# How the States Got Their Shapes

Why does West Virginia have a finger creeping up the side of Pennsylvania? Why are California and Texas so large when so many of the states in the Midwest are roughly the same size and shape? Why are Alabama and Mississippi almost exact mirror images of each other? Mark Stein provided answers to these questions, and many more, when he discussed and signed his new book, "How the States Got Their Shapes," in a program sponsored by the Center for the Book. The author used the Library's Geography and Map Division and other Library resources in his research. The map of the United States is so familiar that its state borders seem as much a part of nature as mountains and rivers, Stein says. "How the States Got Their Shapes" is the first book to explain why state lines are where they are. Anecdotal in nature, the guide reveals the moments in American history that put the giant jigsaw puzzle of the nation together.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2008
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Education, History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687996/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021687996?play=1)