33 books like The Not-Quite States of America

By Doug Mack,

Here are 33 books that The Not-Quite States of America fans have personally recommended if you like The Not-Quite States of America. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Mark Stein Author Of How the States Got Their Shapes

From my list on boundaries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a teenager, I wondered why my state, Maryland, didn’t include Delaware. Later, at the University of Wisconsin, I wondered why its northeastern peninsula was part of Michigan. Then I started wondering about boring borders -- why Colorado’s and Wyoming’s lines are where they are and not a mile or so so this way or that? I ended up writing How the States Got Their Shapes, followed by The People Behind the Borderlines.

Mark's book list on boundaries

Mark Stein Why did Mark love this book?

Some of our state lines were cultural borders. The Colony of Massachusetts was founded by and for Puritans; Maryland was created for Catholics; Pennsylvania for Quakers. That process continued after the Revolution, regardless of state (or later-to-become state) lines. Colin Woodard’s book explores the founding of such cultural regions and reveals how those not-on-the-map lines influence our differing views to this day.

By Colin Woodard,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked American Nations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* A New Republic Best Book of the Year * The Globalist Top Books of the Year * Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction *

Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who in this presidential election year, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven "nations" that continue to shape North America

According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering…


Book cover of Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West

Tore C. Olsson Author Of Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past

From my list on the Wild West and turning the myths upside down.

Why am I passionate about this?

History and video games have defined much of my life, so it’s no surprise I’m writing about both. I was born in Sweden and first encountered the Wild West through the Lucky Luke comic books (huge in Europe!), and they instilled in me a fascination with American history. I emigrated to the U.S. with my family at age 8 and misspent most of my adolescence playing video games. In college, I returned to my childhood passion for studying the past and earned a BA, MA, and PhD in American history. Since 2013, I’ve been a professor at the University of Tennessee. Red Dead’s History is my second book.

Tore's book list on the Wild West and turning the myths upside down

Tore C. Olsson Why did Tore love this book?

When folks think of the late 1800s West, they think of many things–cowboys, railroads, ranches, gunslingers, and morebut they rarely think about big cities. Bill Cronon’s stunning book forever changes that.

He demonstrates that pretty much no corner of the West could escape the shadow of Chicago–the looming metropolis that ordered so much of Western life. Cows, cowboys, and ranchers all bowed to the Chicago meatpackers. Just about every Western railroad stopped in the city. And farmers across the West planted their fields based on the prices at the Chicago Board of Trade.

Cronon masterfully shows that country and city weren’t polar opposites but two sides of the same coin.

By William Cronon,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Nature's Metropolis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this groundbreaking work, William Cronon gives us an environmental perspective on the history of nineteenth-century America. By exploring the ecological and economic changes that made Chicago America's most dynamic city and the Great West its hinterland, Mr. Cronon opens a new window onto our national past. This is the story of city and country becoming ever more tightly bound in a system so powerful that it reshaped the American landscape and transformed American culture. The world that emerged is our own.

Winner of the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize


Book cover of Cessions of Land by Indian Tribes to the United States

Mark Stein Author Of How the States Got Their Shapes

From my list on boundaries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a teenager, I wondered why my state, Maryland, didn’t include Delaware. Later, at the University of Wisconsin, I wondered why its northeastern peninsula was part of Michigan. Then I started wondering about boring borders -- why Colorado’s and Wyoming’s lines are where they are and not a mile or so so this way or that? I ended up writing How the States Got Their Shapes, followed by The People Behind the Borderlines.

Mark's book list on boundaries

Mark Stein Why did Mark love this book?

This book is not so much one to read, being more of an atlas. And atlases are expensive. Except this one. It’s free! Published by the U.S. Government in 1899 but still available online, it’s an extraordinary collection of Native American borders that got changed...and changed...and changed. It is history in the raw, from back in that time. More importantly, it is history we all need to know, if we are to know who we are as a nation today.

