Being American on the Edge: Penurbia and the Metropolitan Mind, 1945-2010

The focus of this book is on the lifestyles and landscape patterns created by settlers in the countryside around America's largest cities. An hour's commute away from busy workdays Americans have created vibrant countryside wonderlands: more through the ideas of how country life should be than how heartland rural life oftentimes has been. In these places exotic animals graze while unfamiliar crops are nurtured by the willing soil. Leisure and pleasure meet, providing sanctuaries from cities and suburbs.