Denison, Iowa: Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Iowa History > Item 110
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Denison, Iowa: Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town
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by Dale Maharidge and Michael Williamson
Sales Rank: 311570
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List Price: $25.00
$19.00
At Amazon
on 9-14-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 272 pages
Published by: Free Press September 6, 2005
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 074325564X
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743255646
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
Weighs: 1 pounds
Reader Reviews
On occasion, I read two books at about the same time which can be an "odd couple" indeed. For example, this book and New York Stories. As editor of the latter, Constance Rosenblum focuses on what she characterizes as the "glories, frustrations, and peculiar appeal" of New York City and the same can be said of Maharidge's perspectives on Denison. Although there are many stunning differences between the two cultures, both exemplify the best and worst of what is often referred to as the "American Experience." With regard to this book, it is the latest of several collaborations by Maharidge and Williamson. In this instance, we accompany them during their search for "the soul of America through the secrets of a midwestern town." I do not recall being in Denison specifically but as described so vividly by Maharidge, the town seems very familiar...especially when I look at Michael Williamson's photographs. I am reminded of countless other small towns in the Midwest I visited in my childhood and adolescence, and then later while in college. Of course, they changed a great deal during subsequent decades (as have I) and that is one of the most fascinating subjects (among many) in this book. Children are born, grow up, and then most leave as soon as they can for better jobs, brighter lights, a faster pace, etc. A "dying" town is one which loses appeal to its youth as its economy irrevocably declines. There are more burials than baptisms. (This process of deterioration is effectively portrayed in Larry McMurty's novels The Last Picture Show and its sequel, Texasville, as well as in films based on them.) Many of those who remain have nowhere else to go or lack the desire to seek a better life elsewhere. Here are some key facts: About 60% of the state's college graduates leave. Denison's population is almost 8,000. Latinos comprise about 25% of that number. Meat packing plants are the backbone of Denison's economy. Maharidge and Williamson lived in Denison for a year. Most residents seem willing, at times eager to share their thoughts and feelings. Maharidge adds his own opinions from time to time, when appropriate. He also provides relevant historical information to establish a frame-of-reference. Denison adopted "It's a Wonderful Life" as its motto. As for that civic motto, proudly featured on a water tower, it is explained by the fact that Donna Reed is a native of Denison. As Maharidge suggests, the motto is true of many residents but certainly not of all. Similar to so many other small towns throughout the United States, Denison is in the midst of an especially difficult transition. With all due respect to the significance of shifting demographics, Maharidge and Williamson concentrate almost entirely on specific residents and what appear to be their representative human experiences. The "secrets" to which the subtitle refers are best revealed within the narrative. Of all the people with whom Maharidge and Williamson associated for more than a year, the one of greatest interest to me is Louis Navar. Consider this brief excerpt with which the book concludes. Navar has just landed a job doing a roof for Dick Knowles, a "nemesis" of two other residents, Al Roder and Ken Livingston. "I thought we were friends," one of them said. Read carefully Navar's response: "I told them it was business, that I do business with everyone, that in Mexico it is much rougher than here. You don't trust anybody, you are only a friend after you prove it, when it really matters. It is earned. You do business with people, and you shake hands and smile and call each other `friend,' but you're not really friends. You don't trust them. It is just business. So I am doing business with Mr. Knowles [and then extending his hand to the mayor]...and with you, friend." Navar has so many dreams but almost no illusions. His intelligence, passion, ambition, decency, and -- especially -- his energy and "street smarts" are precisely what are needed to revitalize Denison. In several respects, he is whatever future the town has. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out others co-authored by Maharidge and Williamson: And Their Children After Them: The Legacy of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Homeland, Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass, and The Last Great American Hobo. Also three books by William Least Heat-Moon: Blue Highways: A Journey into America, PrairyErth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country, and River Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America. If your preference is for relevant works of fiction, I recommend the short stories of Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor as well as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio and Edgar Lee Masters' poems, notably those in his Spoon River Anthology.
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Denison, Iowa: Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town
Available from Amazon
Price: $19.00
Updated on 9-14-2008.
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