Book Description
For those looking to raise a family in a storybook American town, or a change of pace from hectic city life, this book is the answer.
Customer Reviews:
A Poor Offering.......2007-08-10
This is not a very good book. 50% of the book is devoted to Mr. Crampton's less than interesting observations of life in a small town. His advice is mostly extremely basic common sense stuff that any normal person should already know. He offers very few interesting insights.
The other half of the book is his list of the 120 best small towns in America. This part of the book is even more weak. It's obvious Mr. Crampton did a lot of internet travel to gather his data as the descriptions are clearly culled from the towns' chamber of commerce websites. He offers zero insight or information gained from him (or someone else) actually visiting / living in the towns and conveying what the towns are actually like.
His ruse is painfully evident as the "more info" listing for each town is merely a link to their respective chamber of commerce website! What "more info" could there be given that the author merely copied the site? Even his internet research was exceptionally lazy.
The book should be titled "A Compilation of America's Best Small Towns' Chamber of Commerce Website Info plus Non-insightful Musings of the Armchair Travelling Author."
And how do the towns qualify as being best? By Mr. Crampton's estimation they must have a highschool, and a hospital, and at least a few other businesses that aren't Walmart. Could the bar be set any lower? With that criteria one could throw 120 darts blindfolded at a map and do just as well as this book.
The book could be fodder for a Garrison Keilor Ketchup skit, "you know June, why don't we retire to the country, find a town with a highschool and live out our days..... Dear, have you been getting enough Ketchup lately..."
A very weak text that I'll be returning to Amazon post haste!
Make that 3 1/2 stars.......2005-03-28
Actually, I would have given "Making Your Move" 4 stars had I found the descriptions of the individual towns more interesting. But, what I did find was a witty style of writing, some laugh-out-loud moments, and some very down-to-earth advice on the pearls and perils of small-town life. One might apply Norm's smart and insightful guidelines to just about any sparsely populated area in the quest for new habitation. So even though his selections failed to fire me up, they did make me realize that I may not be cut out for small-town living after all. And that, in itself, is worth far more than the price of a book. Thanks, Norm, and make that four stars.
Part of the story.......2003-03-12
This book is a good place to start if you're thinking of moving to a town of 15,000 or less. It will point you to many interesting communities. However, having used his previous book to guide my last move, and as a resident of one of the towns highlighted in this book (Grinnell), I can honestly say that data only carries you so far. Crampton could provide readers with a great benefit by lengthening the amount of description and flavor for each town. In particular, one key element missing is the 'dynamic' of a town: is it progressive? conservative? excited about education? quick to vote down taxes and bonds? These elements form the 'culture' of a small town, and believe me, the culture of a small town will be *very* important to you!
A good guide to start.......2003-01-08
As a resident of one of the 120 "best small towns" recommended by Norman Crampton, I was delighted to see Silver City on the list.
While Crampton's book is a good place to start your search for small town living, it is important to realize that each small town offers a unique personality. Some generalizations simply do not apply to Silver City. For example, it is not necessary to join a church (or country club) in order to fit in here. Even a small community like ours has diverse sub-populations: recent retirees, most of whom have some affinity for the arts; old-timers, most of whom are the conservative church-goers Crampton describes; and Hispanic families, many of whom have worked in the mines.
These groups rarely interact, although we usually get along very peacefully. We also have a number of folks who teach at the university -- and we rarely see them around town.
To learn about Silver city, you won't get much information from the Chamber of Commerce or the editor of the newspaper. You'd do better to spend some time hanging out at the AIR cafe, talking to whoever comes in. The morning and afternoon groups are quite different and everyone is friendly.
The author gives some nuts and bolts about each small town. Unfortunately, with the exception of weather, much of this information will change by the time the book is printed. And your decision may well be made by factors that can't be added up.
The best part of the book is the section on economics of small town living. Here, he's right on. You have to budget for travel to a large city now and then. Air travel will be more costly and you need time to drive to a large airport. His view of housing prices seems optimistic. If you move to a desirable city (such as Silver City) expect to pay more for a house than he allows.
And if you move to retire, your economic picture will be quite different. Many newcomers to Silver City are beginning a second career as an artist or writer. Moving without a job is scary -- and I do not recommend it unless you fit the profile I describe in my own book, Making the Big Move.
Book Description
This book examines how small towns best prosper by leveraging their resources and working with local and state officials to break through the "one-company town" mindset to attract industry and new business relocations. In the book, Jack Schultz identifies seven and one-half factors that small towns must employ to attract new business relocations or spur new business start-ups, including a collective vision, local support and an entrepreneurial spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Moving to a small town?.......2007-05-27
The author of this book recently spoke at my college (Monmouth College) where his son attends. I have just moved to this small town (I am a college faculty member) and this book has given me a very different view of life and opportunities that exist in small towns. Very inspirational.
For Absolute Beginners in Community-Building.......2006-04-17
Rating: 4 Stars for those just getting started in their quest to reinvent a community; 3 Stars for all others. "Boomtown" is written in very broad strokes, and much of it is common sense; yet, it is the type of common sense worth reiterating to fledgling community-builders.
Perhaps the biggest single contribution this book makes is to demonstrate through hard data that there may very well be a positive payoff to all the visioning, strategic planning, consensus-building and financial investing that a community must engage in while attempting to redefine itself. The comparative data presented justifies the journey. And Schultz's admonition not to pin an agurb's hope on a single white knight - especially a large corporate outsider - is the single best piece of advice that he offers.
