For Lisa Knopp, homesickness is a literal sickness. During a lengthy sojourn away from the Nebraska prairie, she fell ill, and only when she decided to return home did she recover. Homesickness is the triggering event for this collection of essays concerned with nothing less than what it means to feel at home. Knopp writes masterfully about ecology, place, and the values and beliefs that sustain the individual within an impersonal world. She is passionate about her subject whether it be an endangered beetle in the salt marshes near Lincoln, Nebraska, a forgotten Nebraska inventor, a museum...

Offers a group photograph of the Midwest's interior landscape. This title includes an essay about the origin, history, and influence of corn. It explores childhood meeting with Frederick Leopold, youngest brother of the naturalist Aldo. It captures the inner character of the Midwest as Nature dictates it, people live it, and history reveals it.