Real Stuff

When Ivan Hutchcroft began writing letters to his mother in the middle of the last century, it never occurred to him that those writings would evolve into Real Stuff, a book that is part memoir, part eagle-eyed observation of this country and the people who make it tick. For example, the author’s viewpoint of state mascots: Why is Wisconsin called the Badger State? And even more perplexing, why are they proud of it? Michigan is the Wolverine State and Oregon is known as the Beaver State. Why are states fascinated with large rodents?