As a "starter kit", this book does not discuss the many facets of the municipal growth process that must inevitably be addressed if a strategic plan is to succeed, such as the roles of, and relationships with, a variety of potential planning and funding partners such as a state Main Street organization, USDA, state department of economic development, LISC, etc.; how to find sources of and apply for grants; how best to present initial growth concepts to elected officials and when; how to work with a project developer, etc. It is beyond the scope of "Boomtown" to delve into these matters in any detail, so the reader should be prepared to find answers elsewhere.
The single biggest take-away from "Boomtown" is that the leaders of numerous older communities like yours have dug deep and found sufficient inspiration to create a novel approach to limited growth or stagnation. The author offers numerous examples and anecdotes to make that point. Two or three may strike just the right chord with you and spark a lively discussion in your own backyard.
DYNAMITE ADVICE TO HELP SMALL TOWNS PROSPER!.......2004-11-23
Schultz is on the cutting edge of America's future. In Boomtown USA he does an extraordinary job of detailing how small towns can find their uniqueness, create jobs, and attract new residents or visitors. This book is a "must read" for any town official or private citizen who wants to make a difference and see their community prosper. And his list of the top 100 "Agurbs" is insightful, thoroughly researched, and invaluable for targeting forward-thinking communities."
Marilyn Ross, author of the forthcoming MICROPOLITAN MOVES: Advice for a Safe and Successful Relocation - or Buying Your Second Home Dream Retreat - in Small Town USA
Is your town a winning team?.......2004-10-23
Is Your Town a Winning Team?
As a chief executive officer of a company that for 17 years has developed industrial properties in small towns in the Midwest, Jack Schultz is in a unique position to answer the question: What separates the thriving towns from the struggling ones?
In his new book, BoomtownUSA: The 7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Towns (NAIOP, $21.95), Schultz has written an inspirational "how-to" guide for leaders of small communities; his central message being that it is possible, using the right tools, to build a team capable of shaping the destiny of its community.
Schultz describes the keys needed for small towns to thrive and grow. He asserts that in small, rural communities, a solid core group of bright, dedicated people working as a team can make a difference. To back up his premise, the author has filled his 167-page book with over one hundred examples and case studies.
The author claims that the third great population shift in America's history, from the suburbs to what Schultz has termed "the agurbs" has begun. The first wave was from farms to urban areas, the second wave from urban areas to the suburbs, and now a dramatic shift back to rural areas. During the 1990s, more than 18 million people moved from metropolitan areas into small communities and rural counties. Why? Lower costs of housing and living, lower crime rates, better schools, shorter commutes and, in general, a more relaxed and less stressful lifestyle.
With the technological advances in the last 20 or so years, Schultz states that there has been no better time in history for small towns to prosper. Thirty-three percent of the American jobs created between 2001 and 2004 went to residents of rural counties with average populations of 40,000. But the success or failure of small communities does not just happen on its own; the prospering small towns in this country have set themselves apart by excelling in the 7 ½ Keys: adopting a can-do attitude, shaping a vision, raising up strong leaders, encouraging an entrepreneurial approach, maintaining local control, building a brand, and embracing the teeter-totter factor (small actions that can make either a negative or positive impact on the entire community).
Success hinges on strong leadership, teamwork, and entrepreneurs. Schultz states that in towns that operate effectively, leadership is spread among a multitude of people; no single hero on a white horse will ride in and save your community. Rely on the collective wisdom, experience, vision and dreams of the committed people already in your community, and "empower the people with passion."
Schultz strongly advocates that communities need to develop leaders for the future, citing examples such as Colville, Washington, which founded the Colville Youth Commission to make recommendations to the city for the purpose of improving the quality of life for area youths.
The author states that prospering small towns can never have too many entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs should be nurtured and given room to operate. "Towns that recognize that the better their entrepreneurs do, the better the better the town will do, generally find themselves on a positive growth curve."
BoomtownUSA is an important book for anyone who has an interest in the future of his or her small town.
The future is here.......2004-10-16
Subtitled "7 1/2keys to big success in small towns," Schultz's book focuses on just what small and medium-sized towns and cities must do to share in the economic good times.
Schultz coins the term "agurbs" as a label for a new kind of economic development. "Agurbs" are those areas outside the major influence of metropolitan areas that have historically been agricultural in nature. But that is changing, he argues, as more and people seek a good life in these outlying areas. The population is moving and economic development is sure to follow. However, Schultz cautions that not every community will prosper. If they are to compete successfully in this new kind of development market, Schultz suggests that cities must:
1. Adopt a "can do" attitude;
2. Shape their vision;
3. Leverage their resources;
4. Raise up strong leaders;
5. Encourage an entrepreneurial approach;
6. Maintain local control;
7. Build their brand; and
7½. Embrace the teeter-totter factor.
We won't steal Schultz's thunder here; rather, we encourage you to buy the book to find out more about his seven and one-half keys to success. The "teeter-totter" factor is especially interesting.
But there are some really interesting facts in the book. Consider these:
From 1990 to 2000 metro areas produced 10% of the population growth and 9% of jobs in the United States. In contrast, "agurbs" produced 20% of the population growth and a stunning 24% of employment growth! Well, what about high-tech areas like Silicon Valley, Austin, TX, and those other creative-class Mecca's?
