Divine Magnetic Lands: A Journey in America
In 1973, at age 22, Timothy O'Grady left America for Europe. Over the next 30 years he watched as the American counter-culture crashed, wars were declared, and the country was attacked by air. Much of the world began to look at America in a new way and to wonder where the great democracy was heading. In an effort to solve this riddle, O’Grady returned to his native land in order to travel more than 15,000 miles through 35 states. He met academics, the homeless, war veterans, political activists, New Orleans rappers, billionaires, novelists, and a Ku Klux Klansman. At every city and town, there seemed to be a slightly different understanding of what America was, and where it was going. Part travelogue, part history, and part social study, this is a fascinating, grassroots investigation of the state of the country today.