I am convinced that the absolute best literary genre is the travelogue.
Well ... unless it is a travelogue book that is built on a foundation of reporting about civic engagement, and why one American city seems to be able to reinvent itself while the other just down the road cannot.
And that is what you find in the 2019 book "Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America" by James and Deborah Fallows. Published by Vintage Books, this travel adventure follows the husband and wife team through their five-year crisscross aeronautical adventure across America to find out what makes our cities tick. And maybe even more importantly why one city seemingly can find the magic solution to grow and revitalize and even prosper, while dozens of other cities cannot.
The Fallowes spent five years journeying across the country to dig up the research and interviews for this book, but along the way, they published many of their city visits in The Atlantic. And while their travels to report such things aren't unique to the travelogue genre, the one aspect that might be is that they put on the majority of their miles in single engine prop airplane piloted by Jim Fallows.
And while making their journey, according to the book jacket, this is what they found: "While visiting dozens of towns, the America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems -- from the economic dislocation to the opioid scourge -- but it is also crafting solutions, with a practical-minded determination at dramatic odds with the bitter paralysis of national politics. At times of dysfunction on a national level, reform possibilities have often arisen from the local level."
First, let me just say that if you enjoy a well-written, insightful non-fiction book based on solid reporting and written in sophisticated tone, then read no further, just stop here and pick up "Our Towns."
But there are some interesting layers of time and situation that make this book an intriguing read even beyond the merits listed above.
Foremost, is the time scale of the book. So, while the book was published in February 2019, the boots-on-the-ground reporting for the books was completed over a five-year period from 2013 to late 2016. That means that the book spanned a major portion of the final Obama presidential term up until just after the election of Donald Trump in late 2016. And, as you can imagine, that historical election changed some of the reporting in the later trips that the Fallowes took, which I suppose was inevitable. You can't take a polarizing figure such as President Trump and the societal changes he ushered in and expect it not to change the flavor of the reporting of a book project that started under an entirely different kind of presidency.
On a personal level, there were three reasons the book felt so intimate to me. First of all, two of the cities that the Fallowes visited are close to me, and one is a city I love. In fact, the book had me hooked when they explored what made the city of Sioux Falls, S.D., tick in their first chapter as our oldest son and his longtime girlfriend both attended college together at Augustana University in Sioux Falls. So, we lived vicariously through those two in Sioux Falls for four years until they moved to the Twin Cities this spring after graduation.
This may sound corny, but I think it is neat that the writers were traipsing about Sioux Falls, doing their reporting, at the same time that our son was going to school there. I wonder if they crossed paths, or if the the Fallowes may have visited the hospital my son worked at, or maybe the even had dinner or a beer at the same time in one of the trendy new eateries and breweries in downtown Sioux Falls.
Anyway, many of the reasons that they report Sioux Falls being a great place to live, we got to see firsthand thanks to our kids going to college there. And so being the Sioux Falls chapter was the first in the book, my curiosity was piqued from that point on.
The other city that the Fallowes toured that is near and dear to me is Duluth, Minn. Truth be told, had the fickle hand of fate delivered a different outcome in one of my three interviews for positions at the local Duluth News Tribune newspaper there, I might be writing this blog from that very city.
Duluth is an American gem, and that is not hyperbole. Were it not that our children are firmly entrenched in their schools and social lives here, Shelley and I may have pulled the trigger years ago to pick up and move to Duluth. The combination of the outdoorsy lifestyle, Lake Superior and its new urbanish feel have to make Duluth one of the most desired locations to live in America. And if you do not know why I make that grand statement, then first of all, buy this book and read the Duluth chapter. (Read it all, but read the Duluth chapter first!)
And then you have to get on your Google machine and start reading up about this former Midwestern titan of an industrial city turned up-and-coming, hip and urbanized small city. You will not be disappointed in what you read, and you'll likely want start packing your bags too.
The other personal reason that the book intrigued me was that deep into the text, in a chapter on the city of Fresno, Calif., I stumbled across an interview with a local talk radio celebrity who explained his thoughts on Fresno. And I was thrilled to learn that I had once upon a time worked with the radio host, whose name is Christopher Gabriel. Some 10 or so years ago, he and I worked for the same media company in Fargo, N.D. He was in talk radio, and I worked in content on the corporate level, and our jobs would sometimes cross. Soon into my time at Forum Communications Co., Christopher up and took the job in Fresno. ... I, of course, am still at Forum Communications, which is headquartered in the city that shares a name with the 1996 dark comedy movie written, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen: "Fargo."
While Christopher only garners two paragraphs in the entire book, I was electrified to see the name of someone that I shared such a close connection with in a national best-selling book.
Finally, and likely most importantly, the book was about civic engagement and community activism, which is my third favorite subject matter after the church and the media. Frankly, the three seem to be one in my mind, by that is a discussion for another day. I have spent 25 years not only reporting and editing about the half dozen cities in which I lived, but I got my fingers dirty too. I have been involved in countless non-profits, coached youth sports and served as a civic leader in a myriad of ways throughout my professional career. And so to see a couple of writes delve deep into what makes a city that is up-and-coming, it checked all of the boxes on the list of things I want to see in a book.
Beyond just the personal reasons I found the book fascinating, I have to say that the writing is superb. In fact, in a book review published in the Star Tribune, our only statewide newspaper in Minnesota, it read: "Superbly reported, cleanly and briskly written, brimming with real-life solutions, this is a book for anyone who cares about the life of American communities." ... Which succinctly describes why you should pick up a copy. At this point, I won't even try to improve on that description.
This is a book I'd tell you to go find. ... Admittedly, on the "Spectrum of Nerdiness," it would appear way to the right, the positive measure side of nerdiness. And my wife, would probably ask me why I would even share a review of such a nerdy book. But I can't help it. The Fallowes managed to report and write a quintessential travelogue that is also educational and informative. Seriously, go find a copy today.
URGENT UPDATE: So, in the process of doing some reporting for this review, I discovered on The Atlantic's website that the Fallowes late in 2019 decided to reboot their travels across America and started to write about visiting other American cities during the turbulent times of President Trump's final year in office. They've added some new cities, and revisited old haunts. You can see more here. ... I may not ever finish reading the other hundreds of books in my library if the Fallowes continue to deliver!
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