Here's the real kicker. High-tech areas (much like metro areas) gave the United States another 10% of population growth but just 12% of employment gains. The Top 100 agurbs (in terms of growth rates) showed a 28% increase in population and 32% of job gains. That means that one in three new jobs in the United States over the last decade came from the top 100 agurb areas.
No wonder we are so hot on those "micropolitan" areas we discussed last month (see this month's feature article, above). There is a very high positive correlation between Schultz's "agurbs" and the Census Bureau micropolitan areas.
Where are these agurb areas? In terms of density per state the highest number of them are found in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia. Hmm, interesting political implications here. Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, and other mid-western states also rank high on the index.
The implications seem rather obvious for economic development professionals. Look to areas that are characterized by high-quality communities; don't focus on low wage rates and tax incentives.
We are particularly intrigued by Schultz's work because he seems to say that real job creation is occurring exactly where we would predict: in areas that have high quality of life and clean environments, and that tend to be non-urban. Duh! Not only are people moving to these areas (according to the US Census), but they are becoming centers of job creation and, hence, wealth. We think Schultz is definitely on to something here.
What this book does is provide a primer for community leaders in these areas. His message is simple: get with the program or be left behind. When we look at Schultz's seven (and one half) factors we see qualities that separate successful developing areas from those that are not successful. And to loop back to our lead article, it is precisely these factors that make a difference between micropolitan areas that flounder (almost 50% of them) from those that are growing at tremendous rates.
Boomtown is another must-read if you are at all concerned about building social capital in your community. And Jack Schultz's checklist of keys to success may lead community leaders to an honest evaluation about whether they are positioned to succeed in tomorrow's economic reality.
And if I'm a corporate real estate executive or relocation specialist, guess what my first seven (and one half) questions will be about when the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce hosts me for dinner in West By God, Anystate, USA?
Customer Reviews:
A Disappointing Collection of Statistics.......2007-05-12
This book is a collection of about 20 different statistics for each of the 100 towns. It would be time-consuming to do this research on your own, so I suppose some people will find it worthwhile as a starting point.
However, I imagine that most people interested in the subject are looking for a book that describes communities in ways that are more illuminating.
The only other information Crampton provides are quotes from town residents. But these residents are typically town boosters, such as members of the Chamber of Commerce and local politicians. The responses seem as though they were the result of a cursory phone interview or perhaps a survey form. The statements they provide are almost as uninformative as the statistics.
If you're looking for a book that will give you some idea of what it's like to actually live in these towns, look elsewhere. A town might look great on paper and still be a dreary place to actually live. It would have been nice if Crampton had at least visited the towns he promotes.
One final criticism. The book jacket advertises that diversity is one of the criteria upon which the towns were chosen. But the only thing that comes close to that is a statistic about the percentage of the population comprising youngish adults. There is no data on race, ethnicity, age (other than the one group mentioned), or income distribution. I believe Crampton should either include information on population diversity or stop advertising content that he doesn't provide.
Very Disappointed!.......2004-11-28
I was looking forward to getting this book. Well, I just got it in the mail and am extremely disappointed with the information. Many of the towns I am very familiar with because I have either visited or done research on my own. The bottom line with this book is this: the information is not just old it is "very old"! Save your money, buy a different book, or just do internet searches. I wish I had.
Author never visited my highly rated town!.......2002-05-29
My town, Elko, NV, was rated #1. Mr Crampton did not bother to visit here. If he had it would never have made any good list. It was a boom town of trailers, pick ups, and four wheelers, populated by trashy people. It is now a bust town. Elko is only good if you want to buy a trailer the bank has repoed.
Former Mayor of one of the Best Small Towns Speaks out.......1999-02-09
I am the former Mayor of Poteau (Poe-Toe), Oklahoma which is included in the book "The 100 Best Small Towns in America" to live in. I know the author Norman Crampton and worked with him a lot, supplying him with truthful and accurate information on our town for the book. Mr. Crampton did portray our town exactly as it is, a place that Norman Rockwell would have loved. I have also had the opportunity to visit many of the other towns in the book and beleive that his portrayal of those towns is likewise very accurate, without bias. Since the first edition came out in 1992 we have had a great many families who have moved here as a result of reading the book. My wife and I now own Homestead Realty here in Poteau and I am happy to testify that Mr. Crampton's book is right on target....a good place to start looking for a great place to raise a family, rural America at it's best. "Diamond Don" Barnes Poteau, Oklahoma Mayor (1991-1995) E-Mail: diamond@clnk.com
Nationally Certified Relocation Specialist Loves It!.......1998-07-15
I am a real estate broker and a nationally certified relocation specialist. I use this book as a preliminary step to help my clients get a feel for various communities within the United States. I used the '92 edition myself to determine the best place to move my own family. I can tell you that the information here is valid and generally a good reflection of any given community. As a result of this book my family and I are now very happily living and working in Poteau, Oklahoma, which is everything the book indicated. If you'd like to know more about this book, real estate, relocation services, or the area where I now live and work e-mail Shirley at srrealty@clnk.com.
Book Description
No matter how ambitious they may be, most novice journalists don't get their start at the New York Times. They get their first jobs at smaller local community newspapers that require a different style of reporting than the detached, impersonal approach expected of major international publications. As the primary textbook and sourcebook for the teaching and practice of local journalism and newspaper publishing in the United States, Community Journalism addresses the issues a small-town newspaper writer or publisher is likely to face.
