Our Towns, James Fallows
Our Towns, James Fallows
6 Rating(s)
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Our Towns
A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America

Bestseller

Author: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows

Narrator: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows

Unabridged: 15 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/08/2018


Synopsis

***NATIONAL BEST SELLER***

A vivid, surprising portrait of the civic and economic reinvention taking place in America, town by town and generally out of view of the national media. A realistically positive and provocative view of the country between its coasts.

For the last five years, James and Deborah Fallows have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they have met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, business people, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign.

The America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems—from economic dislocation to the opioid scourge—but itis 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.

About The Author

JAMES FALLOWS has been a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly for more than thirty years. The author of ten previous books, his work has also appeared in Slate, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, and The New Yorker, among other publications. Honors he has received include a National Book Award and a National Magazine Award. He is a former editor of U.S. News & World Report and for two years was President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter.DEBORAH FALLOWS is the author of Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roxane on November 13, 2018

Not compelling. And clunky.......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on August 11, 2019

I’m not sure what to make of this. It works okay as a travel book; the towns sound interesting, with appealing museums, restaurants, and parks. Travel, however, is of secondary concern to the authors, and they could have skipped their descriptions of the coffee shops and biking trails and just focus......more

Goodreads review by Igrowastreesgrow on August 09, 2018

Everyone should read this book. It is full of information and examples on how to change a failing town or city into a prosperous one. It also shows that if you want to make any type of change in this world everyone cannot go into a city and hope to be noticed because very few ever are but going to p......more

Goodreads review by Deb (Readerbuzz) on August 11, 2024

Let me start with a story. Back in 2001, I worked for the U.S. Census Bureau. Many people don't know that the Census Bureau does much more than simply count the number of people in the US every ten years. There are ongoing surveys that Americans are asked to participate in. During my years with the C......more

Goodreads review by Deborah F Topcik on August 01, 2018

I was hoping this would be Charles Kuraltesq. Traveling around American and really connecting with people. However, I'm not buying a ticket to visit any of the cities/towns or taking out my checkbook to write a check to any of the organizations that were mentioned. It was dryly written and lacked an......more


Quotes

"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—and a fervent commitment to be there to see it happen. . . . In these cities, the Fallows argue, citizen participants are coping with declining industries, creating new civic cultures, assimilating waves of immigration, and collaborating across party-lines to revive everything from arts programs to tech seedbeds."—David Brooks, The New York Times

"A tonic of a book about the can-do America unready to succumb to rot."—Roger Cohen, The New York Times

"Reminiscent of Charles Kuralt's On The Road with Charles Kuralt, this unique look at the heart of America will bring hope and insight to readers. Highly recommended."—David Miller, Library Journal

“I’ve been waiting for this book for years....Buy this book....This country is more united than divided...and this book will prove it.”—Joe Scarborough, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC 

“Knowing the Fallows and their work, I assumed this new co-authored book of theirs would be typically savvy, sensitive, articulate and prescient. What I didn't expect was how a record of experiences of current middle American communities, through their lenses, would be such a page turner! I've guessed for many years that real change in this world would be effected by and within small communities--places where people feel connected and capable of impact on some larger scale. Our Towns is a monumental validation of that hypothesis—with real stories and real people, who are really getting things done. James & Deborah—thanks for your journey, your open and honest observations, and helping to shine light for us at the end of many tunnels.” —David Allen, author of Getting Things Done; the Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Our Towns will become a classic, joining the ranks of American odysseys from De Tocqueville to Dos Passos. The landscape unfurls beneath us; the language of different regions echoes in our ears. Most important, this book is a tonic for what ails us as a nation, a captivating story of energy and renewal across the land.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO, New America

“In the tradition of John Steinbeck and Studs Terkel, the Fallows have crisscrossed the country in search of the extraordinary strength and character of ordinary people and places. What they’ve found—in towns we know and others off the beaten path—should give us all great hope for the future.” —California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

“An illuminating trip through ‘parts of the country generally missed by the media spotlight’….Writing with lively curiosity and open minds, the couple have created textured portraits of 29 American cities, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Eastport, Maine, to Redlands, California…. A well-reported, optimistic portrait of America’s future.” Kirkus Reviews
 

“An eye-opening, keenly optimistic reminder of the strength of America’s vital center.” —Publishers Weekly