{"product_id":"the-lies-of-the-land-steven-conn-9780226845401","title":"The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is--And Isn't","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \"piercing, unsentimental\" (\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e) history that boldly challenges the idea of a rural American crisis.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It seems everyone has an opinion about rural America. Is it gripped in a tragic decline? Or is it on the cusp of a glorious revival? Is it the key to understanding America today? Steven Conn argues that we're missing the real question: Is rural America even a thing? No, says Conn, who believes we see only what we want to see in the lands beyond the suburbs--fantasies about moral (or backward) communities, simpler (or repressive) living, and what it means to be authentically (or wrongheadedly) American. If we want to build a better future, Conn argues, we must accept that these visions don't exist and never did. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Lies of the Land\u003c\/i\u003e, Conn shows that rural America--so often characterized as in crisis or in danger of being left behind--has actually been at the center of modern American history, shaped by the same forces as everywhere else in the country: militarization, industrialization, corporatization, and suburbanization. Examining each of these forces in turn, Conn invites us to dispense with the lies and half-truths we've believed about rural America and to pursue better solutions to the very real challenges shared all across our nation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Steven Conn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226845400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226845401\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/19\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.31lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.30d","brand":"Steven Conn","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47001094390015,"sku":"9780226845401","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0a990d4d-3c87-48db-bf36-a5113c1a222a.jpg?v=1751600048","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-lies-of-the-land-steven-conn-9780226845401","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}