How the States Got Their Shapes

by Mark Stein

book data

196 ratings, 3.17 average rating, 100 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		7%
4		27%
3		43%
2		17%
1		3%

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published

June 1st 2008 by Collins

binding

Hardcover, 332 pages

isbn

0061431389 (isbn13: 9780061431388)

description

Why does Oklahoma have that panhandle? Did someone make a mistake?

We are so familiar with the map of the United States that our state borders seem

...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 531)

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09/20/08

Ryan rated it:

Read in October, 2008

This book is divided into 50 short chapters, each detailing how a U.S. state acquired its shape. Easy to understand.

This book at first fascinated me. I love history, and I love maps even more. I can just sit and look at a map for hours, running my mind over the lay of the land. So, I was hooked. How did West Virginia get that little finger of land that reaches toward Pittsburgh? Why aren't Vermont and New Hampshire just one regular-sized state? Why did Wyoming take a bite out of Utah...more

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08/04/08

The other John rated it:

bookshelves: borrowed, curiosity, history

Read in August, 2008

Here's an intriguing book of trivia--a tome of a very specific historical niche. Have you ever looked at a state map and wondered why the border runs like it does? No? Er, well, trust me, there are weirdoes like me who love maps and sit and gaze upon all the little quirks and details. And there are some, like me, who have wondered why the heck Michigan has an upper peninsula or why Utah has that notch. Such secrets are revealed in this book, as the logic (or politics) behind each twist and turn ...more

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04/08/09

Robin added it

I have found your Father's Day gift.
You can thank me later. On the other hand, if he becomes completely annoying over dinner and long car rides, I accept none of the blame.

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01/19/09

Aaron rated it:

bookshelves: books-read-in-2009

Read in January, 2009

My wife and I read several portions of How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein while we drove to and from Kansas over the Christmas Holidays. The book is a state-by-state description of how the 50 states, plus DC, obtained their current boundaries. The book can be rather repetitive, if you read it straight through (after all, the states all share borders, and if each chapter of the book tells the story of every boundary of one state, there has to be repitition, with the exception of mayb...more My wife and I read several portions of How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein while we drove to and from Kansas over the Christmas Holidays. The book is a state-by-state description of how the 50 states, plus DC, obtained their current boundaries. The book can be rather repetitive, if you read it straight through (after all, the states all share borders, and if each chapter of the book tells the story of every boundary of one state, there has to be repitition, with the exception of maybe Hawaii and Alaska). But if you read only the chapters on the states you are interested in, it is a very fun and interesting read.

The book provided many little-known anecdotes and history lessons about the way our United States were formed. Based on what we read (not the entire book), it seemed to my wife and I that there were several things that impacted how a state's boundaries are formed: where resources lie (coal, forest, good soil, etc.), access to water and/or lakes, Congress's efforts to create states of roughly equal size, Britain's, and then the U.S.'s, relations with Spain and France before the creation of the U.S. as we know it today. Not surprisingly, slavery was a very important factor in the creation of many states, determining where north-south boundaries would lie to maximize the number of citizens, either pro- or anti-slavery, that resided within the state (e.g., Kansas, Missouri). More surprising was the role that incompetent surveyors, prideful politicians, and bribing landowners played in many of the quirky anecdotes (e.g., Idaho, Tennessee). I was also surprised to read that Georgia and North Carolina actually fought a war over a several-mile-wide strip of land along Georgia's north border. I also learned things about the shape of states that I had never known before. For example, there is a little bubble of Kentucky in the southern tip of Missouri created by a north-ward bend in the Mississippi. Delaware's northern end is a semi-circle.

This is a good book, but I would not recommend reading it cover to cover. My wife and I simply read about whatever state we were currently driving through, as we travelled to Kansas for Christmas, and then a few other states that we wanted to learn about, like states we have lived in, or states that simply seem wierd. By limiting the chapters we read in the book to those that we were actually interested in, I think we ended up enjoying the book more than we otherwise would have. (less)

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01/07/09

Dave rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Ok, if you're into interesting facts, ramdom ways to make conversation (that may not go anywhere), or just want to surprise yourself with your own level of ignorance about the actual shape of states (including the one you live in) then this is the book for you.

