About the Author

Best known for his short-short stories about "the boys," Jim Heynen has published widely as a writer of poems, novels, nonfiction, and short fiction. His stories about the boys have been featured often on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." The most recent collection of these stories, The Boys' House, was named Editors' Choice for Best Books of 2001 by the Bloomsbury Review, Newsday, and Booklist. He wrote the text for Harker's Barns: Visions of an American Icon, with photos by Michael Harker (Iowa, 2003).

Everett W. Kuntz bought his first camera in 1939 for $12.50. As he grew, Kuntz photographed his hometown of Ridgeway, Iowa and stored the film in shoeboxes. It was only after 60 years that he was financially able to print the last of his film, which can be found in Sunday Afternoon on the Porch. Kuntz died a year later, in 2003, after a long battle with cancer in his home of Mounds View, Minnesota.

Reviews

These pictures, resting like treasures in a time capsule from 1939 until now, are delights. They will take you backward almost 70 years. They show you the faces, fields, and porches of an America before World War II, a rural, almost innocent world. A little nostalgic? So what. Never has a country needed a little sane nostalgia more than this one. The photographs are garnished by Jim Heynen's quick, witty, affectionate commentary. It nudges us smartly into the time capsule ourselves. If 2007 looks insane to you, peruse for a while this lovely, charming book that reminds us of what we used to look like - even sometimes be like. - Bill Holm