Boom Town

I've never been to Oklahoma City; never before given it even the most cursory of thoughts. Then 99% Invisible ran a podcast episode based on this book, and darned if it didn't sound intriguing! It's a story of greed, corruption, bullying, racism, and somewhat more basketball than I would've preferred; yet Anderson writes so darn well that I read it all and even enjoyed it and recommend it. Beautifully constructed sentences, well developed story arc, tightly bound unifying themes, and genuinely moving human-interest perspectives all throughout. My biggest WTF is that he never mentions that Gary England, the semi-mythical tornado-forecasting hero, is an AGW denier; I believe readers would be well served to know this.

If you're reading these words it's likely because you're a friend of mine, which (probably) means you have no connection whatsoever to Oklahoma nor any interest either. Can I nonetheless encourage you to give this book a try? I'll lend it to you. It's informative, thoughtful, and above all enjoyable. I will likely live the rest of my life without any further thought of Oklahoma City or Oklahoma at all; still, I'm very glad to have spent the time I did with this book.