Denison, Iowa : searching for the soul of America through the secrets of a Midwest town

the long version

Denison, Iowa, is as close to the heart of Middle America as it gets. In many respects, life is pretty good here: it's a quiet town, the crime rate is low, the schools strong. For outsiders looking in, there is something familiar and comforting--it conforms to the picture of the heartland which we think we know so well. 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. For many years, journalist Maharidge and photographer Williamson have made it their business to document interior America. They lived in Denison for a year, among the 8,000 people who live, love, work, run for office, go to school, and sometimes struggle to get by. Here they trace the intersections of lives, the successes and failures, the real stories beneath Denison's mom-and-apple-pie surface.--From publisher description.