A New History of Iowa

by Jeff Bremer

The state of Iowa is largely unappreciated and often misunderstood. It has a small population and sits in the middle of a huge country. It’s thought of as an uninspiring place full of farms and fields of corn. But Iowa represents America as surely as New York and California, and Iowa’s history is more dynamic, complicated, and influential than commonly imagined. Jeff Bremer’s A New History of Iowa offers the most comprehensive history of the Hawkeye State ever written, surveying Iowa from the last ice age through the COVID-19 pandemic. It tells a new and vibrant story, examining the state’s small-town culture, politics, social and economic development, and its many diverse inhabitants. Bremer features well-known individuals, such as Sauk leader Black Hawk, artist Grant Wood, botanist George Washington Carver, suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, and President Herbert Hoover. But Bremer broadens the state’s story by including new voices—among them, runaway enslaved men who joined Iowa’s 60th Colored Regiment in the Civil War, young female pearl button factory workers, Latino railroad workers who migrated to the state in the early twentieth century, and recent refugees from Southeast Asia and the Balkans. This new story of Iowa provides a brisk, readable narrative written for a broad audience, from high school and college students to teachers and scholars to general readers. It tells the story of ordinary and extraordinary people of all backgrounds and greatly improves our knowledge of a state whose history has been neglected. A New History of Iowa is for everyone who wants to learn about Iowa’s surprising, complex, and remarkable past.

Genres: History

472 pages, Paperback

Published October 6, 2023

Reviews

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely not "leisure" reading. This is more of a textbook for high school and college students. That being said - I did learn a lot about the great state of Iowa, and as someone who lives in Indiana - a lot of it felt very familiar to me. Broken into three parts: Iowa to the Civil War, Iowa from the Civil War to 1929, and Iowa since 1929 - each part was then broken into 5 chapters or sections. This history book was very linear which made it easy to follow. I wish there was a little more about Iowa before it was a state, but I guess there wasn't much to write about prairie and the Indigenous tribes. I do appreciate that the author noted how homogenous and white the state was (and is) and discussed how hard it was for African Americans, immigrants, women, and LGBTQ folx. Very slow paced read, but informative. I can only imagine how hard it would be to condense an entire state's history into one book!

[Mike Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read and inclusive history of Iowa. I thought some topics, like the development of railroads, were too lightly covered, but it is still an excellent history covering from where we were to where we are.

Starting with the original Indian population, it proceeds to the Louisiana Purchase, the opening of the territory to settlement and continues on to the present. It touches on all the important topics. From the influence of immigrant and religious groups as they populated the state, the development of the territorial and state Governments, our farms, industries, our involvement in historical events such as the Underground Railroad, recessions, droughts, the Civil and World Wars. It follows the changes in our culture as the state grew. There is a focus on the experiences of normal citizens with endless references to letters, journals and remembrances. The last Chapter “Iowa in the Twenty-First Century” is filled with incredibly interesting and usable statistics covering topics like: economics, politics, shifts in climate and population ect.

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous history of the state of Iowa. Bremer has skillfully woven stories of people and their lives into a narrative history of the state. Gone are the dry details of state politics, and in its place are vibrant stories of all people of Iowa. I especially enjoyed the first few chapters on the early years of the state when it was inhabitated by the Native groups of Ioway, Fox, Sauk, and Meskwaki. It was nice to imagine the state before it was settled into nice, neat rows of cornfields. Bremer has also completed extraordinary amount of research in the writing of this book and I admire the skill it takes to weave together so many stories into one consistent narrative. This is incredibly hard to do and Bremer has done it seamslessly. My only complaint is that the book does get repitive at parts, but by covering so much variety, it is almost repition is unavoidable.

I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of the state. There are stories and information for everyone!

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Read-a-History-of-Every-State-in-Order-of-Statehood #29

[Mark Kloha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 12 - I’m glad he mentioned J Ding Darling. Also, Ch.12 is one of the best constructive narrative defense for the New Deal program.

I like how the author weaved individual personal stories into the larger narrative overall history of Iowa.

He ends Ch.20 with this - “The end of 2020 brought a close to one of the state’s most difficult years.” After reading this book, yes, 2020 was a challenge but so was every year and every era. I would not want to be the person to rank which years were the most difficult. Perhaps the author should read his own book and think about that particular sentence.