How Fargo of You: Lessons in Kindness from America's Most Surprising Success - Softcover

Marc De Celle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0983092818 ISBN 13: 9780983092810

Publisher: How Fargo of You, 2012

Synopsis

What's with North Dakota? Why is this remote state at the top of the country at or near the top of almost every 'best of' list these days? 'How Fargo of You' is the easiest, most engaging, funniest way to find out.

When Marc de Celle and his family moved to Fargo, strange things started to happen...

Three extremely capable teenagers they didn't know helped them move in... expecting nothing in return! A carpenter they met at a rock concert did exceptional work for them... then insisted it was a housewarming gift! An unknown couple in a restaurant paid for their meals... and left without telling them!

Then they watched this culture of anonymous kindness beat back natural disaster and sidestep the Great Recession. At first, whenever these things happened, they were speechless. But one day, they finally found the right thing to say...

How Fargo of You!

'I'd lived in Arizona and California all my life,' de Celle says, 'and moving to Fargo was like landing on a different planet with a different species!' De Celle, whose previous writing is scientific, turns out to be a funny, relaxed, incisive storyteller as he takes the reader along on his personal journey into finding out what makes America's most surprising success tick.

About this title

About the Author

Marc de Celle is the author of How Fargo of You, the acclaimed runaway bestseller in North Dakota now making its way across the rest of the country. De Celle combines humor with a scientific eye: His previous work includes the acclaimed 2004 report Anticipating Crisis, which warned of accumulating risks to U.S. infrastructure before these dangers were widely recognized, garnering accolades from leading scientists, authors and experts across a wide range of fields.

'One of the weird things about North Dakota,' de Celle says, 'is that people actually think ahead and solve those kinds of problems before they happen - the annual crisis of winter trains Dakotans to do that. So after moving to Fargo, I had to find something else to write about, and I'd already come up with this expression, 'How Fargo of You,' for all these strange, generous, smart ways the locals have of doing things...'

Marc lives with his wife, Charlene, and their two children, very happily just north of Fargo.

Review

'A gifted writer reminds us of the remarkable people and stories that make America great. With most of the emphasis on bad news these days, it is refreshing to read a book that spotlights the unique and wonderful things that happen around us every single day - especially in the Northern Prairie.' --Senator Byron Dorgan

'How Fargo of You made me laugh out loud with tears in my eyes! Marc de Celle gives the world an inside view of Northern Prairie Culture seldom seen by outsiders, while reminding those of us who call Fargo home why we re so lucky to live here.' --Kerstin Kealy, Anchor, WDAY TV, Fargo

'If I've learned anything from living in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, there can be no doubt it's the people who make a city what it is... and in Fargo, the people make this town a paradise of humanity. You soon learn there's substance to Marc de Celle's phrase 'How Fargo of You,' and he captures the magic with heartwarming style. How Fargo of him!' --Christopher Gabriel, The Christopher Gabriel Program

Edition details

• Publisher: How Fargo of You
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0983092818
• ISBN 13: 9780983092810
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 319
• Editor: Marc De Celle
• Illustrator: Marc De Celle