American State History

In many ways, the United States are becoming more homogeneous than they were fifty or a hundred years ago. The rise of mass technology, communication, and entertainment has meant more people get the same information through the same media, resulting in a sameness among people and places not possible before.

The old days were much different. For one thing, until recently a large percentage of the U.S. population were immigrants, bringing with them the culture and ethnic traditions of their home countries. Italians, Chinese, Africans, Dutch, Puerto Ricans, Irish, Jews, Scandinavians—they all tended to settle together, and were thus able to preserve what they knew.

Communication was also far less unifying. Correspondence was much more local, typically, and interactions between regions were limited, usually to word-of-mouth and newspapers. In such circumstances, different parts of the country often seemed almost like different countries altogether; this was especially true in places that didn't become part of the Union until relatively late in the nation's history.

Each state has a history of its own, and each one is uniquely fascinating. Even where there seems to be considerable overlap, the differences are very real, such as the difference between the California Gold Rush and the Alaska Gold Rush. An appreciation of the diversity of our nation is almost always preceded by a knowledge of the individual states and regions within it.

Some states naturally have more written about them than others, like Texas, which before it was a U.S. state was an autonomous nation. Nevertheless, we're working on building a diverse collection, though we do have a slight bias for books about the Pacific Northwest. We also have a bias for books from a Christian perspective, though we carry both Christian and secular titles.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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51 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, In-Stock Books & Materials
50 States Flipper
from Christopher Lee Publications
for 5th-Adult
in United States Geography (Location: GEO-REFUS)
$7.96
Adventures of Captain Bonneville
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Robert Reynolds
Klickitat from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Alaska, the Yukon and British Columbia Ghost Towns
by Lambert Florin
from Superior Publishing Company
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of Oregon
by William G. Loy (director and cartographer), text by Clyde P. Patton
from University of Oregon
for Adult
in World & U.S. Atlases (Location: GEO-ATLAS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Back Roads of Oregon
by Earl Thollander
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bandon by the Sea
by Dow Beckham
from Arago Books
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of the Puget Sound Region
by Dennis Paulson
from R. W. Morse Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Cook R. N. the Resolute Mariner
by Thomas Vaughan and A. A. St. C. M. Murray-Oliver
from Oregon Historical Society Press
Museum Exhibition Catalog for Adult
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Color the Pacific Northwest
by Zoe Keller
Clr Csm from Timber Press, Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Adult Coloring Books (Location: COL-ADULT)
$12.95
Country Boy
by Homer Davenport
from M. A. Donohue & Company
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Oregon's Historic Courthouses
by Kathleen M. Wiederhold
from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Finns and Finnicans
by Walter Mattila
from Walter Mattila
for Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Freighters and Pilgrims
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1865
by Charles E. Young and Sarah Raymond Herndon
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Great Sioux Uprising
by C. M. Oehler
from Oxford University
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hiking the Columbia River Gorge
by Russ Schneider
from Falcon Press Publishing
for 10th-adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
How Edison's Lamp Helped Light the West
by John Dierdorff
from Pacific Power & Light
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Islands of Hawai'i
from Hawaii Preparatory Academy
for 4th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West
by LeRoy R. Hafen & Harvey L. Carter
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$21.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest
National Audubon Society Field Guide
by Peter Alden & Dennis Paulson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$27.95
Newcomer's Handbook for Moving To and Living In Portland
by Bryan Geon
3rd edition
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
Penguin Classics
by Francis Parkman Jr.
from Penguin Classics
Historical Non-fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman, Jr., illustrated by Maynard Dixon
from Heritage Press
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Holiday House
for 5th-Adult
in Oregon Trail (Location: HISA-19OR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
Famous Books for Young Americans
by Francis Parkman
from A. L. Burt Company
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Oregon Trail
by Rinker Buck
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Oregon Trail Cookbook
by Leslie J. Whipple
from Maverick Books
for Adult
in American Cooking (Location: COOK-US)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Paddle-Wheel Days in California
from Stanford University Press
for 8th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
People's School, The
by William G. Robbins
from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Children on the Journey West
by Emmy E. Werner
from Westview Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pocket Naturalist Guide: Portland Birds
from Waterford Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Portland Police Sunshine Division
by Lori Shea Kuechler
from Sunshine Division
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Portland Then and Now
by Linda Dodds & Carolyn Buan
from Thunder Bay Press
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Princess Ka'iulani
by Sharon Linnea
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
Ranch under the Rimrock
by Dorothy Lawson McCall
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
South in Modern America
by Dewey W. Grantham
from University of Arkansas Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Strawberry Point
by Florence Roe Wiggins
from T.S. Denison & Company
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
This Precipice Garden
by James DePreist, afterword by William Stafford
from University of Portland
for 10th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
This was Mining in the West
by David W. Pearson
Second Edition; First Printing from Schiffer
for 6th-Adult
in Western Expansion (1800-1898) (Location: HISA-19WES)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
True Stories of Nebraska Pioneers
Knowledge Keepers Home Library Series 1844
by Nebraska Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
from Knowledge Keepers
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
U'Ren
by John F. Williams, Jr. and John F. Williams III
for 11th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$20.00
Vanishing Portland
Images of America
by Ray and Jeanna Bottenberg
from Arcadia Publishing
Photographic History for 6th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
War Chief Joseph
by Helen Addison Howard & Dan L. McGrath
from Bison Books
for 7th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
We Remember
by Mildred Searcey
from East Oregonian Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
West Coast Windjammers in Story and Pictures
by Jim Gibbs
from Superior Publishing Company
for 8th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
White Columns in Georgia
by Medora Field Perkerson
from American Legacy Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wild in the City
by Michael C. Houck, M. J. Cody
2nd ed. from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$22.50
Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge
by Russ Jolley
from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 8th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest
Timber Press Field Guides
by David Moskowitz
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$29.99
Wolves of Denali
by L. David Mech
from University of Minnesota
for Adult
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Women to Reckon With
by Gary Peterson and Glynda Schaad
from Poseidon Peak Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$12.00 (1 in stock)