We the People Project has raised significant national attention to the issue of voting rights in U.S. territories this last week as it\u2019s crowdfunding effort nears its goal of $10,000. Now these issues are getting a boost in the form of a new book by author Doug Mack, The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA.\u00a0 The book is already on presale with its publisher W.W. Norton or on Amazon.com and will hit the shelves today, Feb. 14, 2017.<\/p>\n
When author Doug Mack realized just how little he knew about the territories, he set off on a globe-hopping quest covering more than 30,000 miles to see them all. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mack examined the founding fathers\u2019 arguments over expansion. He explored Polynesia\u2019s outsize influence on American culture, from tiki bars to tattoos, in American Samoa. He toured Guam with members of a military veterans\u2019 motorcycle club, who offered personal stories about the territory\u2019s role in World War II and its present-day importance for the American military. In the Northern Mariana Islands, he learned about star-guided seafaring from one of the ancient tradition\u2019s last practitioners. And everywhere he went in Puerto Rico, he listened in on the lively debate over political status\u2014independence, statehood, or the status quo.<\/p>\n
The impressive result of Mack\u2019s travels and research is The Not-Quite States of America, an entertaining account of the territories\u2019 place in the USA.\u00a0The book is the first to try and bring the issue facing U.S. territories to a broad national audience. The book\u2019s take-away is that the territories aren\u2019t mere footnotes to American history; they are a crucial part of the story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to think I know a lot about U.S. territories, but I learned so much I didn\u2019t know reading a pre-release copy of The Not-Quite States of America. I think people will enjoy the book whether they live in a U.S. territory or didn\u2019t even realize the United States has territories,\u201d said Neil Weare, president and founder of We the People Project, a non-profit that advocates for equal rights and representation in U.S. territories. \u201cI encourage people to buy a copy of The Not-Quite States of America for themselves, and also one for a friend or family member living stateside who could stand to learn more about the issues we face.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that’s great about the book is that it will help people living in U.S. territories realize we have a lot more in common with each other than perhaps people might have thought.\u00a0 This is important because while we may be each be small on our own, together our voice are more than 4 million strong,\u201d Weare added.<\/p>\n
Mack\u2019s book has already received some glowing praise from national media, including a review in The Seattle Times and the New York Post. He\u2019s also come up with some innovative ways for promoting the book on social media, including a fun (and challenging) quiz on U.S. territories and a must-share YouTube video where Mack hand draws the 50 states plus five U.S. territories while explaining the history of U.S. expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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