The Beauty of Their Dreams is the heartwarming story of people searching for love and meaning in a tumultuous world: In 1916 newlyweds Ken and Louise Adams arrive from New England in Illinois, the nation's agricultural heartland, just as one of the most convulsive periods in the nation's history gets underway: World War I; the great pandemic flu of 1918; prohibition; the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote; social discord in the early 1920s, and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Stephen Converse, Louise's uncle, a charming and successful businessman who brought Ken and Louise to Illinois, suffered a loss early in life that has left him wary of deep relationships with women. When he meets Clarissa Knowles, everything changes. David Adams grows up during the 1930's. Enraptured as a young boy with the idea of flying, he earns his pilot's license while in high school. He and his classmate, Laura Crocker, succumb to love despite their different outlooks on the future, but their plans for marriage and careers are upended by World War II. "A riveting, well-written story of the Midwest in the early 1900s, reminiscent of Jeffrey Lent's In the Fall. I thoroughly enjoyed it." --Harry H. Gaines, Author of Fitness Beyond 50. "History brought to life by a real storyteller. Follow a family living in the heartland as they confront daunting changes in American life and culture during the early twentieth century. The author's careful research makes for an engrossing, most enjoyable read." --Sandra Burns