3.5
Midwest Futures
ByPublisher Description
What does the future hold for the Midwest? A vast stretch of fertile farmland bordering one of the largest concentrations of fresh water in the world, the Midwestern US seems ideally situated for the coming challenges of climate change. But it also sits at the epicenter of a massive economic collapse that many of its citizens are still struggling to overcome.
The question of what the Midwest is (and what it will become) is nothing new. As Phil Christman writes in this idiosyncratic new book, ambiguity might be the region's defining characteristic. Taking a cue from Jefferson's grid, the famous rectangular survey of the Old Northwest Territory that turned everything from Ohio to Wisconsin into square-mile lots, Christman breaks his exploration of Midwestern identity, past and present, into thirty-six brief, interconnected essays. The result is a sometimes sardonic, often uproarious, and consistently thought-provoking look at a misunderstood place and the people who call it home.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesMidwest Futures Reviews
3.5
“I loved the first two chapters that explained the history of the Midwest and the history of the name. I think this book did a good job of sharing how the Midwest came to be. I think some of the opinions shared are different than my perspective of the Midwest as someone who was born, raised and went to school there but in different parts than being in Michigan that the author describes. I also think that his Midwest, although similar to mine, is from the shared perspective of someone 20+ years older than me. My Midwest shares some similarities and many differences than what the author describes. I think the 1.5 chapters on climate change are necessary but also detract from the previously expected history of the region. As a memoir, this book maybe should have had more personal antidotes rather than citing sources, but I also appreciated these sources because I liked reading about the nomenclature history. Overall, I did learn some things new about this Midwest, and I disagreed with the author on some points. I question his credibility since he is an English professor rather than a historian. Once again, I would have preferred more personal antidotes. Very good representation of the Midwest overall.”
“3.5/10
The author keeps to a 6 section (each with 6 sub sections of approximately 1000 words each) format in reference to the Midwest’s 6x6 mile grid from the land survey.
This is a cool idea but constantly it felt as though he would not be at the word count and ramble about his own personal life, twin peaks, or whatever else just to get to the word count. There are a few times where he is just listing stuff which made me roll my eyes as it was so apparent.
I found that to be a shame because within it, there’s a rich synopsis of the history of the Midwest (Native American displacement, the rail industry, industrial manufacturing, etc) that just gets bogged down by fluff.”
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