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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56 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Trade Paperback
Bandon by the Sea
by Dow Beckham
from Arago Books
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Collector, The
by Jack Nisbet
from Sasquatch Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
by Clarence B. Carson
from American Textbook Committee
American History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Basic History of the United States (Location: HISCUR-US)
$17.00
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
from Greenhaven Press
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$11.00 (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
Early Oregon Days
by Edwin D. Culp
1St Edition from Caxton Press
for 6th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
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)
Fabulous Opal Whiteley
by Elbert Bede
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
God's Mountain Man
by Esther Vogt
from Gospel Publishing
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Gray & Columbia's River
by Joean K. Fransen
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Great and Minor Moments in Oregon History
by Dick Pintarich
1st edition from New Oregon Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
In Search of Western Oregon
by Ralph Friedman
1st Ed from Caxton Press
for 11th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Jamestown and the Founding of the Nation
by Warren M. Billings
from Thomas Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Jamestown Colony (Location: HISA-17JA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Kid on the River
by Dean Nichols
1st edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Landscapes of Promise
Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books
by William G. Robbins, Foreword by William Cronon
from University of Washington Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
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)
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 Rinker Buck
from Simon and Schuster
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Oregon's Golden Years
by Miles Potter
2nd edition from Caxton Press
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Other Side of Oregon
by Ralph Friedman
from Caxton Press
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Outlaws of the Pacific Northwest
by Bill Gulick
from Caxton Press
for 7th-Adult
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
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)
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
by Jim Pojar, Andy MacKinnon
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
Pocahontas
by Grace Steele Woodward
1989 Printing from University of Oklahoma Press
for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Portland Bridge Book
by Sharon Wood
from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 8th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Princess Ka'iulani
by Sharon Linnea
from Eerdmans
Biography for 7th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
Roadhouse Tales
by Matilda Clark
2004 printing from Bullerville Press
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
Rose City Justice
1st edition from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Seattle: Now & Then
by Paul Dorpat
from Paul Dorpat
for 5th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: Northern New England
by Vance Muse, with photography by Paul Rocheleau
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: Rocky Mountain States
by Jerry Dunn, with photography by Mary Jenkins and Marion Paone
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: Southern New England
by Henry Wiencek, with photography by Paul Rocheleau
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: Texas & the Arkansas River Valley
by Tabori Stewart
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Carolinas and the Appalachian States
by Tabori Stewart
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Deep South
by William B. Logan and Vance Muse, with photography by Mary Z. Jenkins
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Desert States
by Tabori Stewart
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Great Lakes States
by Suzanne Winckler, with photography by Balthazar Korab
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Mid-Atlantic States
by Michael S. Durham, with photography by Michael Melford
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Plains States
by Tabori Stewart
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: Virginia and the Capitol Region
by Henry Wiencek, with photography by Mary Z. Jenkins
from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 9th-Adult
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
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)
Spells of Lamazee
by James Seeley White
from Loki Books
for Adult
in Clearance: Literature (Location: ZCLE-LIT)
Tales From a Northwest Naturalist
by Jim Anderson
1st edition from Caxton Press
for 5th-Adult
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
That Balance so Rare
by Terence O'Donnell
from Oregon Historical Society Press
for 7th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
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)
Travels of Jedediah Smith
by Maurice S. Sullivan
from University of Nebraska
for 10th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
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 Claimed This Land
by Eugene E. Snyder
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
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