Jock Lauterer covers topics ranging from why community journalism is important and distinctive; to hints for reporting and writing with a "community spin"; to design, production, photojournalism, and staff management. This third edition introduces new chapters on adjusting to changing demographics in the community and "best practices" for online community papers. Updated with fresh examples throughout and considering the newest technologies in editing and photography, this edition of Community Journalism provides the very latest of what every person working at a small newspaper needs to know.
Customer Reviews:
Captures the appropriate view .......2006-08-15
I got this book because I'm starting up a local newspaper and it's been 30 some odd years since I majored in Journlaism. I found here a lot of what I only dimmly remembered, but which underscored what I believed about the feasibility of starting my paper. I also can see that it would be a good read for anyone nostalgic for the simpler days of newspapering.
Book Description
John Nolen (1869-1937) was a pioneer in the development of professional town and city planning in the United States. Nolen's comprehensive approach merged the social, economic, and physical aspects of planning while emphasizing, in the author's words, "versatility, special knowledge, and cooperation." Between 1905 and 1937, Nolen's firm, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, completed more than 350 commissions throughout the United States. Among the best known of these is Mariemont, Ohio, whose development Nolen directed from the ground up.
Rare and long out of print, "New Towns for Old" (1927) is still of great interest to planners and urban historians. The well-illustrated study contains an overview of the development of American urbanism and a concise discussion of Nolen's ideas for the improvement of towns and cities. Individual chapters examine a variety of towns planned by Nolen including Mariemont, Ohio; Kingsport, Tennessee; and Kistler, Pennsylvania, as well as the new suburbs of Union Park Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware, and Myers Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. The re-planned towns of Cohasset and Walpole, Massachusetts, are also featured. The forward-looking final chapter includes material on Venice, Florida, one of Nolen's most ambitious projects.
The new edition of "New Towns for Old" contains additional plans and illustrations, a new index, and a new introductory essay by Charles D. Warren, which presents biographical and historical context that illuminates the diverse, productive career of this nationally significant practitioner. Perhaps most significantly, it features Nolen's project list, which has never before been published.
"Nolen . . . sought to realize the dreams and eliminate the nightmares he saw woven into the fabric of American cities, towns, and villages," writes Warren in his introduction. "His idea of reform was pragmatic, accommodating plans to realities without losing sight of temporarily elusive ideals. His successes and failures are recorded in the landscapes and the cityscapes he left behind."
Customer Reviews:
Must Have.......2005-06-21
New Towns For Old is a must have for anyone that is interested in building great cities. Nolen's descriptions of the new towns of his time are filled with lessons that can be applied to current practice. Once you read this book, you will want to see these cities.
Amazon.com
In June 1997, just months before publication of his latest book, Big Trouble, Pulitzer-winning journalist J. Anthony Lukas killed himself. He was 64 and, according to many accounts, had finally surrendered to a lifelong despair over what he saw as his inability to meet his own exceedingly high literary standards.
Yet in reading Big Trouble, a gripping account of murder and politics in turn-of-the-century Idaho, one can't help but think that Lukas was far too hard on himself. His last work is a well-told tale of the struggle between labor and capitalists in the West at a time when entire state legislatures were effectively owned by corporate interests and America teetered on the brink of open class warfare.
The story begins with the 1905 assassination of Frank Steunenberg, an ex- governor of Idaho. His murder was rumored to be the work of vengeful labor bosses, and Pinkerton detective James McParland tracked Wobbly organizer Big Bill Haywood all the way to Colorado to bring him back to stand trial, where he and two other men were defended by a team of lawyers that included Clarence Darrow.
During the writing of Common Ground, his account of Boston's painful process of school desegregation in the 1970s, Lukas became intrigued by what he called race's "twin issue": class. "The more I delved into Boston's crisis," he writes in the foreword to Big Trouble, "the more I found the conundrums of race and class inextricably intertwined." Class simply wasn't as overt an issue as race in contemporary society. What Lukas needed was a time and place where class and class struggle were open and visible. He found it in Idaho in 1905, a time of change and uncertainty, when any notion of a large American middle class was still a distant dream. In order to make this era comprehensible to modern readers, Lukas has gone great lengths in Big Trouble to re-create the entire social, political, and economic context of the murder trial. Here are the histories not simply of mining, railroads, and unions, but of detectives, "modern" journalism, baseball, land speculation, and frontier-town boosterism. In its capacity to translate historical facts into an engrossing, insightful read, Big Trouble stands as a final testament to Lukas's well-deserved reputation as a top reporter of America's growing pains.
Book Description
Hailed as "toweringly important" (Baltimore Sun), "a work of scrupulous and significant reportage" (E. L. Doctorow), and "an unforgettable historical drama" (Chicago Sun-Times), Big Trouble brings to life the astonishing case that ultimately engaged President Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the politics and passions of an entire nation at century's turn.
After Idaho's former governor is blown up by a bomb at his garden gate at Christmastime 1905, America's most celebrated detective, Pinkerton James McParland, takes over the investigation. His daringly executed plan to kidnap the radical union leader "Big Bill" Haywood from Colorado to stand trial in Idaho sets the stage for a memorable courtroom confrontation between the flamboyant prosecutor, progressive senator William Borah, and the young defender of the dispossessed, Clarence Darrow.
