Places of Grace: The Natural Landscapes of the American Midwest [Hardcover]

Gary Irving (Author), Michal Strutin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

This stunning collection of photographs uncovers the mystery and beauty of a part of the country that for most people is hidden in plain view. "Places of Grace" reveals both the physical splendor and the natural history of a ten-state region encompassing Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. The Midwest is full of useful, productive lands, a "breadbasket" ideally suited to raising crops and livestock. There is another Midwest, however, marked by lands that historically have resisted human purposes: the dark swamp forests of the far north, Nebraska's arid Sand Hills, the rockbound Flint Hills of Kansas. Such lands as these, although difficult to cultivate, are valuable in terms not calculable in units produced or metric tons shipped. Many have been preserved as national parks or wildlife refuges. All hold secrets for the careful observer: "Above a twisted sandstone gorge, golden autumn leaves drift thickly over the floor of an Indiana hardwood forest, their crunch underfoot releasing crisp, earthy odors. A copper and gold tall grass prairie shimmers under the sun from horizon to horizon. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the setting sun hovers - red as a blood-range - just above Lake Superior's cool blue horizon as the laughing cry of a loon rises from behind a screen of balsams. On the vast plains, heat lightning ripples from a central point, netting the sky with white fire..." [from Strutin essay]. Open "Places of Grace" and be guided through forest, wetlands, and prairie into the heart of the undiscovered Midwest. From the prairie grasses of western Nebraska to the boreal forests of Michigan's upper peninsula, this spectacular volume delights the eye and fires the imagination with unexpected images of lands that yet retain the marks of their primeval origins. Presenting a counterpoint of vast expanse and luminous detail, Places of Grace celebrates the rich visual texture and fascinating past of the heartland. Gary Irving's extraordinary photographs and Michal Strutin's elegant prose combine to create a penetrating, vivid, and unforgettable sense of place.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With Places of Grace, [Irving's] 1999 collection of color landscapes, Irving expands his geographic range as well as his artistry with the panoramic camera... What a lovely collaboration this book is. Like Irving's painterly panoramas, Strutin's essay creates beautiful images too: 'Along a mist-shrouded lake in northern Minnesota the dark figures of conifers lean over the water like crowds around a steamy cauldron.'" - Ginny Lee, Illinois Times "[Strutin and Grace] created a book that is as dramatic, graceful and serene as the landscape both so obviously love... Irving's photographs are the perfect image for Strutin's words. Each photo is Irving's collection is stunning in its own way... How rare to find words and pictures that match each other in level of excellence- a combination that works to fire one's imagination." - Joanne Zerkel, The Star "Irving's photographs capture the diversity of Midwestern landscapes - from colorful autumn leaves in Ohio to the grass prairies of Iowa; from the dunes of Michigan to the rapids of Wisconsin; from the flowering dogwoods of southern Illinois to the sandhills of Nebraska." - Ralph Loos, The State Journal-Register "Reveals, page by page, the beauty and wonder of the Midwest, from its flat and haunting prairies to cool and shaded glades. If you're a Midwesterner, you will be grateful for the book's understanding of the beauty of your home, if not, your eyes will be opened." - Where St. Louis "The remarkable photographic skills of Gary Irving are strikingly displayed in Places of Grace... Rather than the grand vistas of America's western states, the beauty of ... [the midwestern states] is more intimate, more alluring: leafy forest rooms, shimmering mist-draped lakes, grass-edged sand dune paths, precipices of rock formed by glaciers. The book's opening is a thoughtful natural history of the region by Michal Strutin." - Shelby Paxton, Delta Sky Magazine "Unlocking the great variety of landscape that exists just beyond the edges of the highways I traveled, [Irving and Strutin] explore in both words and images the hidden places... It is difficult to say which is more stirring - Strutin's elegant prose, or Irving's inspiring photographs. In the end it doesn't matter. For what they leave me is a landscape of long-swirling grasses, leaf-tangled streams, imposing bluffs, and darkly reflective lakes, a sublime solitude in which even Wordsworth would have felt at home." - Virginia Quarterly Review "A beautiful book. Neatly balanced between a well-written text that explores the varieties of midwestern landscapes and an impressive array of stunning color photographs, Places of Grace presents the terrain of the central United States with an unusual range and sensitivity... Irving's photographs are the crowning glory of this book. Not unlike the spectacular scenes made famous by Eliot Porter, they are visual symphonies of color and natural phenomena, each offering a metaphorical journey into another world. Often literally glowing with atmosphere, they present everything from quiet bogs and early spring woodlands to sweeping vistas from bluffs and prairie rises." - Joni L. Kinsey, The Annals of Iowa

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252023234
• ISBN-13: 978-0252023231
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 10.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,981,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Collection of Landscape Photographs I've Seen!, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Places of Grace: The Natural Landscapes of the American Midwest (Hardcover)

Mr.Irving has had some wonderful books in the past,but "Places of Grace"is not only his finest,but is the best collection of landscapes i've seen in a long time!This book is a must for anyone interested in the finest of landscape photography!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amber waves of grain and hallowed haunts...., November 3, 2001

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Places of Grace: The Natural Landscapes of the American Midwest (Hardcover)

PLACES OF GRACE consists of a series of stunning photographs by Gary Irving and an essay by Michal Strutin. The book covers states in the upper central plains--Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana, although as Strutin notes, some would include other areas.

Strutin asks--what is the American Midwest? She outlines what she thinks comprises the area and discusses the forests, wetlands, huge fresh water lakes, and prairie that can still be found throughout the region. She imagines what the first European explorers must have seen when they arrived. She says, for example, the word prairie is French for meadow. French explorers were the first Europeans to travel extensively through the American plains. They saw the amazing wide open spaces where grass grew 10 feet tall and lacking any other word, likened it to their own grass meadows back home. The French named many places from Des Moines to Des Plains.

Strutin says conservationists are working to restore parts of the prairie to their natural state. She explains some of the research involved in determining the correct proportions of Asclepia (Butterfly Weed); Echinacea; Daisy; and other flora in a region that contains one of the three major U.S. flyways for birds, butterflies and other migratory animals.

PLACES also contains photos and text about non-prairie areas in upper Michigan and Wisconsin where hugh forests once existed as anyone who has ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS or heard of Paul Bunyun knows. Even today this area is a source of timber and home to many paper mills, though a good deal of the timber is being recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan where it landed a century ago.

Irving and Strutin could have called their book HIDDEN PLACES OF GRACE. There are many wonderful nooks and crannies that somehow escaped the developer's axe, and today are protected in one way or another. This is an interesting and beautiful book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous pictorial, October 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Places of Grace: The Natural Landscapes of the American Midwest (Hardcover)

A very well composed book featuring fabulous photographs with vivid colors and composition- enjoyable page after page. Books like this succeed for me when I desire to visit these locations. Well done!

Good production values overall make this a nice addition to other landscape photography books. Highly recommended.