States of Mind - Softcover

Herzog, Brad

3.69

98 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743417828 ISBN 13: 9780743417822

Publisher: Gallery Books, 2001

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Can you find love in Love, Virginia? Is there inspiration in Inspiration, Arizona? Brad Herzog took stock of his Generation X lifestyle and didn't like what he discovered. So he and his wife emptied their bank accounts, packed everything into a Winnebago, and set a course for a fabled America they weren't sure existed.
What began as a literal search for the small places on the map became a figurative examination of the small places of the heart, a quest for virtues lost amid negativity and disillusionment. From Justice, West Virginia, where one-half the population descends from the Hatfields and McCoys, to Harmony, California, a town that's up for sale and can be yours for the right price, States Of Mind eloquently and intelligently brings into focus an American psyche often blurred by intersecting cultures -- and is, ultimately, an unforgettable journey all its own.

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From the Back Cover:

Is there love in Love, Virginia, or hope in Hope, Mississippi? Brad Herzog, a disillusioned Generation X-er and his wife traversed the country in a 34-foot Winnebago in an attempt to seek out the states of mind so elusive in the eyes of Americans today. They turned a literal search for small places on the map into a figurative examination of the small places of the heart.

In this journey across America, Herzog reports on the state of 18 tiny towns and villages. States of Mind goes beyond the traditional travel narrative, presenting the small town as microcosm and the hamlet as allegory.

For example, in Comfort, Texas, Herzog examines the concept of comfort as it applies to roots, loyalty to home, and America's nomadic tradition. He unearths the fact that the town, founded by German immigrants, is the site of the only Union monument on Confederate soil, dedicated to several dozen German freethinkers who refused to pledge loyalty to the Confederacy and were then slaughtered while trying to escape to Mexico.

Through its setting, its history, or its remarkable citizens, each town provided Herzog with a way to merge the literal and figurative. Triumph, Louisiana, located at the end of the Mississippi River, has been completely destroyed twice by hurricanes_and rebuilt twice. Freedom, Wyoming, is a state-line town founded by a Mormon polygamist escaping religious persecution. Half the population of Justice, West Virginia, consists of descendants of the infamous Hatfields and McCoys. Hope, Mississippi, is near the site where three civil-rights workers were murdered in 1964.

About the Author:

Brad Herzog, a graduate of Cornell University, is a former newspaper reporter and a frequent contributor to various national magazines. His memorable appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, during which he discussed States Of Mind, made him an overnight sensation. Brad lives in California with his family.

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