Learning About Each State In The US, One Book At A Time

Whenever we travel (which we frequently, , with two sons in the Air Force taking us to different areas) I like to read books set in the area we are visiting. I haven't made it to even half of the states yet, but maybe someday I'll at least make it through this list of books set in each state. 

(Note - this post is nowhere hear complete, but I'm going to hit publish so that you all can message me with your favorites set in each state, to add to the list!)

Alabama

• The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (Historical Fiction)
• Cold Waters by Debbie Herbert (Fiction, Thrillers, Series)

Alaska

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (Historical Fiction)
• Alaska by James Michner (Historical Fiction)

Arizona

• Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon by Edward Dolnick (I read this on the plane on our trip there - its an amazing story, and a great read!)

Arkansas

• 
  

California

• River Of Red Gold By Naida West (Historical Fiction, Donner Party, Gold rush)
• The Obituary Write by Ann Hood (Historical Fiction, San Francisco Earthquake)

Colorado

• Centennial By James Michener (Historical Fiction)

Connecticut

• A Fire Sparking by Julianne Maclean 
• The Latecomers By Helen Klein Ross

Delaware

• 
  

Florida

• The Serge Storm Series by Tim Dorsey - (light hearted, amusing, mystery series)

Georgia

• Walking WIth Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy - 1960s Georgia
• The Darkest Child by Delores Philips - 1950s Georgia

Hawaii

• Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (Historical Fiction, About the Leper Colony in Hawaii)  I read this one and LOVED it.  Still have not visited Hawaii though :-) 
• Daughter of Moloka'i  (Sequel to the book above)
• Hawaii by James Michener (Historical Fiction)

Idaho

• Educated by Tara Westover (An incredible memoir - hard to put down!)

Illinois

• The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (one of my all time favorite books)

Indiana
Iowa
Kansas

• Whiskey When We Were Dry by John Larison

Kentucky

• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (Excellent Historical Fiction about the Book Women, and the Blue People of Kentucky)

Louisiana

• Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Historical Fiction)
• Dave Robicheaux series by James Burke (Mysteries - A New Orleans Detective Series)
• The Big Easy By Ruta Sepetys (Young Adult Historical Fiction)

Maine
Maryland

• Chesapeake by James Michener (Historical Fiction)
• Mary's Land by Lucia St. Clair Robson (Historical Fiction)

Massachusetts 
Michigan

• Waves Of Mercy By Lynn Austin  A multigenerational story about Dutch immigrants to western Michigan during the mid 1800s to early 1900s
• The Women Of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell  - Based on true events, “America’s Joan of Arc” Annie Clements—the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.

Minnesota

• This Tender Land By William Kent Kreuger (Historical, Mystery)
• Stillwater by Nicole Helget (Historical Fiction)

Mississippi

• 
  

Missouri

• 
  

Montana

• Holmes On The Range by Steve Hockensmith (Western mysteries, humorous.  Series pans several old west states, but the first book is in Montana)
• A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean "Based on Maclean’s own experiences as a young man, the book’s two novellas and short story are set in the small towns and mountains of western Montana. It is a world populated with drunks, loggers, card sharks, and whores, but also one rich in the pleasures of fly-fishing, logging, cribbage, and family. By turns raunchy and elegiac, these superb tales express, in Maclean’s own words, “a little of the love I have for the earth as it goes by.”
• Ivan Doig's Montana Trilogy - Montana in the 1930s

Nebraska

• 
  

Nevada

• Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam by Michael Hiltzik (Non Fiction)
• Old Bones by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (Murder mystery, based on a search for the Donner Party gold)

New Hampshire

• The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker (Fiction, thriller)

New Jersey

• The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore (non fiction)

New Mexico

• 
  

New York 

• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (One of my favorite authors, this was a great read.  Non Fiction)
• A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Messiner (Historical Fiction, 911, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire)
• New York By Edward Rutherford (Historical Fiction)

North Carolina

• Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• The Wright Brothers By David McCullough (Non Fiction, Favorite Author)

North Dakota

• 
  

Ohio

• The Pioneers by David McCullough
• Kate Burkholder Series by Linda Castillo (Fiction.  Born Amish, Burkholder is now a police chief who solves murders in the local amish community.  These are NOT cozy mysteries - some are very graphic, but they are also compelling reads.)
• Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society: America's Original Gangsters and the U.S. Postal Detective Who Brought Them to Justice  by William Oldfield (Non fiction, reads a bit more like a history lecture than a book, but what a great historical lecture it is!)

Oklahoma

• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann  (Non Fiction)

Oregon

• 
  

Pennsylvania

• The Summer Of 1787  - The Men Who Created The Constitution By David Steward (One of my favorite books of all time. Non Fiction)
• The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough (One of my favorite authors, & this is one of his best.  Non Fiction)
• The Dutch House by Ann Pratchett (audio book is narrated by Tom Hanks.  Fiction.)
• This is my home state, and it's going to need it's own post at some point.  :-)

Rhode Island

• 
  

South Carolina

• The Secret Life Of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd
• Call Your Daugther Home By Deb Spera (fiction)
• Six Miles to Charleston: The True Story of John and Lavinia Fisher by Bruce Orr (Non Fiction, interesting read before our Charleston trip)
• A Charleston Primer For Yankees - History With A Southern Accent by Skip Johnson (Non Fiction, read before our trip to Charleston)
• The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd (Historical Fiction based on a true story of a female entrepreneur in 1739)

 South Dakota

• Finding Dorothy  by Elizabeth Letts - The story behind The Wizard Of Oz, with part of the book taking place in South Dakota

Tennessee

• Bear in the Back Seat: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Kim DeLozier (One of my favorites!  Memoir)

Texas

• Texas by James Michener (Historical Fiction)
• The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II by Jan Jarboe Russell  (Historical Biography)

Utah

• The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (Historical Biographical Fiction)
• True Sisters by Sandra Dallas - based on a true story of morman converts

Vermont

• 
  

Virginia

• Wish You Well by David Baldacci - about the coal mining Appalachia area of Virginia in the 1940’s.
• A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett 

Washington

• Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Washington (non fiction)

Washington D.C.

West Virginia

• The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (Memoir.  Begins as nomads, but they settle in West Virginia)

Wisconsin

• 
  

Wyoming

• Joe Pickett Series by CJ Box. (While I have not yet read these, they are one of my husbands favorite series.  Mysteries about a game warden in Wyoming.)
• One For The Blackbird, One For The Crow by Olivia Hawker "Olivia’s interest in genealogy often informs her writing: her two novels, The Ragged Edge of Night and One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow, are based on true stories found within her own family tree. "

===============

See more in Books That Taught Me The History I Never Knew:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/07/books-that-taught-me-history-i-never.html

Find An Index Of My Book Related Posts Here:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/p/reading.html