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authors, and musicians, and community theaters presenting works by local playwrights and about local topics. Interestingly, Flaccavento ran for US Congress in 2012. In chapter 7 (Transforming Politics from the Bottom Up: Unleashing a Community-Based Politics of Engagement to Overcome the Lobbyists and Moneyed Elites), he uses this experience to identify ways that communities can construct political conversations and governance structures that enhance deliberative and transparent democracy. Flaccavento begins by describing the influence of wealthy donors and corporations on political campaigns, and the misalignment of large donors’ priorities with those of less prosperous voters. Flaccavento stays away from partisan politics by narrowing his analysis to focus on ways that communities are downscaling their political conversations. In other words, steering voters’ attention to local issues and providing them with venues to authentically discuss these topics while remaining sheltered from national political distractions. The examples in this chapter illustrate the power of localized democracy to overcome national partisanship and gridlock. One unique aspect of Flaccavento’s work is that many of his examples occur in poverty-stricken Appalachian and Rust Belt communities. This choice challenges readers’ assumptions about the politics of rural localities enacting transformational change and applauds unrecognized communities that deserve attention. At the theoretical level, this decision illustrates the power of framing. Flaccavento’s cases demonstrate that innovations in sustainable development occur in red and blue territories alike. The case studies and policies presented can be described through the communitarian lenses of localism and sustainability just as easily as through libertarian lenses of home-rule and self-reliance. Consequently, the book offers an opportunity for rhetorical analysis of the discourse of rural sustainable development. One criticism I have of the book is that is does not illustrate the importance of systems thinking strongly enough. The themes of each chapter are highly linked and reinforcing, and Flaccavento’s descriptions could be made clearer with an explicit focus on the feedback loops and incentives that perpetuate challenges to prosperity in rural regions. Considering systemness would provide an opportunity to more thoroughly analyze the leverage points that local innovators are using to regain agency in their communities. The systems view could also enhance the line-of-sight linkages that connect Flaccavento’s theories and cases. Flaccavento could push the theory-to-case alignment of his work from translucent to transparent by creating socioecological systems maps or causal-loop diagrams that illustrate the interrelationships of the ecological, economic, cultural, and political sectors relative to the problems and solutions he raises. One of the remarkable accomplishments of Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up is its appeal to numerous audiences. I believe that elected officials at county and municipal levels, as well as local administrative officials such as city managers, planners, and economic development officers, can learn from the case studies and policy proposals included in the discussion. Flaccavento’s framing is broad and inclusive, and will be welcomed by readers across the political spectrum. Furthermore, while Flaccavento’s focus is on rural America, the transformations for which he advocates can be equally revolutionary for stakeholders in urban areas and international settings. Building a Healthy Economy is well situated for use by graduate students interested in planning, economic development, public administration, and leadership, governance, and sustainability. Particular chapters may be useful for advanced undergraduate courses. While many of Flaccavento’s examples stand alone, his descriptions leave room for students to dig deeper into the cases to uncover the mechanics behind each initiative. While Flaccavento justifies his support for new approaches to rural planning and sustainability through an economic lens, one does not need to be an economist to understand or find value in the book. In conclusion, Flaccavento’s Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up: Harnessing Real-World Experience for Transformative Change is a timely book that fits well into the current political dialogue, offering a significant contribution to the field of rural community planning, and will have wide appeal among students and practitioners.