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How the States Got Their Shapes Too: The People Behind the Borderlines
Was Roger Williams too pure for the Puritans, and what does that have to do with Rhode Island? Why did Augustine Herman take ten years to complete the map that established Delaware? How didRocky Mountain rogues help create the state of Colorado? All this and more is explained in Mark Stein's new book.
How the States Got Their Shapes Too follows How the States Got Their Shapeslooks at American history through the lens of its borders, but, while How The States Got Their Shapes told us why, this book tells us who. This personal element in the boundary stories reveals how we today arelike those who came before us, and how we differ, and most significantly: how their collective stories reveal not only an historical arc but, as importantly, the often overlooked human dimension in that arc that leads tothe nation we are today.
The people featured in How the States Got Their Shapes Too lived from the colonial era right up to the present. They include African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, and of course, white men. Some are famous, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster. Some are not, such as Bernard Berry, Clarina Nichols, and RobertSteele. And some are names many of us know but don't really know exactly what they did, such as Ethan Allen (who never made furniture, though he burned a good deal of it).
In addition, How theStates Got Their Shapes Too tells of individuals involved in the Almost States of America, places we sought to include but ultimately did not: Canada, the rest of Mexico (we did get half), Cuba, and, still an issue, PuertoRico.
Each chapter is largely driven by voices from the time, in the form of excerpts from congressional debates, newspapers, magazines, personal letters, and diaries.
Told in MarkStein's humorous voice, How the States Got Their Shapes Too is a historical journey unlike any other you've taken. The strangers you meet here had more on their minds than simple state lines, and this book makesfor a great new way of seeing and understanding the United States.
How the States Got Their Shapes Too follows How the States Got Their Shapeslooks at American history through the lens of its borders, but, while How The States Got Their Shapes told us why, this book tells us who. This personal element in the boundary stories reveals how we today arelike those who came before us, and how we differ, and most significantly: how their collective stories reveal not only an historical arc but, as importantly, the often overlooked human dimension in that arc that leads tothe nation we are today.
The people featured in How the States Got Their Shapes Too lived from the colonial era right up to the present. They include African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, and of course, white men. Some are famous, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster. Some are not, such as Bernard Berry, Clarina Nichols, and RobertSteele. And some are names many of us know but don't really know exactly what they did, such as Ethan Allen (who never made furniture, though he burned a good deal of it).
In addition, How theStates Got Their Shapes Too tells of individuals involved in the Almost States of America, places we sought to include but ultimately did not: Canada, the rest of Mexico (we did get half), Cuba, and, still an issue, PuertoRico.
Each chapter is largely driven by voices from the time, in the form of excerpts from congressional debates, newspapers, magazines, personal letters, and diaries.
Told in MarkStein's humorous voice, How the States Got Their Shapes Too is a historical journey unlike any other you've taken. The strangers you meet here had more on their minds than simple state lines, and this book makesfor a great new way of seeing and understanding the United States.
"From the Hardcover edition."
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
112 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Mark Stein
33 books15 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 2, 2016
Was a mistake to read this book. Was too dry and lacked that special something to draw you in. I think the tv series about this subject is far better. I wouldn't bother with this one.
August 15, 2024
Very interesting!! Incredibly detailed and factual in as much as I knew.
November 29, 2021
Complicated Stories
I knew how the states got their borders got their shapes would be complicated but I couldn’t fathom how it actually was. This is a good start but I think I’d need more exposure to really remember and comprehend the information. It’s a good start.
I knew how the states got their borders got their shapes would be complicated but I couldn’t fathom how it actually was. This is a good start but I think I’d need more exposure to really remember and comprehend the information. It’s a good start.
March 25, 2017
5 stars for the concept of showing us interesting stories about why our states are shaped the way they are. That was highly engaging and eye-opening. Yet I'd give only 3 stars for the writing style. Many chapters were pretty dry and I found myself skimming some sections.
I read this while on the plane for vacation. It does make for interesting conversations with your travel mates.
The best way to read this book is to check the table of contents and choose the states that you think are most interesting to you personally.
Enjoy!
I read this while on the plane for vacation. It does make for interesting conversations with your travel mates.
The best way to read this book is to check the table of contents and choose the states that you think are most interesting to you personally.
Enjoy!
