The American Midwest: Essays on Regional History

In a series of often highly personal essays, the authors--all of whom are experts on various aspects of Midwestern history--consider the question of regional identity as a useful way of thinking about the history of the American Midwest. They suggest that the best place to find Midwesternness is in the stories the residents of the region have told about themselves and each other. Being Midwestern is mostly a state of mind. It is always fluid, always contested, always being renegotiated.