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Summary: Message to us all
Review: Very rarely does a book come along that is entertaining, well written, insightful, funny, lyrical, intelligent, deeply moving and thought provoking all at the same time. "Message on the Wind" is just such a rare jewel. In this series of wonderful essays, Clay Jenkinson examines many issues, including the future of rural America and the Great Plains, Native American culture and race relations, spirituality, gender relations, academia, spirit of place and, ultimately, the soul of America. From his perspective as a humanities scholar and historian, and with great passion for his subject, Jenkinson uses these essays to encourage readers to examine some of the "big questions" confronting America as a nation and us as individuals, and does so in a way that is a delight to read. As he says in the Introduction, "I have no confidence that I have any answers, but I know well that I am on to some of the right questions." You will meet all sorts of interesting people who will become part of your world thanks to Jenkinson's great portrayals. Mike Jacobs, journalist, lover of North Dakota and revolutionary; Patti and Gary Perry, of Marmarth, N.D., a couple you would want in your corner in any crisis; several academics, some whiney and some wonderful; a lonely North Dakota bachelor, who we meet only through a peek into his house; some of the practitioners and supporters of the amazing art of Chautauqua; and many others. Through these people and the worlds they inhabit you will get a new and vivid view of a part of America that few of us are familiar with. If you have ever traveled the Great Plains, you most likely blew through them on your way to or from somewhere else. In this book, you will meet the landscape of the Great Plains in a way you have never met a place before. This book will fire your imagination for the role the plains could play in reviving the soul of America. This is a book for visionaries, thinkers, Americans of all stripes, and anyone else who enjoys a terrific read.
It will tear at your heart, make you laugh out loud, stretch your soul, educate you, entertain you and, most importantly, make you think and feel. It will make you long to visit the Great Plains, and perhaps have them become part of your soul and your life. As soon as you turn the last page, you will want to go back to the first page and start again. I would recommend that you buy at least two copies, and probably more, because once you have read it, you will want to give it to everyone you know.
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