"The United States is in a fifty-states-wide couples' counseling session, thinking about filing for divorce. Can a nation composed of states that are so different possibly hang together? Quinn ... calls us out state-by-state, from Connecticut to Hawaii. He identifies the hypocrisies inherent in what we claim to believe and what we actually do. Within a framework of big-picture thinking about systems of government--after all, how would you put this country together if you started from scratch today?--to dead-on observations about the quirks and vibes of the citizens in each region, Overstated skewers us all: red, blue, and purple. It's ultimately infused with the same blend of optimism and practicality that sparked the United States into being."--
Introduction -- New England -- Mid-Atlantic -- The South -- The Midwest -- The Southwest -- The West -- The Pacific Coast -- The country's foster children -- The American Rome -- Inventory or autopsy.
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