From Booklist
Thomas has combined Mencken's and Gunther's views: statistics can pinpoint the best--and worst--states (Mencken), and numbers can identify what makes each state unique (Gunther). His 24 categories include the expected ones: natural resources, such as crude oil reserves and timberland; health, showing major causes of death and number of doctors; racial equality, demonstrating minority college graduates and minority businesses; housing, displaying housing costs and housing size; and education, with high-school dropouts and education spending. Other categories include sports, public safety, politics, and international relations (foreign employers, export-related jobs, foreign-born populations). For each section, Thomas asks a "big question": for example, in history, "Which state has had the richest past, both in terms of historic events and famous people?" In each category, he discusses how he arrived at the figures, which was the best state and which was the worst, the regional winners in the category, the biggest surprise, and the bottom line. He concludes by ranking the states and devising a report card for each state, examining strengths and weaknesses. Thomas provides a list of sources and a brief glossary. His cutoff date was May 1, 1993.
The Rating Guide to Life in America's 50 States will not replace such tools as Places Rated Almanac or others that rank cities by quality of life; its scope is broader than those books. It can provide guidance for people seeking information about a state either with a view to moving there or for school assignments. A topical index would be useful; however, the lack of one is not cause for rejecting the book. It will be useful in school, public, and academic libraries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
