Mellifluous Republic.

“Like other broad-minded and big-hearted works of American culture from the first half of the 20th century — H.L. Mencken’s American Language, John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy of novels, the Federal Writers’ Project American Guide series, Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music — Names on the Land reflects a glorious union of two primal forces in the American mind. On one hand, Americanism: the inclination toward the large-scale and industrial, toward manifest destiny and the farthest shore…On the other, Americana: the craving for the local and the lo-fi, for the inward heart of things, for the handcrafted and the homemade.” In Slate, Matt Weiland sings the praises of George Rippey Stewart’s Names on the Land.