Book cover of Underland: A Deep Time Journey

Iris Gottlieb Author Of Trash Talk: An Eye-Opening Exploration of Our Planet's Dirtiest Problem

From my list on the mysteries of nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been intrigued by the stranger, lesser-known parts of the natural world for as long as I can remember and have been continuing to explore those themes in my own work. I love that humans haven’t learned all there is to know about the natural forces that have ruled this planet for longer than we’ve been here. I enjoy books that peel back a layer into these mysteries by writers who have an appreciation for their existence, their ingenuity, and their importance. I have dedicated much of my career to synthesizing big topics into accessible, engaging, and fun information that creates curiosity and a desire to understand the world around us. 

Iris' book list on the mysteries of nature

Iris Gottlieb Why did Iris love this book?

I found this book to be a fascinating journey into realms of the world below the surface I had never thought about or even known existed. Cave diving is my worst nightmare, so one particular section stands out about the wild, terrifying, and utterly unrelatable passion of cave divers and the perils one faces when stuck very, very underground.

The mixture of purely natural environments and human-created ones, such as underground tunnels and cities, all held my attention as pieces of information I had read very little about in the past, all collected into one unifying theme. Having such a broad but specific topic all in one read was a fun, dynamic journey. 

By Robert Macfarlane,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Underland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Underland, Robert Macfarlane delivers an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself. Traveling through the dizzying expanse of geologic time-from prehistoric art in Norwegian sea caves, to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, to a deep-sunk "hiding place" where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come-Underland takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind.

Global in its geography and written with great lyricism, Underland speaks powerfully to our present…


Book cover of The Rope of Tradition: Reflections of a Saipan Carolinian

Walt Goodridge Author Of There's Something About Saipan! A Visitor’s Guide To Fantastic Facts, Tantalizing Trivia, Startling Statistics, Dramatic Diaries and Hair-raising History From America’s Most Colorful Island Territory!

From my list on life on Saipan.

Why am I passionate about this?

I discovered Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, on one December night in 2005 through my friend, Ken, who had visited the island for business and raved about his experience. Two months later, I was on an 8,000-mile, one-way flight to escape the NY rat race and live out my dream life in this tropical Pacific paradise! It's been one of the best decisions of my life! I've since fallen in love with the lifestyle, people, culture, and history of the islands. These authors are people I've met or have seen around the island. Their books offer a unique peek inside life on the islands of this little-known US commonwealth!

Walt's book list on life on Saipan

Walt Goodridge Why did Walt love this book?

Lino Olopai is a Carolinian elder in the community and also a friend. In fact, I ran into him this morning (the very day I write this summary) at about 6:30 am while I was jogging on the beach. The beachfront land beneath Lino's simple home has been in his family for generations, and because of that, he has refused to sell despite offers from corporate concerns and developers. Lino is also of a lineage with privileged knowledge of celestial navigation. He could set sail on nothing but a raft and—using the stars, waves, and movement of sea creatures as signposts—navigate hundreds of miles over the vast Pacific ocean to other islands! The Rope of Tradition is an account and knowledge that must be shared and preserved.

By Lino M. Olopai,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Rope of Tradition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From back cover of book: [Topic of book:] "Indigenous Micronesian cultures and the issues and challenges confronting cultural preservation in the face of rapid globalization.' . . . "Indigenous cultures throughout Micronesia have undergone major changes over the six decades since the end of World War II, a situation that has been particularly acute on Saipan, the capital island in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. "The Rope of Tradition," written by Saipan Carolinian Lino M. Olopai with the assistance of cultural anthropologist Dr. Juliana Flinn, describes Mr. Olopai's longstanding efforts to document and better understand his rich cultural…


Book cover of Saipan: A Brief History

Walt Goodridge Author Of There's Something About Saipan! A Visitor’s Guide To Fantastic Facts, Tantalizing Trivia, Startling Statistics, Dramatic Diaries and Hair-raising History From America’s Most Colorful Island Territory!

From my list on life on Saipan.

Why am I passionate about this?

I discovered Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, on one December night in 2005 through my friend, Ken, who had visited the island for business and raved about his experience. Two months later, I was on an 8,000-mile, one-way flight to escape the NY rat race and live out my dream life in this tropical Pacific paradise! It's been one of the best decisions of my life! I've since fallen in love with the lifestyle, people, culture, and history of the islands. These authors are people I've met or have seen around the island. Their books offer a unique peek inside life on the islands of this little-known US commonwealth!

