{"product_id":"midwest-futures-hardcover","title":"Midwest Futures - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePhil Christman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA virtuoso book about midwestern identity and the future of the region. Named a \u003ci\u003eCommonweal\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of 2020, a finalist for a Midwest Independent Book award, and winner of the Independent Publisher Awards' 2020 Bronze Medal for Great Lakes Nonfiction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Midwest: Is it middle? Or is it Western? As Phil Christman writes in this idiosyncratic, critically acclaimed essay collection, these and other ambiguities might well be the region's defining characteristic. Deftly combining history, criticism, and memoir, Christman breaks his exploration of midwestern identity, past and present, into a suite of thirty-six brief, interconnected essays. Ranging across material questions of religion, race, class, climate, and Midwestern myth making, the result is a sometimes sardonic, often uproarious, and consistently thought-provoking look at a misunderstood place and the people who call it home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs James Fallows of \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e noted, it's \"A combination of history, memoir, reportage, and lit-crit that taught me a lot about a region I've reported on.... Check it out.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who has ever wondered why being from the Midwest is synonymous with \"normalcy,\" even when nothing could be further from the truth. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA former substitute teacher, shelter worker, and home health aide, \u003cb\u003ePhil Christman\u003c\/b\u003e currently lectures in the English department at University of Michigan. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Hedgehog Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCommonweal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Christian Century\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Outline\u003c\/i\u003e, and other places. He holds an MFA from the University of South Carolina-Columbia. He is the editor of the \u003ci\u003eMichigan Review of Prisoner Creative Writing\u003c\/i\u003e, a journal sponsored by the University of Michigan's Prison Creative Arts Project. He lives in Ann Arbor, MI.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 150\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 7.4 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 07, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51769792430368,"sku":"9781948742610","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/db6f6e51ada77100aafc3b95897fd6e5.webp?v=1780356759","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/midwest-futures-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}