October 31, 2020
THIS IS HIS SECOND BOOK SO I SHOULD GO BACK AND READ HIS FIRST BOOK ENTITLED HOW THE STATES GOT THEIR SHAPES. THIS BOOKS ADDS A PROFILE AND PERSONALITY TO THE STATE OR STATES THAT HE ADDRESSES. VERY FASCINATING HISTORY. THE MAPS ARE PRETTY GOOD IN THE BOOK. IT WOULD BE MORE HELPFUL TO HAVE THEM OUT AS YOU READ THROUGH THE STORY BEHIND WHAT IT TOOK TO GET THE SHAPES THAT OUR STATES ARE IN NOW. GREAT TOPIC THAT IS RELEVANT EVEN TODAY WITH THE TALK OF PUERTO RICO BECOMING A STATE ALONG WITH THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WHICH HE ADDRESSES AT THE END OF THIS BOOK.
July 23, 2017
I really liked the History Channel show based on the previous book (which I didn't read), but I thought this sounded really interesting, to look at the people rather than just the geography. But this was drier than I was anticipating. There were times I started skimming sections.
Not that the information isn't interesting. I learned a lot about US history and geography from this, but its presentation wasn't exactly exciting.
Not that the information isn't interesting. I learned a lot about US history and geography from this, but its presentation wasn't exactly exciting.
August 10, 2017
What a fantastic education this book is, most of which you'll never get in school, but all of which really should be taught.
It is crazily stuffed with gobs of dense information, but Stein never makes the reader feel like he's belaboring anything. Just the facts, and so much of it indeed.
I have an idea for a sequel. I'm going to ask him for permission to write it.
It is crazily stuffed with gobs of dense information, but Stein never makes the reader feel like he's belaboring anything. Just the facts, and so much of it indeed.
I have an idea for a sequel. I'm going to ask him for permission to write it.
March 31, 2018
Human geography knowledge booster. Pleasant reading about the protagonists behind the shapes and borders. I was looking for an explanation of the Texas panhandle. Not to avail. WRT to the Florida panhandle the question that springs to me is: “Why not having given this swath of coastal land to Alabama after the West Florida purchase?"
June 3, 2024
A Worthy sequel
Mark Stein set himself up with a tough act to follow after How the States Got Their Shapes, but here he changes his approach by focusing on the historical figures responsible for those borders, and succeeds in presenting a human side to the expansion of the United States.
Mark Stein set himself up with a tough act to follow after How the States Got Their Shapes, but here he changes his approach by focusing on the historical figures responsible for those borders, and succeeds in presenting a human side to the expansion of the United States.
December 3, 2017
If you enjoy American History, if you enjoy Geography, if you are ever looking at a map and are curious about all the lines on the map, then I highly recommend this book.
November 19, 2019
I loved the first book, "How the States Got Their Shapes" but this one seemed long and tedious.
July 1, 2020
I tried to like this book, I really did. If it is possible, it is even drier than the first one. Perhaps The History Channel can make an engaging show about it but until then, don't bother, IMO.
April 2, 2021
Not a real page turner, but it had some new factoids about key individuals that helped define each state boundary. A lot of duplicate information from his book on how the states got their shape.
April 18, 2021
Interesting topic, for me, but I had to read it in pieces because it was a bit dry. I'm glad I read it, though.
March 2, 2025
The sequel to "How the States Got Their Shapes," this time dealing with the personalities of force that are behind our boundaries...Great History Nerd fodder!
May 14, 2012
While looking at a map of the United States, we may have asked ourselves how the 50 states got their often odd shapes. There is not a single state that doesn’t have a little strangeness to its shape. Why does Missouri have that notch in its southeast, the Boot Heel, that really should be in Arkansas? Why does Oklahoma have a panhandle or Michigan an Upper Peninsula? Why does northwest Pennsylvania have that small piece of land touching Lake Erie, what might have been part of New York? And what's the deal with California's unsymmetric form?
Two books answer these questions in different ways.
"How the States Got Their Shapes Too: The People Behind the Border-Lines," published in 2011, is a followup to Mark Stein’s "How the States Got Their Shapes" of 2008. The latter book examines in 51 chapters the genesis of the borders of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
The 44 chapters of the more recent book are devoted to the famous and obscure people who helped determine the final shapes of the U.S. states. The names range from the famous (Thomas Jefferson, Sam Houston, and Brigham Young) to the obscure (Benjamin Banneker, Francisco Perea, and Clarina Nichols).
Both books not only give the history of why states have the shapes they do but point out that most of the 50 states could have been shaped much differently if not for the actions of settlers, business people, and social leaders and decisions by state legislators, members of Congress, and presidents.
Stephen A. Douglas – best known as the other person in the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 – had an immense impact on U.S. borders as a member of Congress. Stein writes, “Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas established more present day state lines than any other individual.”
In second place would be Thomas Jefferson, who not only made the Louisiana Purchase that resulted in 13 states being added to the union, but had a great influence on the shapes of those states from the Louisiana Purchase and the five states carved from the Northwest Territory.
