The Handy State-by-State Answer Book ─ Faces, Places, and Famous Dates for All Fifty States

How did colonies, territories, and land purchases shape the United States of America? What differencesand similaritiesare there between the states? What does each state bring to the union? From sea to shining sea,The Handy State-by-State Answer Book: A Guide to the 50 States of America explores the history, growth, politics, people, and more of each of the 50 states. It is a resource for learning about the events and personalities that influenced and affected each state, its history, government, cities, and culture. It is a convenient place to look for state facts and trivia.

In addition to the state motto, nickname, and when it entered the union, The Handy State-by-State Answer Book answers intriguing questions about the people, places, and events that lend a unique character to each state's boundaries, government, and places of interest, such as: How important were the Beach Boys to the making of California’s culture? Are the Hawaiians still in charge of their state and its economy? Why was it so easy for the Pilgrims and the Puritans to take over eastern Massachusetts? Who were the first inhabitants of what is now South Dakota? Does it ever stop raining on the Washington coast?

Samuel Willard Crompton is a native of Massachusetts who has visited about 30 of the 50 states. During a break from his literary endeavors he took a 30-day train trip around the entire perimeter of the country, and he's never been the same since. Some of the highlights were the Four Mile Bridge at Astoria and Cut Bank, Montana. Crompton is the author or editor of many books, includingThe Illustrated Atlas of Native American History and Visible Ink Press' The Handy Civil War Answer Book. He is a specialist in the French and Indian Wars and has served as a talking head for the Military Channel on itsFirst Command program. Crompton teaches history at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts, where he has seen his students move from the analog to digital ages.