Joseph Weber invites us to Fairfield in 'Transcendental Meditation in America: How a New Age Movement Remade a Small Town in Iowa” (University of Iowa Press, 220 pages, $18). The book is part of the University of Iowa Press 'Iowa and the Midwest Experience” series.

Weber is a journalist and associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He brings both an academic's interest in in-depth investigation and a journalist's gift for storytelling and clarity to his work. He introduces several questions in the book's opening pages, including one that drives much of the book: Can the TM movement regain its lost momentum and sustain itself now that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is gone (the guru died in 2008), or is the movement likely to follow a path similar to other utopian experiments that have largely faded into curiosities.

The chapters in 'Transcendental Meditation in America” read as though they were composed as separate essays. This leads to a certain amount of repetition from chapter to chapter. We are reminded often, for example, that the Beatles were enamored of the guru. But the book also has a logical momentum as we learn about the movement's history and then consider various issues-is TM a religion; what are its educational philosophies both in Fairfield and in public schools; to what degree is it a business-chapter by chapters.

Weber talked at length to both adherents and detracts, and he has a gift for bringing his subjects to life on the page. Here, he describes Gregory Guthrie, who teaches computer science at Maharishi University of Management:

'Guthrie, a tweedy sort who sports a jacket and tie in the formal style common at MUM, underscores [an] idea in a slideshow presentation…Balding and bespectacled, Guthrie brings to his classroom both a scientist's gimlet eye and the starry eye of someone focused on other realms.”

Weber, for his part, is focused on the earthly history, impact, and future of the TM movement. 'Transcendental Meditation in America” is an engaging account of a fascinating subculture.

Rob Cline is a writer and published author, marketing director for University of Iowa's Hancher and director of literary events for New Bo Books, a division of Prairie Lights.