Who wants to read about Oklahoma City? Turns out I did.

Two years ago I read a book review of "Boom Town" by Sam Anderson. The review was so good that I put the book on my library list but somehow never picked it up in time, never read it and forgot about it. Because the public libraries were closing because of the virus, I raced into one last week and picked up a couple of books. One was "Boom Town" which just happened to be on a shelf I walked by.

The subject of "Boom Town" is Oklahoma City.  As in Oklahoma.  OKC.  Now, seriously, have you ever thought "Hmm, I would like to read an entire book about a city I have never even thought of consciously for more than three seconds."  Doubtful. If you are a basketball fan, you might have wondered about OKC when watching a Thunders game against the Warriors.  Or if you have a decent memory you will undoubtedly remember the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building which killed 168 people. But OKC doesn't figure much in the news on a regular basis and it isn't a travel destination.  It doesn't inspire poetic prose like so many other cities of the world: Paris, New York, Rome.

However, having just finished this very enjoyable book, I would have no problem visiting OKC for a day or two.  For one reason, Anderson has made the citizens of OKC seem resilient, pleasant, welcoming and proud. For another reason, as a person who is intrigued by US history, there are several things that occured there that would be worth investigating further: their Civil Rights struggle, the chaotic Land Run that created the state, the history of tornadoes, and a few other points of fact.

But the bottom line is this: for a book about a minor American city, Anderson has given us a very enjoyable history of a city, its people and promises.  It reads well, is funny at times and moving at others. His ride-along with the OKC Thunder basketball team is fun and insightful. The passages about the Federal Building bombing will move you to tears. Honestly, it will make you want to visit Oklahoma City very soon.