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Denison, Iowa
Searching for the Soul of America Through the Secrets of a Midwest Town
Table of Contents
About The Book
But something new and unfamiliar is happening in Denison, and traditional viewpoints and partisan labels don't quite capture it. The change goes beyond the post-9/11 loss of innocence; the sense of unease and, in some cases, of rebirth began well before 2001. Relations between the growing Latino population and the established Anglo citizenry are not always smooth. The industries that still predominate have become a mixed blessing for many people -- in the 1980s the meat-processing plant, for instance, froze wages, and they have remained basically static to this day.
For many years, Dale Maharidge and Michael Williamson have made it their business to document interior America. In 1990 they won the Pulitzer Prize for their book And Their Children After Them, a conscious homage to the 1941 classic Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans. To gather their observations and insights on Denison, Maharidge and Williamson lived there for a year, spending time among the 8,000 people who live, love, work, run for office, go to school, and sometimes struggle to get by there. From the Lutheran woman who singlehandedly teaches English to Latino immigrants seeking grueling work in meatpacking plants to the leaders who struggle to rescue the community from economic ruin to the Latino businessman whose career is saved by two white men risking the wrath of small-town politics, the author and photographer trace the intersections of lives, the successes and failures, the real stories beneath Denison's mom-and-apple-pie surface.
Through Maharidge's gorgeous, plainspoken prose and Williamson's stunning photography, we are privy to a sweeping perspective layered with a microscopic depth of observation, and a searingly honest portrait tempered by heartfelt compassion. Denison, Iowa is a big, beautiful book about a small town at a critical time in our history -- and it's the crowning work of a brilliant, quarter-century partnership.
Product Details
- Publisher: Free Press (June 10, 2008)
- Length: 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9780743255660
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Raves and Reviews
"Denison, Iowa is a work of prophetic journalism -- Sherwood Anderson channeling Garcia Marquez in Jack London's voice. Maharidge has captured an epic story of profound cultural change in one midwestern town, rooted in the nation's indigenous past, coming of age in the Pax Americana of Donna Reed, transforming itself once again today as Latinos find a new home -- en el mero centro de America. What emerges is a moving, cautionary tale for American times to come."
-- John Phillip Santos, author of Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, National Book Award Finalist
"If you want to find out what much of small-town rural America is all about, read this book. Dale Maharidge lifts the lid to a simmering stew of racism, greed, isolation, gossip, and -- yes -- true American spirit. Maharidge nails it all in Denison, Iowa."
-- Stephen G. Bloom, author of Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
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High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Denison, Iowa Trade Paperback 9780743255660
- Author Photo (jpg): Dale Maharidge Photo Credit:(0.1 MB)
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