Bøger i The States of Mind Collection serien

Every town tells a tale - even the tiniest dots on the map. In SMALL WORLD, those dots constitute a trip around the world in 50 days. Bestselling author Brad Herzog travels from Paris (Kentucky) and Prague (Nebraska) to Cairo (Illinois) and Calcutta (West Virginia) in an attempt to find truth amid America's patchwork quilt of stereotypes and rumors. He marvels at a castle in Versailles, imbibes at a London pub, discovers a descendant of King David in Jerusalem and makes a pilgrimage to Mecca - all without leaving the U.S. Along the way, Herzog encounters a cast of characters as varied as the landscape - devout ranchers and devoted nudists, miners and migrants, artists and activists, hillbillies, hippies, hermits and Hare Krishnas. More than just a romp through small towns with grandiose names, SMALL WORLD is post-9/11 exploration of people struggling to survive in the nation's nooks and crannies. "We understand our world by expanding our reach," writes Herzog, "and it begins with the small world close to home."

Can you find love in Love, Virginia? Is there inspiration in Inspiration, Arizona? Wisdom in Wisdom, Montana? It is 1995, and young author Brad Herzog wonders if the cynicism of his generation reflects America or merely misjudges it. So he and his wife empty their bank accounts, pack everything into a Winnebago and set a course for the fine print of the atlas. The road takes them to Triumph, Louisiana, where they find a community twice destroyed by hurricanes and twice rebuilt. In Justice, West Virginia, half the population descends from the Hatfields and McCoys. Faith, South Dakota is a hailstorm, a grasshopper plague and a religious debate. Harmony, California is up for sale.What began as a literal search for the small places on the map becomes a figurative examination of virtues lost amid disillusionment. Equal parts whimsy and wonder, STATES OF MIND eloquently reminds us that large insight is the amalgam of small discoveries.*Recommended reading for nationwide AP Human Geography course.

It all began with an invitation to a college reunion, leading Brad Herzog to take stock: How has he measured up to his youthful aspirations? What constitutes a heroic life? So this modern-day Odysseus in Kerouac clothing embarks on a cross-country quest for insight. But instead of a voyage home to Ithaka following the Trojan War, this would-be hero is making his way toward his alma mater in Ithaca, New York. Starting with a view of Washington's Mount Olympus, Herzog makes his way eastward, delving into his own psyche and the lives of everyday heroes along the way. He meets a teacher in a rural one-room schoolhouse in Troy (Oregon), a lifelong hobo in Iliad (Montana), a bomb-diffusing soldier from Sparta (Wisconsin) and an 87-year-old paragon of reliability in Pandora (Ohio). TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE is a philosophical, historical and conversational trek across America and through the universal truths embedded in ancient myths. However, in the end it is simply the story of one man trying to find his way.

In 2020, millions of Americans anticipated the most important presidential election in generations against a backdrop of converging calamities: the worst health crisis in a century, the highest unemployment rate since the Depression, countless small businesses on the brink of demise, historic racial confrontation, cities and forests ablaze, and an autocrat in the Oval Office who only aggravated a nation's deep divisions. Democracy seemed to hang in the balance. America had reached an inflection point. So acclaimed travel author Brad Herzog decided it was time to take a drive, coast to coast. His goal: Immerse himself in the moment. Chronicle 2020 -- not in hindsight, but in real time. DETOUR 2020 takes the reader to Jamestown and Appomattox, Hazard and Dodge City, Metropolis and Roswell, the Little House on the Prairie and the Grand Canyon. Each stop allows examination of an American wrong turn -- entrenched and emboldened racism, xenophobia, conspiracism, science denial, uncivil discourse, toxic masculinity, misplaced idolatry, malignant leadership. With wit and insight, Herzog takes us on an expedition into the heart of a nation and its tragic deviations. Sometimes a beautiful drive isn't pretty.