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

Customer Rating:
Summary: Weak and patrionizing view of the 50 states
Comment: Having read a number of the WPA guides when I was younger, I had to say I had much higher hopes when reading this book and have to say that I found it to be all in all terrible. By and large it is a patronizing and sometimes overly sentimental viewpoint of the various states that offers no great insights into what makes them special or what maybe interesting about them. The WPA guides were written by experts in their topic states and gave us insightful and intelligently written essays about what made their states interesting and in their opinions worthy of tourists visits.

While I will admit that some of the articles are more interesting then others, most are just so bland and out of place with the subject matter that they are completely hopeless. Case in point is that the New Hampshire profile is written by someone who only goes there to cover the New Hampshire primary? That is what the editors think New Hampshire is all about? Trust me, save your money and read the original WPA guides, they are much better. Or better yet, write 1500 words on your own state. You are sure to do better then these people.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A MIxed Bag
Comment: I had high hopes for this collection of essays after reading the first one, Alabama. The problem is that many of the others are not very interesting or well written, in fact some are just plain boring. There is a collection of tables in the back of the book that are fun to go through. Although I am a big fan of short fiction I can't recommend this book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Contemporary Writing
Comment: "State by State, a Panoramic Portrait of America," edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey -
Surely this is no great book but it has a fascination. Fifty contemporary writers piece together essays on each of the 50 states. The concept is attention-catching. The editors no doubt are themselves disappointed by some of the results - some of the writers miss their mark widely. If the essays were not in this collection, some would not be recognized as portraits of a state. Kansas is incidental to Jim Lewis' essay, which is more closely focused on the Coyote Club at Wichita. Philip Connors offers a close (and slightly bitter) look at Minnesota's southwest corner, which is rarely a part of Minnesota literature.
"State by State" would bring little to someone (an immigrant) seeking to learn more of America. If you know the land, however, if you know the territory, you will not feel cheated. Often you may be moved to mutter to a writer, "You should be able to do better than this."

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Customer Rating:
Summary: State by state statement
Comment: Although some of these essays are much better than others, overall this is a fascinating view of the 50 states from unique perspectives.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: worth reading and keeping on the shelf for reference
Comment: The thick book of essays by 50 writers describing 50 states is an interesting anthology. The essays are very different in style, form and length. I believe there are ones to suit anybody's literary taste, from long, descriptive, guide-like narratives (e.g. California by William T. Vollman, which I enjoyed very much) through short postcards (e.g. Maryland by Myla Goldberg, I think a bit too laconic), satirical pieces (Massachusetts by John Hodgman, in my opinion a little overdone and smug) to inventive, novel forms (New York by Jonathan Franzen, in a form of an interview, funny and fresh), personal accounts (my favorites: very nostalgic Florida by Joshua Ferris and Georgia by Ha Jin, which I especially liked, as it showed the experience of a foreigner, very similar to my own) and even a cartoon (Oregon by Joe Sacco, which employs visual effects in addition to words to describe the state characteristics, creating a very nice effect). The diversity makes this book an uneven read, but I believe different essays can really suit different attitudes and moods.

Some of the writers' names were familiar to me (Franzen, Erdrich, Jin, Eggers, Lahiri, Fuller, Patchett), but the majority weren't. I was happy to discover these authors and will follow up on them. Note, that the authors did not have to be natives of the states they wrote about, which adds some flavor and honesty to the accounts; the local patriotism, if any, is mostly acquired. The preface by Matt Weiland provided a nice intro and mentiones some Americana I would like to read, too. The encyclopaedic details about each state make this book a staple for each bookshelf.

The photos in the middle were a welcome addition. I did not understand other reviewers' objections about the photo representing Maine (it shows a row of nude women, photographed with their backs to the camera, completely benign; I felt it cannot be offensive even for a five year old - otherwise the art from Rubens to Modigliani should be also considered shocking and offensive; but then, I am from Europe, so who am I to judge the American attitudes to the upbringing of children) and the comments on the pronounced liberalism of the whole book - I did not feel it; to my foreign taste, it gave me a good overview of the diversity and complexity found in this vast country, with its landscapes, art, infrastructure and, most importantly, the behaviors and habits of the inhabitants of the fifty states.

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