An examination of town building in the Great Plains. Form and consequences of inhabitation of the plains landscape are explored, from the rural roads and farms to industrial parks. Main Street, once a humble commercial lane, now extends to an international airport. Here, Stone argues, the formation of towns has been based largely on the play of economic forces, without sentiment or prior attachment to place. In envisioning humane and rational improvements, he suggests that the older notions of sentiment be left behind in order to come to terms with the unfolding realities of the dispersed city.