State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America: 50 Writers on 50 States

See America with Fifty of Our Finest, Funniest, and Foremost Writers.

Anthony Bourdain chases the fumigation truck in Bergen County, New Jersey. Dave Eggers tells it straight: Illinois is Number 1. Louise Erdrich loses her bikini top in North Dakota. Jonathan Franzen gets waylaid by New York's publicist . . . and personal attorney . . . and historian . . . and geologist. John Hodgman explains why there is no such thing as a 'Massachusettsean.' Edward P. Jones makes the case: DC should be a state! Jhumpa Lahiri declares her reckless love for the Rhode Island coast. Rick Moody explores the dark heart of Connecticut's Merritt Parkway, exit by exit. Ann Patchett makes a pilgrimage to the Civil War site at Shiloh, Tennessee. William T. Vollmann visits a San Francisco S&M club and many more!