The Midwest Survival Guide: A Field Guide to the Midwestern Species
The Midwest Survival Guide by Charlie Berens is a hardcover, full-color field guide to Midwestern culture from the comedian and journalist behind “The Manitowoc Minute.” It treats the Midwest like a species worth studying: the neighbor who waves from two football fields away, the relative who apologizes when you step on their foot, and the friend who turns “goodbye” into a four-hour event.
This is the book to hand a coastal partner who is meeting the in-laws, or a coworker who still says “ope” after bumping into you. It is a New York Times bestseller with illustrations, sidebars, quizzes, and jokes, so it works as a read, a flip-through, and a gift for the right person.
What Makes This Midwestern Field Guide Stand Out
- New York Times bestseller: Written by Charlie Berens, creator of “The Manitowoc Minute.”
- Full-color culture guide: It explores how Midwesterners talk, love, work, drink, and eat.
- Ranch and casserole territory: The humor runs through dating rituals, corporate corn silos, four-way stops, and backyard brat fries.
- Visual and interactive: Illustrations, sidebars, quizzes, and jokes break up the reading.
- Hardcover keepsake: At 304 pages and 2.15 pounds, it has the heft of a gift book.
Who It Makes a Good Gift For
Give it to a Midwest transplant who has been caught in a four-hour goodbye and needs the field notes to prove it. It suits a coastal partner meeting the in-laws for the holidays, especially one who has already been waved at from two football fields away and wants to understand the apology reflex before dinner.
It also fits Secret Santa and white elephant exchanges for coworkers who still say “ope,” plus birthdays, housewarmings, and Christmas gifts for anyone who has strong opinions about ranch. For a born-and-bred Midwesterner, it is less a manual than a mirror—and for everyone else, it is a funny way to study the locals. A housewarming host gets a laugh before the first casserole arrives.
What to Know Before You Give It
This is a humor and culture book, not a pocket-sized travel guide. It is a first-edition hardcover in English from William Morrow, with 304 pages and dimensions of 7.38 x 1.12 x 9.12 inches, so it is better for a coffee table or gift table than a back pocket. The jokes lean on Midwestern references—ranch, casseroles, four-way stops, and long goodbyes—so it will land best with someone who enjoys that regional humor. If you are shopping for a reader who prefers fiction or a strictly practical itinerary, this may not be the fit.
Put it in the gift pile for the next in-law visit, housewarming, or office swap, and let the recipient find out why the Midwest is more than flyover country.