An Astounding Atlas of Altered States is a tribute to such great unrealized dreams of states that came remarkably close to joining the union while others never had a chance.

Everyone knows the fifty United States--but what about the hundreds of other statehood proposals that never came to pass? An Astounding Atlas of Altered States is a tribute to such great unrealized dreams as West Florida, Hazard , Montezuma, Rough and Ready, and Yazoo. Some of these states came remarkably close to joining the union while others never had a chance. Are you living in an area that fancied itself a completely different state?

Consider some of the following states that just didn't make the cut. Frontier legend Daniel Boone once proposed a state of Transylvania in the Appalachian wilderness (his plan was resurrected a few years later with the new name of Kentucky). Residents of Bucolic South Jersey wanted to secede from their urban north Jersey neighbors and form the fifty-first state. The Gold Rush Territory of Nataqua could have made a fine state-but since no women were willing to live there, settlers gave up and joined California.

Each story offers a fascinating glimpse at the nation The United States might have become--along with plenty of absurd characters, bureaucratic red tape, and political gamesmanship. Accompanying these tales are beautifully rendered maps detailing the proposed state boundaries, plus images of real life artifacts and ephemera. Enjoy exploring this astounding atlas of lost, abandoned, and altered states.