author

Orville O. Hiestand

A little-known American travel writer, he is remembered for a warm, outdoorsy celebration of the United States in the early 1920s. His surviving work invites readers to find wonder close to home instead of chasing it abroad.

1 Audiobook

See America First

See America First

by Charles J. Herr, Orville O. Hiestand

About the author

Orville O. Hiestand is a fairly obscure figure, and the clearest information available online is tied to his book See America First (1922). Wikisource identifies him as a writer active in 1922, and Project Gutenberg lists See America First as his best-known work.

That book was written in collaboration with Charles J. Herr and presented as a series of travel sketches about American landscapes and destinations. The tone, as described in public-domain listings, is reflective and enthusiastic about nature, travel, and the idea of appreciating the beauty of the United States.

Because reliable biographical details are scarce, it is hard to say much more with confidence about his life beyond his published work. What does come through clearly is a love of scenic travel and an early-20th-century belief that America itself was worth exploring in depth.