Book Review: Heart-Land: Growing Up in the Middle of Everything by Douglas Keister

Heart-Land: Growing Up in the Middle of Everything
by Douglas Keister (Biography Keister)

The title tells it all. Douglas Keister reminisces about growing up as the middle child, in the middle of the 20th century, in Lincoln, Nebraska – the middle of the US.

He does so with a humor that’s both sweet and laugh-out-loud:

July 4th – “My Fountain with Report was always a crowd-pleaser. Take a generic fountain, bore a small hole in the bottom, insert cherry bomb, secure with tape, light fountain. Just as the fountain was fizzling out, the last glowing embers would ignite the cherry bomb’s fuse, then a few seconds later there would be a spectacular explosion. The actual trajectory of the fireball was somewhat unpredictable which gave it a high rating on Doug’s Danger Scale.”

Weather – “Nebraskan’s are obsessed with weather. The prime reason is that most Nebraskans are rooted in an agrarian lifestyle – weather means dollars gained or lost. The second reason is entertainment value. Unlike states like California where there are endless days of bucolic sameness, Nebraska has real weather, often two or three seasons in the same day.”

He also touches upon a defining moment bonding most Lincolnites:

“By December (1957) the first seeds of my loss of innocence were sown. In safe, clean, white-bread Lincoln, Nebraska, a troubled young man and his 14-year-old girlfriend would do some terrible things – horrible, unthinkable things…By January 29th Lincoln, Nebraska was in lockdown. The governor called in the National Guard; Jeeps with mounted machine guns patrolled the streets and armed parents rushed to schools to drive their children home.”

Much of what he writes about are the same experiences we’ve all had in our youth. It feels as if we’re chatting with him over coffee and sharing stories. You’ll read portions of the book aloud to whomever is sitting next to you. This is a quiet, enjoyable, quick read that will stay with you.

[ official Heart-Land page on the official Douglas Keister web site ]

See also: Kim J’s review of Heart-Land from January 2015

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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