‘Our Towns’ authors to discuss their 100,000-mile journey

In 2012, James and Deborah Fallows began a years-long journey to explore America’s smaller communities, traveling by a single-engine, propeller plane. They chronicled their adventures in the book “Our Towns,” a collection of stories that depict civic and economic reinvention taking place across America.

“An Evening with James and Deborah Fallows,” sponsored by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, will bring the authors to Charlotte to discuss their travels across America. Register for this free, public event, scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

As the Fallows journeyed into the heart of America, they met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, businesspeople, city planners, students and entrepreneurs. The writers sought to understand the prospects of places that do not typically draw much notice, except during political campaigns or following natural disasters.

Their view of the country, chronicled in “Our Towns,” is as complex and contradictory as America itself, but it also reflects the energy, generosity, compassion, dreams and determination of many who are in the midst of making things better.

The Nov. 13 event with the Fallows begins with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the program at 7 p.m. Books will be available for purchase and signing after the presentation.

James Fallows is a writer and journalist, who has served as a correspondent for The Atlantic for many years. A former editor of the U.S. News & World Report, Fallows served as President Jimmy Carter’s chief speechwriter for two years. He has authored 11 books, and his work has appeared in the New York Times magazine, The New Yorker and The American Prospect. His wife, Deborah Fallows, is a writer and researcher who holds a Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics. She is the author of “Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language,” and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New York Times and The Washington Monthly.