Both books are fun reads, presenting an American history that hits home and isn’t usually taught in high school and college.
Two books answer these questions in different ways.
"How the States Got Their Shapes Too: The People Behind the Border-Lines," published in 2011, is a followup to Mark Stein’s "How the States Got Their Shapes" of 2008. The latter book examines in 51 chapters the genesis of the borders of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
The 44 chapters of the more recent book are devoted to the famous and obscure people who helped determine the final shapes of the U.S. states. The names range from the famous (Thomas Jefferson, Sam Houston, and Brigham Young) to the obscure (Benjamin Banneker, Francisco Perea, and Clarina Nichols).
Both books not only give the history of why states have the shapes they do but point out that most of the 50 states could have been shaped much differently if not for the actions of settlers, business people, and social leaders and decisions by state legislators, members of Congress, and presidents.
Stephen A. Douglas – best known as the other person in the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 – had an immense impact on U.S. borders as a member of Congress. Stein writes, “Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas established more present day state lines than any other individual.”
In second place would be Thomas Jefferson, who not only made the Louisiana Purchase that resulted in 13 states being added to the union, but had a great influence on the shapes of those states from the Louisiana Purchase and the five states carved from the Northwest Territory.
Both books are fun reads, presenting an American history that hits home and isn’t usually taught in high school and college.
December 12, 2015
Now I'm not even sure of the name of this book. I had thought it was The People Behind the Borderlines, but now it appears that this may just be the subtitle, with the actual title being How the States Got Their Shapes Too. Anyway, this is a sequel or companion book to to Stein's How the States Got Their Shapes. It goes along those same lines, but in 44 chapters, it mostly focuses on the individuals and personalities that were influential in determining specific borders within the United States.
The book starts with Roger Williams and the establishment of Rhode Island. As you'd expect, most of the chapters are set in prior centuries. However, it does make its way to the present, with the final chapter on Eleanor Holmes Norton and her effort for increased Congressional representation for residents of the District of Columbia.
Maybe I missed something, but I felt that the chapter on Clarina Nichols and her efforts to extend voting rights to women seemed contrived in a book that was otherwise about state and international boundaries.
I enjoyed it, but eventually it seems to drag on for too long.
The book starts with Roger Williams and the establishment of Rhode Island. As you'd expect, most of the chapters are set in prior centuries. However, it does make its way to the present, with the final chapter on Eleanor Holmes Norton and her effort for increased Congressional representation for residents of the District of Columbia.
Maybe I missed something, but I felt that the chapter on Clarina Nichols and her efforts to extend voting rights to women seemed contrived in a book that was otherwise about state and international boundaries.
I enjoyed it, but eventually it seems to drag on for too long.
September 27, 2011
This book is the sequel to the popular How the States Got Their Shapes, which went state by state in order to define how their various borders came about. I thought that was really interesting and was excited to learn that the writer had opted to do a sequel. This volume is done in much the same style with each chapter focusing on various people who had a major influence on the shapes of the states. These include the famous Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to the lesser well-known Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, who attempted tirelessly to win statehood for the District of Columbia.
One of the things I enjoyed so much about both books was the strong use of maps and a great narrative writing style that was relaxed while also being informative. The personalities involved are brought to life with Stein's words. In a way, it is hard to put the book down since each chapter runs between 3 and 6 pages.
If you liked the first book or just like American history, this is a must read.
One of the things I enjoyed so much about both books was the strong use of maps and a great narrative writing style that was relaxed while also being informative. The personalities involved are brought to life with Stein's words. In a way, it is hard to put the book down since each chapter runs between 3 and 6 pages.
If you liked the first book or just like American history, this is a must read.
June 19, 2013
I really enjoyed the first book, but this one didn't quite live up to those expectations.
Negatives... There is a lot of repetition between the first and second books.
Some of the topics don't even relate to actual boundaries of states, like the story about women's rights in Kansas.
His coverage of historical events is somewhat inconsistent, in that sometimes he gives a lot of background information about a particular border and other times he doesn't.
There isn't an introduction or conclusion. He slaps a paragraph at the end of the last chapter to try to sum things up, but it didn't really do the job.
Positives...
He has fleshed out some of the stories from his first book and added some others.
The maps are very helpful at illustrating issues.
It has several stories that fall into the "what if" category, like the United States taking over most of the northern part of modern Mexico.
Negatives... There is a lot of repetition between the first and second books.
Some of the topics don't even relate to actual boundaries of states, like the story about women's rights in Kansas.
