Based on the enormously popular Prairie Home Companion , Keillor`s show on public radio, this collection of stories of modern Midwestern life skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller lists in the mid 1980s, and remained there. In this small Minnesota town, all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average. The book won the collective heart of the country, and critics found it impossible to refrain from quoting sizable portions of it in their reviews.