Journalists' Bookshelf: 'American Nations'

A fascinating guide into America's regional history.

Illustration by Midjourney

American history is often portrayed as a grand national narrative, but it’s really more the story of a bunch of different threads coming together.

The history you learned in middle school skipped around a lot. One minute we’re in Jamestown, Virginia, then we’re at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. Then we’re at Sutter’s Mill in California.

As a result, you never really get a sense of how those areas developed before and after their moment in the historical spotlight. Outside of the South, which gets a lot of ink, you probably never get much of an overview of different regions of the country.

“American Nations” takes this head on. In the book, journalist and historian Colin Woodward divides the country into 11 different regions. Yankeedom, which includes parts of New England and the Midwest, and the Deep South are probably the most familiar. But he puts New York City and some nearby cosmopolitan spots in New Netherland; and breaks off Tidewater (also called the mid-Atlantic these days) from the Deep South. The West Coast is divided between the Left Coast areas on the western side of the mountain ranges and the Far West, which is culturally more a part of the interior states. (In Washington state, this is called the “Cascade curtain,” but it’s a distinction outsiders might not recognize.)

You can quibble with the details, obviously, but each chapter serves as a succinct overview of a specific region and explains what makes it interesting. If you’re a new reporter in that area, it’s a good introduction to the history and culture. If you’re from there and haven’t lived elsewhere, it might help you get some perspective on what’s different about it. And if you’re a national reporter working in the Acela Corridor, it will help you break out of the dumb Red State/ Blue State frames and get a richer understanding of the country as a whole.

(As an aside, I cannot believe how many people in Washington, D.C. mispronounce “Nevada,” but if I couldn’t name the five boroughs of New York City, I would be considered ignorant. And no one gets “Hawai'i” right. Please! America is a fascinating and diverse country. Learn about something other than swing states and New York!)

Ideally, you’d read up on the specific region you cover, but these books are a mixed bag. Some are dry, some get lost in the weeds, and some are outdated. In North Carolina, more than one person pressed “The Mind of the South” on me, although it has some big oversights, so maybe pair it with something like “The Strange Career of Jim Crow.” In the Northwest, I’d recommend Jonathan Raban’s “Passage to Juneau” and the books of Murray Morgan. Raban’s “Bad Land” is also a great overview of the Badlands. And fine, “Here is New York” and “New York City: A Short History” are your best reads, unless you want to go full “Power Broker.”

I’m sure there are some other great books from other regions of the country that I haven’t read. If you know one, post it in the comments or on the form below.

“American Nations” is available for $16 on Bookshop.org.

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