by Bill Geist
First published 2008
Bill Geist ventures into America's most isolated communities, from California to Nebraska, discovering the extraordinary characters who call these places home. In towns with names like Moonshine, Fruita, and Nederland, he encounters residents who organize stationary parades because their settlements are too small for marching bands. He meets a mail carrier who delivers letters and packages by mule through the Grand Canyon. In the Midwest, he finds a photographer who has spent thirty years capturing portraits of cattle as fashion models. Geist presents these curious inhabitants and their unusual customs with warmth and intelligence. His journey reveals the valuable traditions that exist beyond urban life, offering readers a chance to see past their own familiar surroundings. The book celebrates the quirky soul of small town America, far from major highways and metropolitan centers.
Genres: travel, sociology, non-fiction, americana
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
Setting: America, California, Nebraska, Moonshine, Fruita, Nederland, Grand Canyon, Midwest
Period: 21st-century
Paperback