Big Trouble captures the tumultuous first decade of the twentieth century, when capital and labor, particularly in the raw, acquisitive West, were pitted against each other in something close to class war.
Lukas paints a vivid portrait of a time and place in which actress Ethel Barrymore, baseball phenom Walter Johnson, and editor William Allen White jostled with railroad magnate E. H. Harriman, socialist Eugene V. Debs, gunslinger Charlie Siringo, and Operative 21, the intrepid Pinkerton agent who infiltrated Darrow's defense team. This is a grand narrative of the United States as it charged, full of hope and trepidation, into the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating study.......2006-12-12
Big Trouble is an enthralling study of the assassination of Frank Steunenberg and the amazing web of interrelated conflicts pitting the rich against the poor, the labor movement against the burgeoning private detective industry, the west against the east, etc. Unpredictable alliances emerge in a marvelous saga as the search for truth and justice is waylaid by a series of digressions. And, before long, we recognize, a la Holden Caulfield, that the digressions are just as essential and even more interesting than the ostensible story. Through it all, Lukas keeps a firm grasp on all of the myriad themes and storylines. The result is a book of some 750 pages and in fairness this book doesn't need to be quite so long; the segments on Ethel Barrymore and Walter Johnson add nothing to the book and should have been lopped. Yet this book should not have been much shorter and could not have been adequately told in less than six or seven hundred pages. Big Trouble is an outsized book about how an outsized time and place produced an extraordinary event. Its few defects, though obvious, are small blemishes on its far larger accomplishment.
From a Caldwell resident.......2006-04-22
I'm a police officer with the City of Caldwell, Idaho. When we first moved to the city (approximately 35,000 now)we lived one block from the old Stubenburg residence.
From a purely personal view point I found the book to be fascinating. The details were necessary. The book gives you an in-depth look at a specific time in the country's history. The extensive backgrounds that he provided for the many characters were also essential. For not only do they help the reader to understand the involved people, but their pasts also help to explain why the nation was like it was in 1906.
In many respects the book is almost an anti-western. By 1906 the Western United States was no longer the frontier, but many still viewed it that way. However the so-called "modern" world was now a presence. All the many social issues that we are still dealing with were a very real concern for those people in 1906 as well.
I feel that Lukas did an excellent job showing this time and the many tensions that exsisted. And whether he meant to or not Lukas also showed that we aren't so far removed from our ancestors. They too were convinved that their time was the worst and that the world was going to hell in a handbasket.
Editor, where art thou?.......2005-09-13
The book is centered around the murder of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg in 1905, but Lukas ripples out from this center so far that it begins to seem a minor detail. In formulating the book he began by researching the mining wars of the West around the turn of the 20th century (Boise, Cripple Creek) and the rise of the labor and concurrent Socialist movements in America.
But that wasn't enough. Lukas decided that in order to understand his central event fully, virtually the entire social, political, legal, and cultural fabric of the country at that time needed to be laid out. Thus the book becomes a very large and weighty tome in which, along with the main events of the Steunenberg murder and trial, the Pinkertons, newspaper reporting, Pullman cars, even the Elks and Odd Fellows all receive detailed coverage. Walter Johnson, the great Washington Senators pitcher, gets 14 pages for no other reason than he was playing minor league ball in Idaho at the time and the lawyers and reporters covering the trial of Steunenberg's alleged killers liked to go to the games. When such a minor thing receives such major focus it becomes difficult to distinguish it from the really major events, and it soon becomes just a catalog of events.
Lukas is an excellent writer and much of what he writes about is interesting, but the book almost becomes purposeless in its willingness to spread over such a large field. Here's where the skills of a good editor would have been handy. Unless, of course, Lukas refused such tampering of his work, and his reputation after winning the Pulitzer for his earlier COMMON GROUND (about the busing of school children in Boston in the 1970s) allowed him the privelege of final say. Who knows?
But the book is actually a handful of books rolled up into one, to the detriment of the one book (the whole is less than the sum of its parts). Although awesome in scope, it's finally disappointing because that scope was not harnessed in a useful way.
Class warfare in 1900's Idaho........2003-02-11
It's a blockbuster of a book and I had to buy a book-holder for reading it in bed. It comes in a big package - over 750 pages in my trade-paperback edition.
And it's American History made fascinating. What a mini-series this would be. What a movie! Lukas did painstaking research, not only in the relevant areas but in minor side-events and personages...all the tidbits of curious information about major and minor players in this riveting event of history.
Then add suspense, ..........What more do you need? Do something nice for yourself. Read this wonderful story told with consummate skill and sensitivity.
"The Book That Made Me Want to Be a Historian".......2002-09-30
Well, maybe not THE book, but when, for my first graduate course in history, I had to pick the work of history that most influenced my professional ambitions I picked Big Trouble, which I read in an undergrad U.S. Industrial History course. Big Trouble is a wonderful book and Lukas an amazing writer. I was interested all the way through the several hundred pages, which was not true for any of the other books I read in Industrial History, or in almost any other class ever.
What really struck me about Big Trouble, however, was what my professor passed out on the day we finished reading it: Luakas' obituary. He killed himself a few months before Big Trouble was published because, after winning two Pulitzers and a National Book Award, he felt that he had been a failure as a writer. I am sad that he did not live to write more.
Book Description
America's most enticing small towns promise idyllic getaways in places that time forgot -- from colonial villages to Old West towns to sunny pueblos to salt-sprayed fishing hamlets.
