Learn more about US territories in new book

We the People Project has raised significant national attention to the issue of voting rights in U.S. territories this last week as it’s 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.  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.

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’ arguments over expansion. He explored Polynesia’s outsize influence on American culture, from tiki bars to tattoos, in American Samoa. He toured Guam with members of a military veterans’ motorcycle club, who offered personal stories about the territory’s 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’s last practitioners. And everywhere he went in Puerto Rico, he listened in on the lively debate over political status—independence, statehood, or the status quo.

The impressive result of Mack’s travels and research is The Not-Quite States of America, an entertaining account of the territories’ place in the USA. The book is the first to try and bring the issue facing U.S. territories to a broad national audience. The book’s take-away is that the territories aren’t mere footnotes to American history; they are a crucial part of the story.

“I like to think I know a lot about U.S. territories, but I learned so much I didn’t 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’t even realize the United States has territories,” 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. “I 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.” 

“One 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.  This is important because while we may be each be small on our own, together our voice are more than 4 million strong,” Weare added.

Mack’s book has already received some glowing praise from national media, including a review in The Seattle Times and the New York Post. He’s 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.