Customer Reviews

These United States: Original Essays by Leading American Writers on Their State Within the Union

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I'm astonished by the range of this book and how over 50 disparate writers, who can't have known what the other writers were writing about, have created an incredible montage of contemporary America, an America from below, beyond the talk show trash and the garbage from teh White HOuse. I found the whole experience quite redemptive and inspiring; these great literary minds have forged a classic piece of Americana that deserves to be treasured for generations...

I like this book, like it a lot in fact. With only one or two exceptions the chapters are insightful and sometimes inspiring. It truly offers a tour of modern America, and a wonderfully diverse tour at that - sure the states differ, but so do the wrting styles of the various authors. I bought four copies to give as holiday gifts, and each of the young recipients has been seduced into reading chapter after chapter. Personally, I went first to "Texas" and Molly Ivins, then "New Mexico" with Tony Hillerman, "Wisconsin" childhood home of my father, "Upstate NY" my childhood home, etc. etc. Lots of reasons to seek out various chapters.

After reading this book, it is clear that each state is truly unique from who settled there and why and how the current populace thinks and works together. Almost every author took a clear eyed view of the problems in the state and most if not all portrayed the continuing issue of racism and wrestled with why it persists. I appreciated the authors' straightforward assessment of the state of their states, and their discussions of what keeps them there or what keeps drawing them back.

Terry Tempest Williams's essay about Utah impacted me the most.
"Something is terrible wrong, out of balance. This we know. This we feel as red-blooded Americans who believe in freedom in all its strange, peculiar, and wondrous configurations.

For those of us who choose to live in the outback of mainstream America -and surely those of us who live in Utah qualify - we choose to believe that voices on the margin have always exerted pressure on the center. Listening is required. Belief and hard work are seen as allies. Suddenly dialogues spring forth like water bubbling up in the desert. And a community rises to the call of its members."

Sherman Alexie's essay on Washington, Molly Ivins on Texas, David Mura on Minnesota, and Joanne Mulcahy on Oregon also stood out.

This book was published in 2003, but made for interesting relevant reading as the election process winds through the states.

If you want to read about what is the pulse of things in all fifty states in 2003, this book is great...fifty writers, each based in the state they write about share a piece about their state...it is agreat read and a very good idea.

I read with great enthusiasm the stories about the states I wanted to learn more about.