Plan the perfect escape in 77 of America's best small towns, where you can visit antique shops or museums, take a hike, go birding, savor local cuisine, sleep on a feather bed, or simply rock away the afternoon on a breezy veranda.
Descriptive essays by National Geographic travel writers capture the essence of each town.
Detailed practical information highlights inns and B&Bs, restaurants, annual events, and must-see local and nearby sights.
Brilliant color photos show off the towns' unique qualities, and easy-to-use, full-color maps make finding these special places easy.
Customer Reviews:
A great guide to take on a road trip.......2004-10-29
This was one of our "most valuable" books when we took our year long adventure around the USA. The towns they describe are really worth exploring -- they are the way towns used to be in this country. We came back from our adventure and wrote "Live Your Road Trip Dream" to help other road trippers actually get move from the dreaming to the doing for their trip of a lifetime.
Escape for a Season or So.......2003-10-09
Escape for a Season or So
Every so often someone comes along who tells me that if they won "the Lottery" one of the things they would like to do is travel. Well, I would, too, except that I want to
do more than just pay a visit, I want to stay a while... perhaps a season or so.
This book just whets my appetitie for such travel. I have been to a number of the towns in this book. Just for one example, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is as good as it gets. If you visit Eureka Springs in the Autumn, the trees of the Ozarks are gorgeous. Coming in from the west, you might even see a cloud in the one of the valleys below. You'll probably pass by Thorncrown Chapel which is one like no other. Once in Eureka you'll find the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway and the only church in the world through which you will enter through the bell tower, St Elizabeth's. Ripley's Believe It or Not once mentioned this story. You'll want to stay for more than a visit
to Eureka Springs because nearby is the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield just to mention one.
This book is about places like this one from one coast to the other. I have visited some of them and they are all just as fascinating. I wish that I could see them all.
Tired of tourist traps? Get this book!.......2002-06-01
Are you one of those people who hates crowded, commercialized destinations? My idea of a vacation is NOT fighting traffic and waiting in lines and seeing row upon row of tacky giftshops that are all the same.
If you want to get off the beaten track a bit (but not totally away from civilization), this is the perfect book to help you plan your family vacation! It lists 77 towns - the maps are great of course, the pictures are captivating, and they tell you what's so great about the town, where to stay, where to eat, and even where to shop, if you're so inclined.
I can speak for only two of the destinations listed in the book, but both of them are fantastic. We've been to Ephraim, Wisconsin (in Door County) twice now and we're going back too! The other town we've been to is Ouray, Colorado. Even though we were just passing through there, and only got to stop for lunch, I can see where this town is a great destination all its own.
Get this book, pick a location, and pack up the car and you'll have a great vacation!
Happy traveling!
NG Guide to Small Town Escapes: Paradise Found.......2000-06-08
For anyone who enjoys the out-of-the-way small towns and villages, this guide book is a must. It is so well-written that the unique feeling you get about each place compells you to make an actual visit there. A perfect example is the story about Cutchogue, Long Island, New York. After reading so much about the movie stars, the Clintons and other glitterati in the Hamptons on the South Fork of L.I., I was utterly amazed that there is such a small undisturbed rural paradise (at least until this Guide was published)on the North Fork across Great Peconic Bay. The wineries, farm stands, historic sites and great seafood restaurants made our brief weekend visit a true delight. The Guide gave just enough data to locate Cutchogue and its environs to make the drive easy. The Cutchogue residents we encountered were amazingly friendly and helpful in giving directions to a few haunts of the locals that made this a definite "come again" destination. I trust the other places listed in the Guide are equally as wonderful as the one we experienced.
Book Description
An inspiring story by a two-time Edgar Award-winning writer of how a six-man football team united a school and a town
Down Farm Road 308, an hour's drive south of Dallas, amidst sprawling fields of cotton lies a small community--Penelope, Texas (population 211). Here, where the only thriving businesses are the granary and the post office, unless you count the soft-drink machine in front of the fire station, two-time Edgar Award-winning writer Carlton Stowers discovered a special town that came together, not only to support their six-man highschool football team--the Penelope Wolverines--through thick and a lot of thin, but also, and more importantly, each other.
Where Dreams Die Hard is a warm and revealing portrait of the American heartland--and of one small town's love affair with the team that unites it.
"Through his unforgettable depiction of innocence, goodness, loyalty, and friendship...Carlton Stowers gives us a moving portrait of a community that, in the words of one of the Penelope faithful, is like 'stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting.'" (Billie Letts, author of Where the Heart Is)
"High school football in Texas is both sport and religion, and Stowers brilliantly brings this to light in Where Dreams Die Hard." (Jim Dent, author of The Junction Boys)
Customer Reviews:
Small town Texas in "Where Dreams Die Hard".......2006-07-18
Having chronicled so much disaster, destruction and unspeakable horror committed by people against other people during his extensive writing career, Texas author Carlton Stowers was looking for something simpler in the wake of the 911 tragedy. As he writes in the preface of the non fiction book "Where Dreams Die Hard" on page XIV:
"When a young editor argued that what those of us under her charge had to provide readers was more `red meat,' more hard-hitting, finger-pointing controversy, I rolled my eyes and began considering my leave-taking. Though fully aware that there were endless fakes and frauds needing exposure and countless crimes begging courthouse justice, such tasks no longer interested me. It was time to let someone else try to sort reason from the unreasonable, spend days in the company of devastated victims, and chronicle the social ills for which there seemed no cure."
