Zachary Michael Jack is an award-winning author of many books, including, most recently Country Views and Wish You Were Here. Jack is Professor of English at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, a seventh-generation Iowan, and a member of the board of directors for the Midwestern History Association.

This story of fatalism on the prairie is seamlessly grounded in references to American art, literature, and movies and to communal fatalism in classical literature. In this way, Zachary Jack's experiences become universal, extending far beyond Middle America.

- James Ballowe, author of A Man of Salt and Trees

Often beautiful and insightful.

- Anna Clark, author of The Poisoned City

Whether interviewing an Illinois casket-maker, an Iowa pastry chef, a retired Kansas banker, his farmer father, or just himself, Jack touches on the universal experience of exploring alternatives while understanding ourselves. He suggests we avoid abstract, distant, and often urban agendas, and preserve the home places which ultimately define us.

- David Pichaske, author of Bones of Bricks and Mortar

Jack makes a persuasive and elegant argument for the Middle American Gothic, detailed by writers and artists native to the region. Repression, hypocrisy, and empty righteousness play out in the wide-open landscape, pitted against the human inclination for passion. Much of this book rings true.

- Maurice Manning, author of Railsplitter

Scholars and readers interested in regional culture will benefit from the text, as will those who are studying contemporary entries into American gothic nonfiction. Recommended for classrooms in creative writing, sociology, anthropology, and American studies.

- Choice