Walt's book list on life on Saipan

Walt Goodridge Why did Walt love this book?

Don A. Farrell's name always comes up (as it has now) in any credible discussion of publications about Saipan's, Tinian's, and Rota's history—particularly as it relates to World War II. His meticulously researched books have set a standard unmatched for thoroughness and accuracy. Don flies around the world to personally conduct interviews, visit sites, and scour archives and collections to produce visually stunning and informationally satisfying work replete with previously-unseen photographs, declassified documents, and accounts that even the history books often get wrong! Here on Saipan, you'll find Saipan: A Brief History at the American Memorial Park Visitor Center, our local library and bookstore, but also at gift shops, car rental companies, and even the checkout counter of local supermarkets! You won't be disappointed!

By Don A. Farrell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Saipan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This well-made 112-page booklet tells the history of Saipan, capitol island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, in both text and illustrations.
In a concise and accurate format, Marianas historian Don Farrell takes the reader from the roots of the indigenous Chamorros and Carolinians of Saipan, through their experiences with the Spanish, German and Japanese administrations to a graphic review of the island’s role during World War II. The last sections discuss the postwar Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the birth and growth of the Commonwealth. The last sixteen pages provide a full-color representation of Saipan…


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Book cover of Without a Penny in my Pocket: My Bittersweet Memories Before and After World War II

Walt Goodridge Author Of There's Something About Saipan! A Visitor’s Guide To Fantastic Facts, Tantalizing Trivia, Startling Statistics, Dramatic Diaries and Hair-raising History From America’s Most Colorful Island Territory!

From my list on life on Saipan.

Why am I passionate about this?

I discovered Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, on one December night in 2005 through my friend, Ken, who had visited the island for business and raved about his experience. Two months later, I was on an 8,000-mile, one-way flight to escape the NY rat race and live out my dream life in this tropical Pacific paradise! It's been one of the best decisions of my life! I've since fallen in love with the lifestyle, people, culture, and history of the islands. These authors are people I've met or have seen around the island. Their books offer a unique peek inside life on the islands of this little-known US commonwealth!

Walt's book list on life on Saipan

Walt Goodridge Why did Walt love this book?

Marie S.C. Castro knows. Here on Saipan, we tell a different story about aviator Amelia Earhart's and Fred Noonan's fate. The famed pilot and navigator did not "disappear." They crashed on Mili atoll in the Marshall Islands; were detained by the Japanese military;  brought to Saipan where Fred was beheaded and Amelia died of dysentery. Without a Penny in my Pocket includes rare photos and shares Marie's account of growing up and attending school during the Japanese occupation, moving stateside, and ultimately returning home. It helps us understand the lifestyle of the local people at the time of Amelia's presence. (Castro, founder of Saipan's Amelia Earhart Memorial Association, has a book with Earhart researcher, Mike Campbell, to further the mission of keeping the legacy alive. Start the adventure with Marie's story!)

By Marie S.C. Castro,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Without a Penny in my Pocket as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Some memories live in hearts and minds even though miles and years come between”—and for the author, she not only has memories to share, but a history to tell. Born and raised in the island of Saipan in Northern Marianas, Marie S. C. Castro (Miss Soledad) witnessed the transition of an idyllic community into a land of terror and poverty as the Japanese soldiers invaded her homeland. But rather than just tales of adversity in the hands of the Japanese invaders and the horrors of war, she showcases stories of bravery, faith, and hope as she, her people, and the…


Book cover of Our Northern Islands: The first expedition to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument

Walt Goodridge Author Of There's Something About Saipan! A Visitor’s Guide To Fantastic Facts, Tantalizing Trivia, Startling Statistics, Dramatic Diaries and Hair-raising History From America’s Most Colorful Island Territory!

From my list on life on Saipan.

Why am I passionate about this?

I discovered Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, on one December night in 2005 through my friend, Ken, who had visited the island for business and raved about his experience. Two months later, I was on an 8,000-mile, one-way flight to escape the NY rat race and live out my dream life in this tropical Pacific paradise! It's been one of the best decisions of my life! I've since fallen in love with the lifestyle, people, culture, and history of the islands. These authors are people I've met or have seen around the island. Their books offer a unique peek inside life on the islands of this little-known US commonwealth!

