I spent my first 28 years in Ohio but haven't lived there in over 2 decades, but visit my family there often. I thought this was a fascinating and well researched book and a wonderful counterpoint to Hillbilly Elegy. Why didn't this book get more attention? It may be an apples to oranges comparison, but this book is imbued with the author's voice, but make well reasoned and an non-emotional case for the what it's like to be a part of Ohio and why it's a critical and important state.

I feel like I learned so much about my home state and saw the challenges and the point of view of its residents in a way I haven't experienced before.

This author is embedded in the community as opposed to others who have bailed, pointed fingers, flip flopped and returned out of their own self interest.

Ohio is where people are raised to be polite and to be prepared for the worst. In this, an election year, it also is a place with unprecedented political clout. Since 1896, Ohio’s voters have voted for the winner in twenty-nine of thirty-one presidential elections, and it is the only state to have chosen every winner since 1964. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.
“Barnstorming Ohio” is David Giffels’ personal journey though the political buffet that is Ohio, its cities, its farmland, and its diverse population, searching direction in this time of progress, conflict, and uncertainty. He shares the story of tractors, factories, empty malls, professional football, rock ’n’ roll, the airplane, and chewing gum. He finds that Ohio has a little of everything, and an abundance of nothing. Ohio’s varied regions represent a microcosm of the nation overall, and if a candidate appeals to Ohioans, he or she probably appeals to most regular folks

“Barnstorming Ohio” was not the book I expected. It is not a description of typical yet unique state that reflects America but rather an “I told you so; look what you did,” an exposé on past politics, and a “shame on you” reflection on the political situation today. I received a review copy of “Barnstorming Ohio” from David Giffels and Hatchette Books. It was not an impartial portrait of a place that is culturally rich, economically distressed, and uniquely American. It was a polarizing portrayal that makes talking rationally about politics difficult.

Barnstorming Ohio by David Giffels is a very rational and even-handed examination of how Ohio has become such a barometer for the political mood of America. Giffels talks about Ohio as being many different places that encompass the American divide such as: farm country, big cities, former factory towns that have since gone dormant, and virtually everything in between.

There’s a Midwestern heart in sincerity in the story of Ohio and the people who Giffels interviews. While I may not agree with some of these folks politically, I could feel and understand where they were coming from which in politics 2020 is quite remarkable. Emotionally, this book left this reader caught somewhere between optimism for the future and a concern that events may still drag us towards further pessimism and cynicism.

It’s hard to produce a rational political book in 2020, but David Giffels both produced a compelling book about the state of American politics in 2020 and a book that makes Ohio sound like an amazing place to live.

What an impressive read! As a Toledo resident that has visited all parts of the state, it is remarkable how much these stories reflected the bits and pieces I knew about them. They are very different regions - but yet at heart, still the same. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in a slice of America.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped. I learned a lot though even though having family in all parts I still learned so much.

As a series of well-written shorter pieces highlighting different folks in Ohio, this book works well. But the overarching political narrative got lost for me in this one.