The Great Oklahoma SwindleBoard of Directors Award for special merit, 2021 Oklahoma Book Awards Far from being a placid place in the heart of Flyover Country, Oklahoma has been a laboratory for all kinds of social, political, and artistic movements, producing a singular list of weirdos, geniuses, and villains. In a century, Oklahoma gave birth to movements for an African American homeland, a vibrant Socialist Party, and armed rebellions of radical farmers. In the same era, the