Photographs by Will Counts; Text by Jon Dilts; Quarry Books/Indiana University Press, $39.95

Will Counts’ architectural photographs are simply gorgeous and Jon Dilts’ anecdotal descriptions remain entertaining even a second-time around. Don’t look for in-depth analysis, but do find reason to travel around Indiana to visit the old courthouses and to explore the communities in which they are located. Stop to talk with people, observe the way the community has progressed and how usage of the courthouse has evolved since it was built.

Presented in alphabetical order by county name with a state map showing location. Even as an arm-chair traveler, by book’s end you will have gained a story of settlement, communal values and civic pride and prejudice. However, the experience would be enhanced if the reader/teacher also would create with family and friends/students a chronological and/or regional progression of courthouses, as well as a listing under individual architects and another under architectural styles. Missing still is an index. Perhaps that’s another classroom assignment.