{"product_id":"the-lies-of-the-land-seeing-rural-america-for-what-it-is-and-isnt-paperback","title":"The Lies of the Land: Seeing Rural America for What It Is--And Isn't - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eSteven Conn\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \"piercing, unsentimental\" (\u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e) history that boldly challenges the idea of a rural American crisis.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\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.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSteven Conn \u003c\/b\u003eis the W. E. Smith Professor of History at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of many books, most recently \u003ci\u003eNothing Succeeds Like Failure: The Sad History of American Business Schools\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.72 x 8.94 x 6.14 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 04, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47521340129501,"sku":"9780226845401","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/qkQFirE_t19780226845401.webp?v=1772256489","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/the-lies-of-the-land-seeing-rural-america-for-what-it-is-and-isnt-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}