Walt's book list on life on Saipan

Walt Goodridge Why did Walt love this book?

It is the dream of many indigenous residents of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to visit—at least once during a lifetime—the remote "northern islands" of the 400-mile archipelago that comprises the Mariana Islands. High school student Dennis Chan fulfilled that dream as his prize for winning an essay contest. The contest—and the winner's participation in a week-long, first-of-its-kind ocean expedition—was timed to coincide with the Bush administration's designation of a 95,000sqare mile swath of the Western Pacific Ocean as an official Marine National Monument. Dennis, with the help of activist and blogger Angelo Villagomez, chronicled and published Our Northern Islands, an account (with photos) of the team's once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

By Dennis Chan, Angelo O'Connor Villagomez (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Our Northern Islands as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Our Northern Islands is a first person telling of the first expedition to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.


Book cover of In Camps: Vietnamese Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Repatriates

Maria Cristina Garcia Author Of State of Disaster: The Failure of U.S. Migration Policy in an Age of Climate Change

From my list on U.S. refugee policy.

Why am I passionate about this?

My family and I were among those prioritized for admission to the United States during the Cold War—a migration I discussed in my first book, Havana, USA. Not all who seek refuge are as fortunate, however. Less than one percent of refugees worldwide are ever resettled in the top resettlement nations like the United States. My scholarship examines how US refugee policy has evolved in response to humanitarian, domestic, and foreign policy concerns and agendas.

Maria's book list on U.S. refugee policy

Maria Cristina Garcia Why did Maria love this book?

Jana Lipman examines the Vietnamese refugee camps in Guam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong in the decades after the fall of Saigon. She asks us to consider how camps function as liminal social and legal spaces where refugees forfeit rights with the hope of eventually securing membership (and rights) in a resettlement society. It is in the camps that refugees try to prove their ‘worthiness’ for admission to society, and where they navigate a cumbersome—and often hostile—bureaucracy that ignores their humanity, often with dire consequences. 

The book examines the implementation of refugee policy at the local level by local actors, as well as the role of Vietnamese activism—in the camps and in the diaspora—in asserting refugee rights.

By Jana K. Lipman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Camps as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Robert Ferrell Book Prize Honorable Mention 2021, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
Book Award for Outstanding Achievement in History Honorable Mention 2022, Association for Asian American Studies

After the US war in Vietnam, close to 800,000 Vietnamese left the country by boat, survived, and sought refuge throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This is the story of what happened in the camps. In Camps raises key questions that remain all too relevant today: Who is a refugee? Who determines this status? And how does it change over time?

From Guam to Malaysia and the Philippines to Hong Kong,…


Book cover of Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré

Ronni Diamondstein Author Of Jackie and the Books She Loved

From my list on inspire young people to be readers and writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a reader and a writer for as long as I can remember, so books about reading, writing, and storytelling have always interested me. As a school library media specialist for over 30 years, I have read thousands of picture books and placed wonderful books in the hands of thousands of young people. Several of these books were mentor texts when I wrote my picture book biography. I want young people to be inspired to read and write, and I hope these books will do that for the adults who select them and the children who read them.

Ronni's book list on inspire young people to be readers and writers

Ronni Diamondstein Why did Ronni love this book?

I have always been fascinated by storytelling, and this book about a librarian pleases me so! What I especially love about this book is the metaphoric writing device of planting story seeds and how Pura Belpré, storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, shared her tales from her homeland along her journey.

The lyrical writing captures the magic of Belpré’s stories, inspiring readers to read and write. 

By Anika Aldamuy Denise, Paola Escobar (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Planting Stories as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

FOLLOW LA VIDA Y EL LEGADO OF PURA BELPRE, THE FIRST PUERTO RICAN LIBRARIAN IN NEW YORK CITY

When she came to America in 1921, Pura carried the cuentos folkloricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura's legacy.

This portrait of the influential librarian, author, and puppeteer reminds us of the…


Book cover of American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Book cover of Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West
Book cover of Cessions of Land by Indian Tribes to the United States

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