<![CDATA[State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America]]>

false <![CDATA[State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America]]>

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From the bestselling editors of The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup comes an American road trip in book form: original writing on all 50 states by 50 of our finest novelists, journalists, and essayists Inspired by the example of the legendary WPA American Guide series of the 1930s and '40s, now 50 of our foremost writers have produced original pieces of reportage and memoir that capture the 50 states in our time, creating a fresh portrait of America as it lives and breathes today. At turns poignant and funny, and always insightful, these 50 writers tell us something lasting and revealing about each state through personal memory or contemporary reporting that captures the essential qualities that make each state its own. With an array of revealing facts and figures comparing the 50 states in a range of surprising measures (toothlessness, military enlistment, suicide), State by State is more than an anthology: It is a classic American road movie in book form. Featuring original writing on all fifty states Alabama by George Packer Alaska by Paul Greenberg Arizona by Lydia Millet Arkansas by Kevin Brockmeier California by William T. Vollmann Colorado by Benjamin Kunkel Connecticut by Rick Moody Delaware by Craig Taylor Florida by Joshua Ferris Georgia by Ha Jin Hawaii by Tara Bray Smith Idaho by Anthony Doerr Illinois by Dave Eggers Indiana by Susan Choi Iowa by Dagoberto Gilb Kansas by Jim Lewis Kentucky by John Jeremiah Sullivan Louisiana by Joshua Clark Maine by Heidi Julavits Maryland by Myla Goldberg Massachusetts by John Hodgman Michigan by Mohammed Naseehu Ali Minnesota by Philip Connors Mississippi by Barry Hannah Missouri by Jacki Lyden Montana by Sarah Vowell Nebraska by Alexander Payne Nevada by Charles Bock New Hampshire by Will Blythe New Jersey by Anthony Bourdain New Mexico by Ellery Washington New York by Jonathan Franzen North Carolina by Randall Kenan North Dakota by Louise Erdrich Ohio by Susan Orlean Oklahoma by S.E. Hinton Oregon by Joe Sacco Pennsylvania by Andrea Lee Rhode Island by Jhumpa Lahiri South Carolina by Jack Hitt South Dakota by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh Tennessee by Ann Patchett Texas by Cristina Henríquez Utah by David Rakoff Vermont by Alison Bechdel Virginia by Tony Horwitz Washington by Carrie Brownstein West Virginia by Jayne Anne Phillips Wisconsin by Daphne Beal Wyoming by Alexandra Fuller and an afterword on Washington, D.C.: A Conversation with Edward P. Jones

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2008

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America

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As you may know, the book is a collection of 50 essays, each written by a different author and each focused on a different state. I chose to read the essays in...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 07:22:31 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 11:13:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 09:33:50 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 11:30:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Apr 02 07:01:09 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 07:02:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 10:13:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 10:13:00 -0800 2009
A brief foray into a state does not qualify one to represent it in a book like this one, in my opinion. I found the "Hey I went to X State for a week and now I can write the WPA essay" examples to be icky.

Also, I had the sense that...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 09 06:41:32 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 06:46:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 17 22:21:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 22:32:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 27 07:20:36 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 07:24:57 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 31 05:40:23 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 15 21:05:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 04 20:11:28 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 20:22:11 -0800 2009
I began with "Iowa" by Dagoberto Glib. It follows the corn, and sets a very high bar for the rest of the essays.

"Colorado", which I...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed May 27 14:28:44 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 14:35:59 -0700 2009 The editors, Weiland, deputy editor of the Paris Review, and Wilsey, editor-at-large for McSweeney's, wanted to make a book that is inspired by the WPA Guides - what timing given the current ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 20:20:56 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 21:12:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 04 08:51:15 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 18:13:53 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 08:51:15 -0700 2009
Being from Kansas, I was disappointed with the essay about my home state. It was boring, to put it plainly, and was much more about the writer himself, who only happened to visit Kansas once wi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 19 13:21:12 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 17 19:18:30 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 30 06:48:30 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 18:38:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Sep 29 16:08:31 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 06:01:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 04 19:36:22 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 19:40:20 -0800 2009
I liked the premise of this book but liked it even more when I read that the same old tired authors weren't writing about...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 09:56:10 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 06:03:51 -0700 2009
Are there any common threads among the states? If there's any t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 16:16:21 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 15 10:04:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 16 09:06:29 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 05:26:01 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 09:06:29 -0700 2009
Modeled after the WPA guides, it's a collection of 50 essays by 50 writers. As with any project like this, there are plenty of hi...more...]]>