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Superior, Nebraska Book Review: “A Superior Read”
While stopping in to the local Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism”, I had to do a double take when I saw a new hardback, non-fiction release bearing the name of my home town: “Superior, Nebraska.” The sub-title made me a bit suspicious: “The Common Sense Values of America’s Heartland.” Whose values, exactly, would the book be highlighting: Chuck Hagel’s or the average Nebraskan’s? 
I didn’t have time to peruse the book then, but later that evening did a Google search of the author, Denis Boyles. I was tickled to find that Mr. Boyles is a contributor to National Review Online, one of the best websites in the world. In fact, I had just read an NRO piece by Mr. Boyles taking the New York Times to task for the vapid hit piece it had recently pulished on John McCain.
Having the comfort that can only come to one when he sees that an author is a contributor to NRO, I returned to B & N and bought “Superior, Nebraska.” I’m glad I did.
Being a son of Superior, I cannot begin to summarize what an excellent job Denis Boyles did of capturing the essence of the geography, values, and sociology of small town Kansas and Nebraska. His writing style is winsome and vivid.
This will be just the first in a series of posts on “Superior, Nebraska.” For now, here is my Amazon.com review:
Denis Boyles’ affectionate portrayal of life in the heartland is not merely an exercise in sentiment (Boyles spent his boyhood summers in and around Superior, Nebraska (as did I)–hence, the title of the book.) Though the author is brimming with fond memories of his youth, he weaves his lively recollections together with current research into the thoughts, wit, and wisdom of the people who animate the small towns along the Kansas/Nebraska border.
The result is an entertaining and insightful look at distinctly Midwestern values like faith, family, civility, and community. Boyles’ shortand for this collection of attributes is “common sense.” He says that it is the region’s most abundant commodity and, “Too bad it doesn’t come in barrels, because there’s a huge reservoir of the stuff out there . . . .”
The author uses numerous interviews to help us get to know the people who shape the culture of this often overlooked (and expansive) part of America. He also does top-notch reporting on a number of contemporary debates that raged recently in Kansas–from court intrusion into public education funding to the state school board’s row over “science” standards. (How dare those “conservatives” point out that Darwin’s theory is a . . . theory?)
The book makes you want to visit places like Concordia, Lindsborg, McCook and Superior and meet their salt of the earth, three-dimensional inhabitants. Not a bad idea. By doing so, maybe a little of their common sense values would rub off on the rest of us.
Overall, a superior read.
Red State Rascals
March 10th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
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