"Suffice it to say that the best of such towns, in my opinion, have a stable year-round population that is reasonably compatible, a healthy, well-diversified economic life not dominated by one single industry, abundant recreational opportunities ranging from a decent library and movie theater to softball fields and a public pool, a community school in which parents and grandparents take a more than passing interest, a diversity of religions from which to select, and some mechanism by which the people at large can come together regularly for political and planning purposes." - Introduction, page 8.

"Because of the railroad, they saw themselves whole and complete once in the morning as the train went north and once in the afternoon as the same train headed back south, every day: and the fact that the train stopped at all simply reinforced the subconscious but vital psychological notion that they, as a...