(5/13/2024)
Fifty states. Fifty essays. Fifty writers. Sew it all together, and you have a portrait of the United States, but it's not one that would be endorsed by any state chamber of commerce. This is an unvarnished, true-to-life, sometimes full of praise, sometimes denigrating, and occasionally disturbing portrait of each of the 50 states—and it's a must-read.
During the Great Depression, the WPA initiated the American Guide Series of the Federal Writers' Project. More than 6,000 writers and researchers wrote a 500-page book about each of the then-48 states. This is not that kind of book. The editors, Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, announce their intentions at the beginning, looking for something that is broad-minded and good-hearted, as well as bold, intimate, and funny. They wanted their writers to provide personal anecdotes and strange characters and hidden truths. It is to be a road trip in book form.
While they mostly succeeded, the essays for some states are far superior than others, primarily because the writers told personal stories that felt universal and included information and descriptions unique to that state, making it stand out.
Here are my state essay superlatives that, please note, describe the essay—not the state of the state:
• The top five best:
1. Louisiana
2. South Carolina
3. Florida
4. Pennsylvania
5. Rhode Island
• Most Humorous (as in LOL Funny!): Illinois (with South Carolina a close second)
• Most Ingenious: New York
• Most Poignant: New Mexico
• Most Interesting Facts: Michigan
• Most Poetically Lyrical Writing: Idaho
• Most Nostalgic: New Jersey
• Most Disturbing (Read with Caution): California
• The Weirdest: New Hampshire (with Oregon a close second)
• The Saddest: Mississippi
• Most Boring: Kentucky
The secret sauce is the list of writers. There are several Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, an Academy Award-winning writer, journalists, playwrights, poets, musicians, college professors, and B-list actors. Some of the authors' names are easily recognizable: Anthony Bourdain, Susan Choi, Anthony Doerr, Dave Eggers, Louise Erdrich, Joshua Ferris, Jonathan Franzen, Cristina Henríquez, Tony Horwitz, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lydia Millet, Susan Orlean, George Packer, Ann Patchett, and Jayne Anne Phillips.
Each state essay begins with a list of facts and figures, including the capital, origin of the name, motto, state flower, and population by race and age. At the end of the book, look for a list of tables that will make geography geeks swoon: population shifts, mean time to commute to work, unemployment rate, military recruitment rate, gasoline consumption, breastfeeding rate, toothlessness rate, and many more.
Bonus: The "Afterword" is a conversation with novelist/short story writer Edward P. Jones about Washington, D.C.
The end of the book is an extensive glossary of the 50 states by numbers, including population statistics that will make your head spin—rates of bankruptcy filing, travel time to work, military recruitment rate, population claiming no religion, roller coasters and drive-in movie theaters, toothlessness, obesity, alcohol consumption, and lots more.