The Not-Quite States of America

Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA

By: Doug Mack

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Everyone knows that the United States of America is made up of 50 states and, uh...some other stuff. The territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands are often neglected, but they are filled with American flags and national parks and US post offices and some four million people, many of whom are as proudly red-white-and-blue as any Daughter of the American Revolution. In The Not-Quite States of America, Doug Mack ventures 31,000 miles across the globe and deep into American history to reveal the fascinating and forgotten story of how these places became part of the United States, what they're like today, and how they helped create the nation as we know it. Along the way Mack meets members of millennia-old indigenous groups, far-flung US government workers, ardent separatists, and tropical-paradise dropouts and dreamers in a quixotic and winning quest to find America where it is least expected.

©2017 Doug Mack (P)2017 HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books

Masterfully Written

Author Doug Mack masterfully weaves insightful knowledge with vivid, first-person stories of cross-cultural engagement. His writing both educates and immerses the reader in communities that (whether acknowledged or not) we, as Americans, are deeply connected to.

Eye-opening

For most of my life, I knew very little about US territories or even what it really meant to be a territory. Then I moved to one and began reading about them. This book gives an solid overview, including the culture, history and political status. I wish this had been included in my formal education when I was younger.

Worthwhile Learning

The residents of the United States mainland really, really need to learn and care much more about our territories. I love people from Puerto Rico and American Samoa, and benefited from this book to learn more about their cultural and political contexts. I'm not sure I support some of the narrator's choices of accents, but overall this book is worth your time.

learn something

I really learned a lot about the territories! I lived on Guam for 10 years and loved it, but I've lived the experience of feeling less than American.