Ex-Library; 19 oz.; 276 pages; Ex library HC w/DJ Good + . The renowned American author, whose realistic novels about the South have become an integral part of our country's literature, follows a boyhood dream to visit Mid-America, the alluring territory adjacent to the "afternoon side" of the Mississippi River. Inspired by a legend about the length of shadows in this region, the author embarks upon a wide-ranging journey from Arkansas up through Missouri and Iowa into Minnesota, and from the Dakotas down through Nebraska into Kansas and Oklahoma. He finds the doings and sayings of the living people "more interesting than even the most likely tales perpetuated in volumes of folklore."