Alfred W. Lawson (1869–1954) was a professional baseball player, inventor of the airliner, leader of a movement in the 1930s calling for the abolition of banks and interest, and founder of a utopian community, the so-called Des Moines University of Lawsonomy. This unusual institution, constantly embroiled in controversy in the 1940s and early 1950s, was dedicated not only to teaching Lawson’s novel religious and scientific ideas but also to initiating a reform of human nature.

Lyell Henry is professor emeritus of political science at Mount Mercy College. He is also the author of Was This Heaven? A Self-Portrait of Iowa on Early Postcards (Iowa, 1995) and of articles on various topics of American popular culture. He lives in Iowa City with his wife, Gretchen, and two cats.