Amazon.com description: Product Description: Rolling golden hills. Rivers converging to form a beautiful backdrop beneath the rising skyline. Children riding bicycles down oak-shaded streets. Glass skywalks linking the bustling boutiques and office towers of downtown. Covered wooden bridges that span the rural byways outside the city. People with a strong sense of tradition who are embracing the extraordinary future that lies ahead for Des Moines, Iowa. These are just a few of the elements that make this city a truly special place.

In these pages, communications specialist Julie Gammack leads an insightful tour of this booming Midwestern city. She traces Des Moines' transformation from a pioneer farming community in the heartland of America into the progressive cultural, manufacturing, and financial capital of Iowa, as well as the world's third largest insurance center.

With the aid of more than 250 colorful photographs edited by Iowa journalist Larry Erickson, Gammack offers a revealing look at the way Des Moines residents consistently come together as a community, whether to celebrate the state capital's Sesquicentennial or lend a hand stacking sandbags during the Great Flood of 1993. As shown in these images by the area's finest photographers, Des Moines delights in hard work, wholesome play, and the traditional American values of family, faith, and country.

Situated in the geographical heart of the United States, Des Moines is a great relocation point for businesses and individuals. Whether they come for the skilled labor pool or the wealth of job opportunities, they are delighted with the bonuses of beautiful scenery, friendly atmosphere, manageable size, varied cultural amenities, and terrific quality of life. It is evident that Des Moines is proud of its heritage as well as its vision for the future. And it's a city that greets visitors and new residents alike with true Midwestern charm. Open these pages and see for yourself.

Welcome to Des Moines.