His coverage of historical events is somewhat inconsistent, in that sometimes he gives a lot of background information about a particular border and other times he doesn't.
There isn't an introduction or conclusion. He slaps a paragraph at the end of the last chapter to try to sum things up, but it didn't really do the job.
Positives...
He has fleshed out some of the stories from his first book and added some others.
The maps are very helpful at illustrating issues.
It has several stories that fall into the "what if" category, like the United States taking over most of the northern part of modern Mexico.
August 4, 2011
I was looking forward to the second book in the series of books on the borders of states in the United States. I found that this book was tougher to get through than the first book. The first book, How the States Got Their Shapes, I could not put down. The majority of The People Behind the Borderlines is the same information as the first book but told in chronological order and focused on the legislation and the individuals involved in creating the borders. The first book had it the borders in alphabetical order by state. The subject of the book is different (people vs the states themselves) but the information is more or less the same. I gave the book four stars because there are interesting points and if you read this book before or instead of How the States Got Their Shapes it may be more interesting.
October 12, 2012
This is a book about people. But there is also a fair dose of history, geography and, yes, politics. With fifty states, all with unique histories, only a brief chapter can be devoted to each. I kept wanting to know more. The fascinating characters who shaped the country are as diverse and provocative as our current countrymen.
The stories continue to this day. Will this country always have fifty states? (It only had 48 in my youth.) Are there still citizens that have taxation without representation? Can state boundaries change? Is the political climate today different from what it has been in the past? This is an ongoing tale. History really does come alive in these brief bedtime stories.
The stories continue to this day. Will this country always have fifty states? (It only had 48 in my youth.) Are there still citizens that have taxation without representation? Can state boundaries change? Is the political climate today different from what it has been in the past? This is an ongoing tale. History really does come alive in these brief bedtime stories.
July 27, 2015
Very similar to the first book by Stein, How the States Got Their Shapes. Same ironic writing style, same view of geographic history being the history of individuals and how important decisions are sometimes made by the loudest voice and not necessarily the most reasoned voice. As with the first book, read the chapters that sound interesting and skip the others, although there is even more overlapping here of the characters than in the first book. Recommended for people who want to know more about the history of the United States, and Americans.
July 30, 2012
Ever wonder why our states have the borders they have today? The way the borders got set aren't as obvious as you might think, and there have been - and still are - plenty of disputes over where the lines should be drawn. Unlike Mark Stein's first book, "How The States Got Their Shapes Too" concentrates on the people who helped set our states' and our country's modern borders; some of them are very familiar , many more of them are much less so, but their stories were all fascinating.
December 15, 2012
There are probably not many border-junkies out there like me--but still consider it. Here are some remarkable stories about the people who had the most extraordinary influence in the design of our country's boundaries. Rhode Island, Utah are stunning. Our dealings with Mexico, Canada and France will astound you. Best of all is the "pig war" in the San Juan de Fuchas and what was Spain doing up there in the state of Washington anyway? All will be revealed when you read.
August 7, 2016
I LOVED the first book, watched the History Channel special and the History Channel show... however I just couldn't get into this one. The first one moved along at a good pace, this one drudges on during the boring legal battles and the quotes are just as dull. Where the first one was interesting to just about anyone, this one is geared to those who like US History and/or Geography. I found it worthwhile to read but wouldn't recommend it beyond my fellow history buffs.
December 27, 2011
In the first book, Stein mentioned a land magnate who made sure that his properties were included in Missouri. I think everyone who read that said "wait, I want to know more about that guy!" So he wrote this book, about that guy, and lots of other people, who influenced various borders. Every story is interesting and well-told.
January 6, 2012
A good follow-up to his original book with this one placing the main emphasis on the people behind how states got their borders or came into existence. Even touches on those areas that did not become states such as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. I came away from this feeling that the common thread as usual is politics.
February 22, 2015
This was a great book. I read How the States Got Their Shapes so I decided to pick this book up from the library. I am so glad I did. This book focuses on the people that influenced the borders of the United States. My favorite story was the story of West Virginia about the brilliant legal Maneuvers that created the state.
December 22, 2013
This book was not as good as anticipated. Some of the stories didn't talk about as much of the specifics on how states were shaped, but had general stories on the people that had something to do with it. I thought it could be more specific on some events. Having said this, the book covered a lot of ground and you learn a lot about things that are not discussed in normal history books.
April 13, 2016
How states gets their shapes is not a easy a it may seem. Some states used to bigger and some are now larger. From arguments to protests, the shapes of states has a very complex history. Full of wise men and women, they are part of the reason why their states are made the way they are or are in the United States. This novel is an excellent follow up of the previous book by Mark Stein.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews