What exactly is the Midwest?  Kevin Koch’s search for the answer is equal parts natural history, memoir, and travelogue, and includes a chapter-long visit to all twelve midwestern states. From the headwater of the Mississippi at Lake Itasca, to Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail, to to Iowa’s Effigy Mounds, to Ohio’s Hocking Hills, Koch is an attentive and thoughtful guide, who leads readers to the natural wonders and beauty of America’s heartland.

Kevin Koch is Professor of English at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.