Interesting book for states I have lived in

books:

	• How the States Got Their Shapes Mark Stein Harper Paperbacks, 2009 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 62 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

How the States got their Shapes

I found it very interesting to see how sttes were formed and who made the determinations. Very interesting part of history I did not know.

Recommended despite some flaws

When most people look at a map of the United States, they take its current borders for granted. Most people can identify a state simply by its shape, but will rarely ask why it has said shape. This book answers most questions anyone would probably have about how each state got its shape.

It is interesting to read the stories about how east coast states were drawn by monarchs for whatever reasons they wanted. And when you move westward across the map, about how Congress started to organize land. This book tells the stories about how Congress organized states in a futile attempt to control slavery in order to avert civil war and how those decisions are now permanently embedded in the borders of several states. After Congress gave up controlling slavery in favor of popular sovereignty, you will read about how equality of size or resources formed the shape of western states. This book also answers some questions like why is California and Texas so big? Why do so many states states have little quirks in their borders? Panhandles, West Virginia's finger, Connecticut's notch, and so on. Because of this and more, this book is a true wealth of information that is sure to interest anyone interested in maps, geography, and American history.

However, the book is not without its flaws. As mentioned in several other reviews, the book is arranged alphabetically. That works fine as a reference, but for someone reading it cover-to-cover, it becomes disjointed. Also, the same borders between states are explained in each state's section, so there is some repetition.

There is also a couple of cases factual errors and omissions. From my own research, some dates mentioned in the book are likely incorrect. For example, in the section explaining Nevada's post-statehood border adjustments, it states that one occurred in 1864, but other Internet sources say it occurred in 1866. There are a couple of other mistakes like this.

I can only hope the author will come back to this book, correct these errors, and add some more information for a second edition. This is a great subject for a book and would definitely be five stars if it were not for some errors.

But if you can look beyond some mistakes, this book makes a great starting point to understanding how the borders of the United States were drawn. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to know the why of state borders.

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Interesting book for states I have lived in

The book covers how the states got their state lines. While interesting for states I had lived in I did pass over states I was not interested it. It is a interesting look into the sometimes silly reasons the states are the way they are, Clearly the author did his research.

Passed it around to all of our friends

I bought this book for my husband as a gift and he and I really enjoyed it. When we mentioned it to friends, they wanted to read it too. It is now with our 6th or 7th friend. A fascinating book for any curious person.

great for a road trip!

A few of my friends and I took this on our road trip and it was an awesome travel companion. Every time we crossed a state line, one of us took turns reading out tidbits about the state's formation. Nerdy? Yes. Fun? Also yes.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Mark Stein is a playwright and screenwriter. His plays have been performed off-Broadway and at theaters throughout the country. His films include Housesitter, with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has taught at American University and Catholic University.

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