Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture

The two classic studies of "Middletown" were pioneering works that examined the daily life of a typical small American city—in actuality, Muncie, Indiana—using the approach of social anthropology. The initial volume was published in the mid-1920s, when H. L Mencken called it "one of the richest and most valuable documents ever concocted by American sociologists." The sequel, Middletown in Transition, returned to the same community in 1935, after six years of the Depression. Of enduring interest to students of sociology, these historic studies have also inspired a six-part television series, under the title "Middletown."