How the States Got Their Shapes

From Strand Bookstore

* Have you ever wondered why so many states have panhandles? Curious as to why Texas and California are so much bigger than other western states? Pick up 'How the States Got Their Shapes' by Mark Stein and learn more than you ever thought you could learn about the shapes of the United States and the history behind each boundary. Learn why the northern part of Michigan is not connected to the rest of Michigan. This book is full of trivia, facts, and American history. From the large to the small this book covers them all. From the epic borders of Alaska to the miniscule finger of West Virginia that creeps up into Pennsylvania. You'll never look at our jigsaw puzzle of states the same way again.

From the Publisher

An accessible history of how each of the fifty United States obtained their unique shapes offers insight into such topics as the super-sized geography of Texas, Oklahoma's panhandle, and Maryland's unusual layout, in a lighthearted chronicle that features complementary information on land disputes and military skirmishes. 30,000 first printing.