His quest was for a Norman Rockwall type America if it still existed. Where folks still cared about each other regardless of political or religious affiliation. Where crime was not a problem and where red meat referred to what was on the grill and not something literary.
He found what he was looking for in the small town of Penelope, Texas located about an hour south of Dallas. Penelope has a population of 211 and eagerly and actively supports their six man football team the Penelope Wolverines. As sports fans may know, six man football has seen a revival the last few years in a number of states including Texas. Much of the book covers one season in the life of the town both for the players, their families, and the surrounding community.
While he chronicles the struggles of the 2004 team, author Carlton Stowers does much more than that. Writing about the months before and after the season as well, the town of Penelope and its citizens are brought alive for the reader. Mr. Stowers' folksy style works wonders in this regard as the words flow and skip from point to point much like in regular conversation. Along the way he touches on the history of six mean football, the economy of small town Texas and such basic fundamentals as how to impart responsibility to today's youth among other topics. This is not a lecturing or antiseptic read but more of a good friend talking about life as he sits next to you on your front porch.
The result is an excellent 205 page read that provides a look at basically slightly more than a year in the life of a small Texas town and its citizens. The bad, the good, and everything in between are covered. At the same time it becomes uplifting as one knows no matter how bad the world news gets, folks that live in Penelope, Texas and thousands of other places are taking it one day at a time, prospering in their own way, and helping each other everyday. A little of that attitude goes a long way and Mr. Stowers book is a very refreshing and enjoyable read.
Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006
Six Men From Now.......2006-04-17
What do kids do who want to play football and the town's too small to field a football team in the high school? More importantly, what do their moms and dads do, especially in a state like Texas where everything is football when you're a teenager. He can join the Penelope Wolverines and their brand of rural, thin population "six-man football," designed for school with 99 or fewer students! If you liked FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, you'll appreciate the even bigger sacrifices made by the boys in this book.
Stowers tells the perhaps apochryphal story of a country in west Texas where one man refused to give up his farm and move to the next county, even though a prominent oilman dangled him a job with a salary far beyond anything he would ever be making if he stayed home. The oilman, you seem had designs on the farmer's son. No, not sexual designs, but he figured if he could get that boy enrolled in the high school of his own county, the boy was talented enough to score enough touchdowns to make the difference in the season. But his dad kept saying no, we're staying put. The oilman didn't understand the meaning of the word no and one night, while the family was away, their entire house was moved, lock, stock and housecat, to the oilman's county. The dad figured he might as well join em at this point. Because he would have to pay the cost of airlifting his house back to its original cellar and that he couldn't afford. So the boy joined the high school team and, sure enough, justified the oilman's belief in his nascent talents.
Why, I had never so much as heard of "six-man football" before picking up the latest effort of Carlton Stowers, a true crime expert whose own family was touched by tragedy some mite back.
Now I know plenty. His down home style goes down smoother than a Texas mojito. You'll crack up at another anecdote, in which Penelope plays its rival, Abbott. Now there's a town so proud it has erected a giant billboard with a grinning, full color image of musician Willie Nelson, who they say was born in Abbott. Town pride in Nelson has never diminished, but the fool billboard got too much for the "rebel" singer-songwriter, who one night, got pretty drunk I guess and tried to burn down the darn thing. The billboard remains, half-torched, a visual memory of people's mixed feelings about the little towns from which we fled but to which we return with smiles and tears all mixed up.
A friendlier "Friday Night Lights".......2005-09-05
As the August breezes begin to pick up, the days start to become shorter and thoughts return to fall, the end of the summer season brings about the start of another season, the high school football season.
Thousands of players will have participated in two-a-day practices throughout the dog days of August, all in the hopes of winning games, setting records and pursuing championships.
The only difference between most of the squads competing in the United States and the 112 public high school teams competing throughout Texas, is that they do it a little differently. For those smaller Lone Star Schools, whose student enrollment falls below 100, they play under their own Friday Night lights in the glorious game of six-man football.
Author Carlton Stowers became tired of his own newspaper's front pages, dedicated to the misdoings of others, bombings and mayhem he had seen from a news reporter's eyes. He made the decision to turn his reporter pen and pad towards a quieter town, in a quieter portion of Texas and follow the world of six-man football for a season.
His travels took him to the small town of Penelope and it's populous of 211 residents and the Wolverines six-man football team.
The railroad had left Penelope in 1960 and so went with it the cotton commerce that brought people to it. In 1963 the high school made the decision to abandon its football program. In 1999 a student, Marvin Hill, prodded by his classmates asked the superintendent requesting that football be re-instated in the Wolverines fall season.
The game of six-man football was established in the late 1930's as a sport for the small rural schools. It involves three lineman, three backs and a quarterback. Traditionally it is played on an 80-yard field, 15-yards are needed for a first down, 10-minute quarters are played and all players are eligible to receive a pass. Also included would be a 45-point mercy rule after the first half was complete.
With the help of the superintendent and an open board of education, donations flowed in to field a team that first season. As the interest continued year after year, a playing field, all two-acres of it, was purchased, grass planted and goalposts were acquired when a neighboring school moved up in class, they too were sent to Penelope.
It would be Hill who made history, scoring the first-ever touchdown for the Wolverines that first season.
