My Kind of Midwest
Omaha to Ohio
Distributed for Columbia College Chicago Press
In engaging prose, Jakle chronicles his childhood and adult life in the Midwest interwoven with a look at the region’s geographic and cultural history. My Kind of Midwest reveals that the region is more than just a group of “flyover states,” as Jakle tells a engaging narrative that recounts his youthful explorations of the flourishing cities of Detroit and Chicago in the 1940s; the rapid growth and importance of gateway cities such as Omaha, Kansas City, and Cincinnati along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri rivers; and the integral role of tourism to Midwestern states’ economies.
An intimate and compelling narrative of one man’s connection to the American landscape, My Kind of Midwest will be essential reading for all those with ties to the heartland.
“My Kind of Midwest is an original take on a uniquely American region. I can think of no other book with which it compares. Jakle not only describes the essence of the Midwest as a place informed by his own life experiences, but he also explains how human geography can effectively evoke the reality of a region as large and complex as the Midwest.”
“As someone whose age, regional background, and professional interests are similar to the author’s, My Kind of Midwest was somewhat eerie to read. Move the setting a few hundred miles west and Jakle’s life seems to be mine—even down to the part about two daughters. Jakle has captured his (and my) home place well, and all of his arguments and observations ring absolutely true. The book is both warm and wise.”
Preface
The Midwest is My Kind of Place
A Hoosier Holiday
Some Family History of My Own
Travel as a Learning Experience
A Geographer in the Midwest
The Midwest as a Region
Rethinking the Midwest
Coda
Gallery: The Midwest in Pictures
Notes
Suggested Readings
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Geography: Cultural and Historical Geography
Travel and Tourism: Travel Writing and Guides
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