Muncie, the Middletown of America

Book excerpt: It was the publication of research conducted by Robert S. Lynd and his wife Helen Merrell Lynd in 1929 that transformed Muncie, Indiana into the barometer of social attitudes, customs, beliefs, and behavior in the American heartland. Recognized as the most widely studied mid-sized community in America, Muncie has attracted researchers and historians for nearly a century. A town which prospered in the 1920s, and survived the economic hardships of the Great Depression, Muncie has grown to become a prospering business community with a strong link to its rich past. Muncie: The Middletown of America explores the evolution of Muncie in a series of over two hundred black and white images. Spectacular photographs unveil Muncie's past, from the Ball Brothers, whose glass-making company gave the city its reputation in the 1880s, to exciting high school basketball and volleyball contests in the 1980s and 1990s. Striking imagery enables the reader to connect to the past and visualize how Muncie developed to where it stands today.