Fast forward to 2004 when Penelope is led by coach Corey McAdams, the former state championship quarterback and college star at Hardin-Simmons University. It would be his job to bring the Wolverines back on a winning track, turning the tide on the squad's current 1 win, 31 loss record.
Stowers takes the reader onto the practice field, into the hallways of Penelope High and into the homes of the players, their families and their lives.
It is a different type of life in the small towns in Texas, something that many suburban readers may have a hard time comprehending.
When the entire town turns out for a football contest, they may not fill most local high school auditoriums, the coaches drive the bus to away games, that is if his players show up on time after they finish building a sheep fence.
"Where Dreams Die Hard" is not as hard hitting as the best selling "Friday Night Lights", but Stowers stills delves into issues that would make any towns population uneasy. It is the picture that Stowers paints of the small towns in Texas, the wins and the losses by the Penelope High Wolverines squad that make the book so enjoyable.
The length of "Where Dreams Die Hard," is also agreeable to the reader with its 201 pages, fitting for a sport which boasts just 12 players on the gridiron compared to the traditional 22. Stower's work has intrigue, history, heartwarming stories about the players, their families as well as the author's own relationship with his dying father.
While they may host smaller lineups, play in front of smaller crowds, the characters in "Where Dreams Die Hard" are focused on success every Friday evening under the Texas sky, proving that things in Texas are bigger, especially the hearts of those playing six-man football.
Average customer rating:
|
Main Street Revisited: Time, Space, and Image Building in Small-Town America (American Land & Life)
Richard V. Francaviglia
Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Urban Planning & Development
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
| Architects, A-Z
| Architectural Standards
| Building Types & Styles
| Criticism
| Drawing & Modelling
| General
| Historic Preservation
| History & Periods
| Interior Design
| International
| Landscape
| Materials
| Project Planning & Management
| Reference
| Study & Teaching
| Urban & Land Use Planning
Similar Items:
-
How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built
ASIN: 0877455430 |
Customer Reviews:
great read but far from reality.......2007-10-04
I thought this book was a good read. Coming from canada we were not aware of all the many so- called arts towns in the usa. I sincerely doubt that the author has done any extensive research on the subject of moving and costs of living. The author also seems to have an extreme left wing bias. We have visited a number of these so- called arts towns. Many of them are either over- priced or in sad shape. I suggest mr. villani stay in the land of disenchantment new mexico, were his leftist , ideological view of the country can remain. Save your money , get it at the library.
Clueless.......2007-09-01
A friend of mine and I both recently read this book, and were dismayed at the places it did not include. I live near Kingston, NY, recently named one of the ten best places (of any size) in the US for artists to live, and near Woodstock, NY. Neither was mentioned by Villani. Kingston has become a great town for artists only recently, so the book is merely out of date with respect to Kingston, but Woodstock has been an artists' colony for a century. The air is great in Woodstock; though there is only a little affordable housing there, there is plenty in nearby villages.
Hot Springs, Ark., Definitely HOT for Art Lovers!.......2006-04-10
The key word in Villani's title is ART, and we've got plenty of it in Hot Springs. With over 27 non-profits directly related to the visual and performing arts, the author hits right on the money to concentrate on the Hot Springs Music Festival, held first two weeks of June every year; the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in October, one of four preliminary sites for the Academy Awards; and 200 consecutive monthly Gallery Walks in Historic Downtown. Affordable? We think so. Refreshing? Absolutely. For more information, see www.nativecuriosity.blogspot.com.
completely out of date, dont bother.......2005-07-20
I bought this book last year, and while it may have some good ideas about which towns to go to, the prices of the housing is completely out of date. You cannot buy a house in any of these places for the prices he quotes. Obviously the real estate boom has made this resource obsolete. I wish he would write another book like this, but with up -to -date home prices.
Short-sighted research.......2005-02-25
The city of Fort Myers, FL is disparraged in this book as a menagerie of NASCAR fans and strip clubs. Anyone who's spent time in Fort Myers knows that there aren't many strip clubs and the ones that are here aren't a big part of the local scene (what to do on a random Saturday night) like they are in other parts of Florida, like Tampa, Clearwater, or Miami.
Books:
- Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog
- My Life So Far
- Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: GET OUT THE SHOVEL -- WHY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG
- Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, 1899-1900
- No Laughing Matter
- No Place Like Home: A Novel
- Ovarian Cancer (Atlas of Clinical Oncology)
- Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
- Patty's Toxicology, 8 Volume + Index Set
- Possible Side Effects
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Cancer Treatment Revolution: How Smart Drugs and Other New Therapies are Renewing Our Hope and C
- Macaws
- Freedom's Ransom
- History: Fiction or Science
- James Dean: Fifty Years Ago
- Modern Physics, Second Edition
- Marx and Nature: A Red and Green Perspective
- Russia's Virtual Economy
- Fast Forward - How to Win a Lot More Business in a Lot Less Time
- The Gospel of Good Success: A Six-Step Program to Spiritual, Emotional and Financial Success
Cities Ranked and Rated: More than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. and Canada, 1st Edition
Moving To A Small Town: A Guidebook To Moving From Urban To Rural America
Best Places to Raise Your Family, First Edition (Rated)
Choose a College Town for Retirement: Retirement Discoveries for Every Budget (Choose Retirement Series)
50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family: Lee & Saralee Rosenberg's (Lee and Saralee Rosenberg's 50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family)
