Inspired by Depression-era travel guides, an anthology of essays on each of the fifty states, plus Washington, D.C., by some of America's finest writers.

State by State is a panoramic portrait of America and an appreciation of all fifty states (and Washington, D.C.) by fifty-one of the most acclaimed writers in the nation.

• Anthony Bourdain chases the fumigation truck in Bergen County, New Jersey

• Dave Eggers tells it straight: Illinois is Number 1

• Louise Erdrich loses her bikini top in North Dakota

• Jonathan Franzen gets waylaid by New York's publicist... and personal attorney... and historian... and geologist

• John Hodgman explains why there is no such thing as a "Massachusettsean"

• Edward P. Jones makes the case: D.C. should be a state!

• Jhumpa Lahiri declares her reckless love for the Rhode Island coast

• Rich Moody explores the dark heart of Connecticut's Merritt Parkway, exit by exit

• Ann Patchett makes a pilgrimage to the Civil War site at Shiloh, Tennessee

• William T. Vollman visits a San Francisco S&M club

• And many more

Praise for State by State

An NPR Best Book of the Year

"The full plumage of American life, in all its riotous glory." -- The New Yorker

"Odds are, you'll fall for every state a little." -- Los Angeles Times

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• Print Length: 927 Pages
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