How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein

Here are the stories behind the stories, right down to the tiny northward jog at the eastern end of Tennessee and the teeny-tiny (and little known) parts of Delaware that are not attached to Delaware but to New Jersey. How the States Got Their Shapes is the first book to tackle why our state lines are where they are. Even the oddities-the entire state of Maryland(!)-have become so ingrained that our map might as well be a giant jigsaw puzzle designed by Divine Providence. We are so familiar with the map of the United States that our state borders seem as much a part of nature as mountains and rivers. Why does Oklahoma have that panhandle? Did someone make a mistake? God bless the panhandles and notches, the West Virginias and Oklahomas.' - Wall Street Journal Possibly even THE best.'Give me the splendid irregularities any day. 'Ghost Dance, the new show at River Stage is one of the best evenings of drama I've encountered all year in the Sacramento region. A vast tapestry of romance, politics and personal sorrow, Ghost Dance will not soon be forgotten.' - Sacramento Bee touches upon issues of race, gender and the quicksilver nature of identity in an epic treatment of turn-of-the-century American history.

In the course of her increasing involvement in the defense of the Indian, the young woman finds herself falling in love with her personal evocation of the man he murdered. Loosely based on actual events from 1891, a young woman arrives in South Dakota amidst the sensational trial of a Sioux Indian for the murder of a U.S. 'Stein's writing is so truthful that, when the two part at the semester's end…they give you more enjoyment in 30 minutes than some plays do in two hours.' By his play's end, Stein has provided a definition through dramatic events that are not only spiritually satisfying, but emotionally moving.' – Louisville Courier-Journal Its theme is the nature of success in a materialistic world.

'Two beautifully observed characters who reach across a generation gap with altogether intriguing results. Set in the cramped office of an assistant professor of English at a prestigious university, a quirky undergraduate who asks to be admitted to an honors seminar on comedy spins humor into serious business regarding relationships and life.

How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein