NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "James and Deborah Fallows have always moved to where history is being made.... They have an excellent sense of where world-shaping events are taking place at any moment" —The New York Times • The basis for the HBO documentary streaming on HBO Max For five years, James and Deborah Fallows have travelled across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, the America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems—from 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. The Fallowses describe America in the middle of one of these creative waves. Their view of the country is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, the generosity and compassion, the dreams, and the determination of many who are in the midst of making things better. Our Towns is the story of their journey—and an account of a country busy remaking itself.

In October 2005 a conference honoring the contributions of Sinclair Lewis to Midwest and American culture and celebrating the friendship between Sinclair Lewis and Ida K. Compton was held at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Sinclair Lewis would no doubt have been flattered, and perhaps a bit surprised by the breadth of this conference in his honor. The fact that scholars, writers, students and readers gathered to discuss his work and its broader influence would have pleased him. He would have learned that readers still found stimulus for serious thought in his writing, and that his works can serve as a springboard to discussion of today’s societal issues, some of which might surprise him considerably. The papers selected from the conference entitled The American Village in a Global Setting consider elements of Lewis’ world through today’s lens. In Part I, his version of community is compared to that documented in other ways, including architecture and television. Scholars address issues such as anti-Semitism, theocratic communities, the Irish, and outdoor life. In Part II, the concept of community is expanded to the visions of other authors including his contemporaries, such as Martha Ostenso, Josephine Donovan, and Willa Cather, as well as more recent writers. In Part III, today’s social and cultural issues in America are addressed, expressing the global and interdisciplinary intent of the conference. And, last, Part IV continues the global theme, addressing international communities and pedagogical philosophies through film and literature.

"Many cities have a rich past. No one knows if many have a future" Richard C. Longworth Caught in the Middle, 2007, p. 28 "In the last six decades, no stagnant or decaying city has been globally or signifi cantly saved - never" David H. McDonald "More and more, federal and state governments are growing their already out-of-control fi nancial problems. Cities are on their own to sink or swim, now more than ever" David H. McDonald "Only two states in the nation have, over time, lost population. If the states are gaining population but the cities are losing, then it is the cities' fault" David H. McDonald "Occasionally a city will, usually by accident, 'back into' attempting growth in the right manner. It always works" David H. McDonald "Virtually no city has a workable vision of how to even achieve stability - let alone a return to vibrancy. Th is book presents such a vision and a clear path to beginning the process of stabilization and growth" David H. McDonald "Whatever is going to save your cities, it won't be government. Both political parties are largely trapped in the past, driven by a desire to protect old sacred cows"