In this remarkable collection of original essays, critically acclaimed writers meditate upon the state of their state in the union to create a unique portrait of contemporary America.

Introduction / John Leonard — Alabama / Diane McWhorter — Alaska / John Straley — Arizona / Gene Lyons — California (North) / Rebecca Solnit — California (South) / Mike Davis — Colorado / Thomas J. Noel — Connecticut / Maureen Howard — Delaware / Eric Zencey — Florida / T.D. Allman — Georgia / Jim Grimsley — Hawaii / Lee Siegel — Idaho / Judith Freeman — Illinois / Ana Castillo — Indiana / Richard Lingeman — Iowa / Frank Conroy — Kansas / Antonya Nelson — Kentucky / Dwight Allen — Louisiana / James Lee Burke — Maine / Janwillem van de Wetering — Maryland / Wayne Karlin — Massachusetts / Elizabeth Benedict — Michigan / Jim Harrison — Minnesota / David Mura — Mississippi / Steven Barthelme — Missouri / Gerald Early — Montana / Walter Kirn — Nebraska / Ron Hansen — Nevada / Marc Cooper — New Hampshire / Donald Hall — New Jersey / Luc Sante — New Mexico / Tony Hillerman — New York (New York city) / Marshall Berman — New York (Long Island) / Tom Gogola — New York (Upstate) / JoAnn Wypijewski — North Carolina / Jill McCorkle — North Dakota / Larry Watson — Ohio / Kiki DeLancey — Oklahoma / Elizabeth Seay — Oregon / Joanne B. Mulcahy — Pennsylvania / Kathryn Davis — Puerto Rico / Rosario Ferrâe — Rhode Island / Scott MacKay — South Carolina / MariJo Moore — South Dakota / Kathleen Norris — Tennessee / Nikki Giovanni — Texas / Molly Ivins — Utah / Terry Tempest Williams — Vermont / Jay Parini — Virginia / David Berman — Washington / Sherman Alexie — Washington, D.C. / William Greider — West Virginia / Michael Tomasky — Wisconsin / John Nichols — Wyoming / Annie Proulx.