The 100 Best Small Towns in America (2nd ed)

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Summary: Nationally Certified Relocation Specialist Loves It!
Review: I am a real estate broker and a nationally certified relocation specialist. I use this book as a preliminary step to help my clients get a feel for various communities within the United States. I used the '92 edition myself to determine the best place to move my own family. I can tell you that the information here is valid and generally a good reflection of any given community. As a result of this book my family and I are now very happily living and working in Poteau, Oklahoma, which is everything the book indicated. If you'd like to know more about this book, real estate, relocation services, or the area where I now live and work e-mail Shirley at [e-mail].

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Summary: Former Mayor of one of the Best Small Towns Speaks out
Review: I am the former Mayor of Poteau (Poe-Toe), Oklahoma which is included in the book "The 100 Best Small Towns in America" to live in. I know the author Norman Crampton and worked with him a lot, supplying him with truthful and accurate information on our town for the book. Mr. Crampton did portray our town exactly as it is, a place that Norman Rockwell would have loved. I have also had the opportunity to visit many of the other towns in the book and beleive that his portrayal of those towns is likewise very accurate, without bias. Since the first edition came out in 1992 we have had a great many families who have moved here as a result of reading the book. My wife and I now own Homestead Realty here in Poteau and I am happy to testify that Mr. Crampton's book is right on target....a good place to start looking for a great place to raise a family, rural America at it's best. "Diamond Don" Barnes Poteau, Oklahoma Mayor (1991-1995) E-Mail: [e-mail]

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Summary: Very Disappointed!
Review: I was looking forward to getting this book. Well, I just got it in the mail and am extremely disappointed with the information. Many of the towns I am very familiar with because I have either visited or done research on my own. The bottom line with this book is this: the information is not just old it is "very old"! Save your money, buy a different book, or just do internet searches. I wish I had.

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Summary: Author never visited my highly rated town!
Review: My town, Elko, NV, was rated #1. Mr Crampton did not bother to visit here. If he had it would never have made any good list. It was a boom town of trailers, pick ups, and four wheelers, populated by trashy people. It is now a bust town. Elko is only good if you want to buy a trailer the bank has repoed.

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Summary: Author never visited my highly rated town!
Review: This book is a collection of about 20 different statistics for each of the 100 towns. It would be time-consuming to do this research on your own, so I suppose some people will find it worthwhile as a starting point.

However, I imagine that most people interested in the subject are looking for a book that describes communities in ways that are more illuminating.

The only other information Crampton provides are quotes from town residents. But these residents are typically town boosters, such as members of the Chamber of Commerce and local politicians. The responses seem as though they were the result of a cursory phone interview or perhaps a survey form. The statements they provide are almost as uninformative as the statistics.

If you're looking for a book that will give you some idea of what it's like to actually live in these towns, look elsewhere. A town might look great on paper and still be a dreary place to actually live. It would have been nice if Crampton had at least visited the towns he promotes.

One final criticism. The book jacket advertises that diversity is one of the criteria upon which the towns were chosen. But the only thing that comes close to that is a statistic about the percentage of the population comprising youngish adults. There is no data on race, ethnicity, age (other than the one group mentioned), or income distribution. I believe Crampton should either include information on population diversity or stop advertising content that he doesn't provide.