If, however, despite all that is written above you find repetitveness, poor organization, and failed attempts at grandiose statements and/or humor, perhaps you should pass. This was a pretty poorly written book. It was organiz...more

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01/03/09

Grant rated it:

Read in January, 2009

A fun read. I'm a geography geek, so I dig the descriptions associated with the detail maps. My main gripe is that in spite of, or because of, the logical, alphabetical organization of the book, it's rather repetitive. If you're just reading about a few specific states, that's no problem, but the author seems to expect readers to go from cover to cover because of the "don't skip this" introduction. So why all the repetition about issues like the origin of the 42nd parallel as a border ...more

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04/29/09

Nancy rated it:

bookshelves: 2009

Read in April, 2009

This was not as good as I had hoped, though it did have some interest. My big problem was the way he arranged his information, which was with the states in alphabetical order and then dealing with each border. The alphabetical order was the big problem--you spent a fair amount of time flipping back and forth between, say, Arizona and Nevada, or Mississippi and Alabama. Or you didn't flip, and so you forgot part of the story. Just a dumb and lazy way to arrange information that could have bee...more

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04/22/09

Andy rated it:

Read in May, 2009

This is the first pop-geography book I’ve come across, and while many of the state-shaping forces described here are somewhat intuitive (e.g. existing colonial borders, geographical boundaries, access to natural resources, slavery), I was surprised by the extent to which borders were contorted, and remain contorted to this day, to prevent islands of lawlessness or to enforce class and religious separation. Apparently, farmers don’t get along with gold miners, and just about everyone wants to...more

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06/13/09

Bluezamia rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading, us-history

I am having the beat time with this book!
Stine starts with a chapter "Don't skip this section, you'll just have to come back and read it" This covers some of the major land acquisitions and general philosophies of creating states.

Next he explains the formation of each state's North, South, East and West border. I wish the states were presented in historic order, but he choses to go alphabetically.

The maps are very good, you do a lot of flipping back and fo...more

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04/24/09

Paul rated it:

bookshelves: history, history-american, nonfiction, read-but-dont-own

Read in March, 2009

Ever wondered why the state you live in is shaped how it is? Well then give this book a read and find out. The author sets out to do exactly what the title promises, painstakingly detailing how every border of every state in the union was defined. Each state has its own chapter, but because of this layout, much of the information on common borders is repeated. Not bad for a quick read or for reference, but reading it straight-through got quite repetitive. There's some fascinating informatio...more

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02/25/09

Patty rated it:

bookshelves: non-fictionhistory, this-land-is-your-land

Amusing and interesting. It was sometimes frustrating that the states were in alphabetical order for discussion; logically, one state's borders are the borders of other states and to have to repeat the discussion three or four times was silly. It was very disturbing to understand the role of slavery in the creation of the states, especially how it reared its ugly head from the earliest moments of expansion beyond the original thirteen states. On the other hand, it was fascinating to understand t...more

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02/21/09

Susan rated it:

bookshelves: history, nonfiction

Read in March, 2009

The title says it all with regard to content, kids. :)

The book is an interesting, quick read. Because the stories behind states' boundaries are (of course) quite repetitive, Mark Stein does his best to minimize needless reiteration of the same facts. This means that reading the book involves a bit of flipping back and forth if you've forgotten the finer details of the Missouri Compromise or whether Nebraska was pro-slavery.

Still, if you're a history buff it's nice to see...more

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10/15/08

Christian rated it:

Read in October, 2008

Giving this a generous third star because I'm a geography nerd, but it was kind of disappointing. Three reasons:

1) I understand listing the states alphabetically (I chose not to read them that way) as a reference work, but this isn't really being sold/marketed as a reference work, but more of a popular geography. An Amazon.com reviewer thought it should've been done by region, and I agree.

2) If you're going to do it alphabetically, you need to include all the info for e...more Giving this a generous third star because I'm a geography nerd, but it was kind of disappointing. Three reasons:

1) I understand listing the states alphabetically (I chose not to read them that way) as a reference work, but this isn't really being sold/marketed as a reference work, but more of a popular geography. An Amazon.com reviewer thought it should've been done by region, and I agree.

2) If you're going to do it alphabetically, you need to include all the info for each state. Sure, there's the repetition issue, but there's already a fair amount of repetition anyway (not sure why he went through the trouble of the 'Do Not Skip This' intro section if he was going to tell us over and over and over the same info) -- why not go all the way? Examples: in Georgia, we learn about the Orphan Strip, which was contested by North Carolina and Georgia (and South Carolina made a play for it too) ... so why is the only mention in the Georgia section? If you're not going to include the full discussion, at least reference it. Other idiosyncracies: we learn that the 'boot heel' of Missouri which dips below the 36'30" line designated by Congress was through the actions of someone who stood to gain from it being in Missouri rather than Arkansas, but it's only in the Arkansas section that we learn that the border for the heel was set at the 36' line. Also: in the intro to West Virginia, it's asked why parts of West Virginia aren't in Maryland, but then in the section itself there's not a single mention of Maryland.

