Matt Weiland
Hardcover | Pages: 608 pages Rating: 3.76 | 1220 Users | 226 Reviews
Describe Books Concering State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
| Original Title: | State by State |
| ISBN: | 0061470902 (ISBN13: 9780061470905) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Narration To Books State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
“A funny, moving, rousing collection, greater than the sum of its excellent parts.”—New York Times Book Review
Edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, 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. Contributors include renowned and bestselling authors such as Louise Erdrich, Jonathan Franzen, Ann Patchett, Anthony Bourdain, William T. Vollmann, S.E. Hinton, Dave Eggers, Myla Goldberg, Rick Moody, and Alexander Payne. Inspired by the Depression-era WPA guides and awarded an “A” grade by Entertainment Weekly, these delightful essays on the American character deliver “the full plumage of American life, in all its riotous glory” (The New Yorker).
Declare Regarding Books State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
| Title | : | State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America |
| Author | : | Matt Weiland |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 608 pages |
| Published | : | September 16th 2008 by Ecco |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Writing. Essays. History. Travel. Short Stories. North American Hi.... American History |
Rating Regarding Books State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
Ratings: 3.76 From 1220 Users | 226 ReviewsCriticism Regarding Books State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
Someone reviewed this as being written by authors native to each state and that is not the case, which is perhaps the problem. Another problem is that you can't find 50 Dave Eggers or Susan Orleans, so you get some states with less-than-stellar (or lazy) writers. Of the states I read, Ohio and Illinois were lovely...well written, with genuine love for the state as well as facts and information. Iowa's essay (my native state) was written by someone who didn't seem to know anything about Iowa. IThe best essays go deep, deep, deep into the heart of modern America.
I really enjoyed these essays on American states, mores and quirks. Fascinating what each author chose to focus on. The project was loosely inspired by the Depression-era WPA guides to the states. States I've never been to stood out: Alaska, South Carolina, North Dakota. Whereas states I Iove sometimes fell flat: California was a disaster and Jonathan Franzen's New York was a snooze (Anthony Bourdain's on New Jersey was much better). Alison Bechdel's piece on Vermont was reliably charming.
Wonderful idea and marvelous execution. Truly makes me proud for my country. I wish they would put one of these out every 10 years or so...
Wonderful idea and marvelous execution. Truly makes me proud for my country. I wish they would put one of these out every 10 years or so...
Love the concept of this book. Inspired by the WPA 1930's American Guide Series, editors commissioned 50 writers to write essays on 50 states. About 25% of these are amazing and these are worth the price of the book alone. Dave Eggers writes a genius essay on Illinois, John Hodgeman makes you laugh out loud as he writes about Massachusetts, and Anthony Bourdain writes of growing up in New Jersey in the shadow of NYC. New writers like Joshua Ferris (Florida) and Charles Bock (Nevada) show their
Some were great and I discovered some new writers. But some states, like Kansas, got ripped off. There is no set form or prompt for the essays and some authors are only loosely connected to the state. There is some census data in the back, and lots of state facts. I really enjoyed New York and Illinois, they were funny.What I learned: Pineapple Express is a tropical wind in the Pacific Northwest. Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. A Will Rogers joke. Some states
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