So, the book is already making a bit of a splash nationally. Last week the Urbanophile ran the book’s first chapter. The response has been very positive. Folks are reading about Cleveland and feeling it. Now, the piece, called Anorexic Vampires and the Pittsburgh Potty: the Story of Rust Belt Chic (the title is tweaked for the book), is up on New Geography, which is a leading cities site based out of North Dakota (home to Great Plains Chic?) The national response to the Cleveland movement has been great. And only one chapter has been released. Below is an excerpt:

And if you can say one thing about the Rust Belt–it’s that it’s authentic. Not just about resiliency in the face of hardship, but in style and drink, and the way words are said and handshakes made. In the way our cities look, and the feeling the looks of our cities give off. It’s akin to an absence of fear in knowing you aren’t getting ahead of yourself. Consider the Rust Belt the ground in the idea of the American Dream.