that can set in after a long road trip, and I speak here from recent experience, that America is one vast expanse of fast-food restaurants, car dealerships and water parks. One does not leave jet travel, squeezed into 41A next to a sweaty man in cargo shorts, all that inspired with this land of ours either. But what James and Deborah Fallows manage to show us, as if we were riding along with them on their craft…is that much of America's vibrancy is off the beaten path.
From the Publisher
"James and Deborah Fallows have always moved to where history is being made.... They have an excellent sense of where world-shaping events are taking place at any moment—and a fervent commitment to be there to see it happen.... In these cities, the Fallows argue, citizen participants are coping with declining industries, creating new civic cultures, assimilating waves of immigration, and collaborating across party-lines to revive everything from arts programs to tech seedbeds."—David Brooks, The New York Times
"A tonic of a book about the can-do America unready to succumb to rot."—Roger Cohen, The New York Times
“I’ve been waiting for this book for years. . . . Buy this book. . . . This country is more united than divided...and this book will prove it.”—Joe Scarborough, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC
“Knowing the Fallows and their work, I assumed this new co-authored book of theirs would be typically savvy, sensitive, articulate and prescient. What I didn't expect was how a record of experiences of current middle American communities, through their lenses, would be such a page turner! I've guessed for many years that real change in this world would be effected by and within small communities—places where people feel connected and capable of impact on some larger scale. Our Towns is a monumental validation of that hypothesis—with real stories and real people, who are really getting things done. James & Deborah—thanks for your journey, your open and honest observations, and helping to shine light for us at the end of many tunnels.” —David Allen, author of Getting Things Done; the Art of Stress-Free Productivity
“Our Towns will become a classic, joining the ranks of American odysseys from De Tocqueville to Dos Passos. The landscape unfurls beneath us; the language of different regions echoes in our ears. Most important, this book is a tonic for what ails us as a nation, a captivating story of energy and renewal across the land.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO, New America
“In the tradition of John Steinbeck and Studs Terkel, the Fallows have crisscrossed the country in search of the extraordinary strength and character of ordinary people and places. What they’ve found—in towns we know and others off the beaten path—should give us all great hope for the future.” —California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
"Reminiscent of Charles Kuralt's On The Road with Charles Kuralt, this unique look at the heart of America will bring hope and insight to readers. Highly recommended."—David Miller, Library Journal
“An illuminating trip through ‘parts of the country generally missed by the media spotlight.’ . . . Writing with lively curiosity and open minds, the couple have created textured portraits of 29 American cities, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Eastport, Maine, to Redlands, California. . . . A well-reported, optimistic portrait of America’s future.” —Kirkus Reviews
“An eye-opening, keenly optimistic reminder of the strength of America’s vital center.” —Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2018-02-26
An illuminating trip through "parts of the country generally missed by the media spotlight."Between 2013 and 2017, Atlantic national correspondent James Fallows (China Airborne: The Test of China's Future, 2013, etc.) and his wife, Deborah Fallows (Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language, 2011, etc.), traveled nearly 100,000 miles in their small plane, making two-week stops in 25 cities and shorter visits to another 24. They visited libraries and bars, schools and businesses; talked to politicians, civic leaders, newly arrived refugees, students, social service workers, and others to get a sense of "the backbone and character of the region" and, by extension, of the whole country. Writing with lively curiosity and open minds, the couple have created textured portraits of 29 American cities, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Eastport, Maine, to Redlands, California. Central to a city's or region's success, they discovered, were "the stories people tell themselves" about their "traits and strengths." Burlington, Vermont, for example, changed its identity from largely a retirement community to a research and technology center where local companies encourage startups. Although the city struggles with drug culture and "tensions between old-family Vermont residents and new arrivals," civic engagement, one resident said, "is the absolute heart of what keeps the city palpitating." Although all but one of the states visited voted for Donald Trump in 2016, the authors found no evidence of "the seething fury described by the media." Instead, they noted "humming, stylish" downtowns—essential for a city's success—in places like Columbus, Ohio, and Greenville, South Carolina, each the result of efforts by business, civic, and educational organizations. They found innovative schools, like the Mississippi School for Mathematics and the Arts, a public boarding school in Columbus, Mississippi, where students—some of whom grew up in a shack or trailer—were building robots. The authors assert that distancing themselves from national politics, fostering collaboration between government and businesses, and keeping open to outsiders, including immigrants, all contribute to a city's vitality.A well-reported, optimistic portrait of America's future.
