The Golden Book of Springfield

[2] In Lindsay's narrative, social and religious awakenings initiated by the citizens and spiritual influences lead to the transformation of Springfield - and more broadly, America - into a "practical City of God.

The book opens in 1920 with a gathering of the Prognosticators’ Club, which consists of, among others, a Campbellite minister, a Jewish boy, a black woman, and a skeptic, who offer a vision of Springfield in 2018 in prose derived from such varied sources as the Bible, Swedenborg, and Marx.

Friend delivers his vision of the events occurring, and the bright future he envisions for Springfield: In Chapter 3, Lindsay mythologizes the history of Springfield, Illinois, describing Hunter Kelly's pact with the Devil: In Chapter XV Lindsay describes how "when I am my American self the Thibetan boy takes me beyond the North Star and shows me the true Buddha.

After rising in popularity during the 1910s for his rhythmic, musical brand of poetry performance, the poet published his utopian vision and expected his career to turn in a similar direction.

Vachel's inability to turn his audiences’ focus towards the future, along with his deteriorating health and personal life, led to a severe decline that culminated in Lindsay's suicide in 1931.

In 1999, the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company reprinted The Golden Book, along with a preface by William Furry and an extended introduction by Ron Sakolsky.

[1] A major conflict in The Golden Book of Springfield is a war of the United States against Singapore, a nation incriminated for its worship of the Green Glass/Cocaine Buddha, but more broadly, their focus on materialism and cocaine.