3) I have some concerns about historical accuracy. Ignoring the lack of footnotes or extensive bibliography (which I'm disappointed in), there's an assertion (repeated several times) that Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia gave up their western territory claims after the Constitution was signed with the future vision that more slave states could be made to balance the anti-slavery north states (which would grow in the Northwest Territories where slavery was forbidden). This struck me as extremely odd; first, because at that time states like New York and New Jersey still were slave states, and second because it was a good fifty years or so before abolitionism went mainstream (and thirty years before the Missouri Compromise). I did some checking, and I could not find info that corroborated this assertion (if you know of any, please put in the comments). Instead, the reasoning seemed to be a mix of reassuring other states of the original 13 without claims to western land that the new Union wouldn't be dominated by gigantic states such as a joined Virginia/Kentucky, or in exchange for the federal government assuming war debt or providing financial considerations. As someone who reads a lot of history, this forces me to consider that there may be other mistakes (besides the wrong map in Figure 126) and limits my faith in the veracity of the book.

Ultimately, it's a great idea with really faulty execution. I hope someone is inspired by this book to write something a little better organized and that goes deeper in discussing the whys of the states' borders.(less)

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09/13/08

Rich Beebe rated it:

Read in August, 2008

Okay, I am a nerd. I heard the author of this book (about how the states' boundaries came to be set) on an NPR radio talk show and it caught my interest. Each state's "shape story" is told in a chapter, which are arranged alphabetically. The writing is rather formulaic and the author's attempts at humor are, at best, strained. And, given that states border one another (uhhh, duhhh!) there will be plenty of "required" repetition as you plow through the book (example: do you wa...more

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09/11/08

Todd rated it:

Read in September, 2008

My parents live near Toledo, Ohio, and one of the streets near their house is called "Old State Line Road." After reading this book, I understand the significance of this street's name and how it is related to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. As a bonus, I learned that a large part of northern Ohio was claimed by Connecticut.

This book takes an interesting approach to U.S. history by explaining why the states have the shapes that they do. I never really had a reason to question why...more

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08/14/08

Adrian Rush rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction---general-knowledge

Well, I went into this book hoping to find out why the states' borders have some of the funny twists and turns they do. And as far as that goes, it lived up to my expectations.

This kind of stuff fascinates me. Pretty much anything to do with American history commands my attention. And sure enough, everything you could want to know about the states and how they got carved out is all in here. The drawing of the Mason-Dixon line ... attitudes toward future states post-Revolution ... su...more

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07/26/08

Erik rated it:

recommends it for: historians, the curious onlooker

As an American history junkie, this is the answer to many burning questions I have about the oddities of the state's individual shapes. It's a fun read, until you've exhausted the material provided about your home state and maybe a few others you're interested in. Suddenly, what you thought might be an hours of edutainment becomes a reference book, doomed to obscurity on your library shelf.

Stein's approach is journalistic - a polite way for me to say dry. While he is thorough, he ...more

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06/19/08

Amy rated it:

bookshelves: history, nonfiction

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who loves American History

Fascinating! This informative book provides a detailed look at the borders surrounding each of our states. Most borders were determined as a result of wars such as the French & Indian War. We also obtained borders through land acquisitions such as the Louisiana Purchase, the Adams-Onis Treaty, the Gadsden Purchase and more!

We also obtained multi-state borders as a result of slavery and picked up others because of Congress and their wishes. California, as always, dictated what they we...more

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05/01/08

Wayne rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in January, 2009

For those geography buffs/geeks out there. This books details how each of the fifty US states got their individual and unique borders.
The book is split up into one introductory chapter with overall information that affects multiple borders and then one chapter per state. This necessarily doubles the discussion for each border as it is analyzed from each side. This makes it easy to look up any particular state and getting almost the entire story, but also makes for a large amount of refe...more

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08/24/08

Jessica rated it:

bookshelves: history

Read in August, 2008

This book tells you exactly what you think it's going to tell you based on the title. It was for the most part fascinating, although a little dry in a few spots. I think the author maybe wasn't expecting people to read the state chapters through alphabetically (although that's how they're presented) but to skip around a bit, because if you read straight through it gets a little redundant in spots. (For example: explaining the border between West Virginia and Pennsylvania is covered in the cha...more

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