American History by the State: Interesting Stories and Random Facts About Texas, California, and New York

History of the United States Box Set, Book 1

By: Bill O'Neill

Narrated by: Derek Newman

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Rich history, important figures, and massive events that rocked the entire continent; each of the 50 states comprising the United States has been the scene of enormous moments in history that are the subject of study all over the world.

Knowing such facts and being able to recognize the details of culture, folklore, and sports (among many other pieces of trivia) are gifts that very few have, even those that can boast living in certain states all of their lives.

In this American History by the State box set, we provide you with the trivia and facts surrounding three of the most emblematic states in the US: Texas, New York, and California:

• Learn how Texas earned its name, “The Lone Star State”, as well as discovering more about its mysteries in The Great Book of Texas.
• Discover just how the beloved Statue of Liberty found its way into history and became quite possibly the most recognized city emblem in the world in our Great Book of New York.
• Open the floodgates of knowledge surrounding the powerful media industry in the Golden State, and find out more about how it came to reach its peak in the Great Book of California!

Every state has its history and every history has its facts - our goal is to provide you with everything you will need to know, and which not even your professors or parents taught you.

Get it today and start learning just what makes each state across the United States unlike any other!

©2019 LAK Publishing (P)2019 LAK Publishing

I found it boring and superficial.

It was short on history and long on trivia. I wanted history. For example, I don’t think a discussion of the TV show Sex In The City even remotely qualifies as history of the state of New York.

Entertaining and fun to listen to

I’ve listened to several of Bill O’Neill’s books. He continues to entertain while giving you tons of facts and stories.

3 Large Doses of Large States History and Fun Fact

I have become a fan of Bill O'Neill's research and writing. His presentation of US state stories is equally fun and educational parts. The information makes the states attractive from different angles whether it be history, fun facts, unsolved mysteries or statistics. Travel to these states without leaving your chair but get ready to REALLY travel based on what you just heard from Mr. O'Neill!

Captivating book

Who knew history could be fun? This book introduces the rich history of three powerful American states, and how they progressed to this point. The in-depth research involved in this book is quite evident, especially in the various fun facts about these states. Even those that are natives of these lands would have a thing or two to learn about the great Texas, New York and California. Nicely researched, organized and delivered.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, and I have left this unbiased review in return.

Another excellent work from Bill!

Bill O'Neill's books have a certain depth and originality about them, and this points to the amount of work/effort put into the production of these books. This audiobook is also in this league, presenting various random facts and interesting details about three popular American states: New York (the city of dreams), California, and the wild and unyielding Texas. Also, the narrator did justice to the book. The trivias are randomly introduced in a full and rich voice of a seasoned orator. A good way to enjoy this book would be while on morning drives or walk. This way, you can always share with your friends or colleagues later on in the day.

I received this book for free. This review is solely based on my own opinion of the book.

Excellent book.

More than expected! This book is rich in so many important parts of American history. While it does not present anecdotes about all the states in America, it particularly brings the origins of the Texans, New Yorkers and Californians to light. For example, did you know the Texans stereotype of "tough and unyeilding" is not just hearsay, their initial struggle for continued independence and uprising against a larger republic is why it is nicknamed "The lone star state!". If you didn't know, now you do. There are many more interesting and fascinating historical stories like this about many random things and events linked to these great states. The writer did a good job with the research, and Derek Newman delivers on the narration. Good book.

Disclaimer: I obtained a copy of this book from the author as a "free review copy"; however, this review is purely of my own opinion and judgement.

Enjoyable, but the mispronunciations drove me nuts

I really enjoy Mr. O'Neill's trivia books. They are interesting, educational, and sometimes very funny. It is clear a lot of time, effort, and research goes into collecting and presenting the information. However, this was one I would rather have read instead of listening to the audiobook. The mispronunciation of names, particularly in the California segment drove me nuts. If I had to hear the narrator pronounce La Jolla with a hard "J" and hard "l" in Jolla one more time I would have screamed, and he had a habit of dropping the s on names and sports teams, for instance the Nets became the Net. Very distracting. So kudos to Mr. O'Neill for his research, but the narrator was a miss for me on this one.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review

Interesting state trivia!

This is a well-organized and well-narrated set of trivia books about a handful of the United States. I've listened to other trivia audiobooks from Bill O'Neill and have been happy with all of them. They contain some information that I already knew, but more facts that I was unaware of. So if you want to learn about these states and are interested in bite-sized chunks of information rather than a longer non-fiction narrative, this is a good choice for you.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

An Excellent Trivia Collection

If you've not yet had the pleasure of listening to one of Mr O'Neill's trivia books then this is a wonderful chance to hear three! I've enjoy several books by this author and am always on the lookout for more. He does his homework and finds crazy, significant and insignificant, little known facts about whatever the book topic is. With this one we get Texas, California and New York. This is a great way to learn more about the states that make up our wonderful country. If you enjoy trivia or just learning more about these states then you should pick this collection up. The narration is done well. Derek Newman has a pleasant voice and reads at a nice pace. He's easy to understand and follow. Overall, a great listening experience for all the trivia buffs out there.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Tons of fun! Must listen for trivia fans!

American History by the State: Interesting Stories and Random Facts About Texas, California, and New York (History of the United States Box Set, Book 1) by Bill O'Neill and narrated by Derek Newman was a blast to listen to! Highly recommend if you are looking to expand your knowledge, wanting something interesting to pass the time on a road trip, or looking for something new.

This book is well researched and well written. It contains a nice variety of facts on Texas, New York, and California. Some examples of what to expect: rattlesnake roundup festival, Jack the Ripper’s tie to Texas, what soft drink was originally going to be named Waco, the start of the underwire bra, Bodacious the bull, Amber Alert origin, Prairie Dog Town, the oldest hospital in America still in operation, what park has been featured in more movies than any other in the world, Macy’s Christmas Day parade and why they went from live animals to balloons, the almost destruction of Grand Central Station and Jackie Kennedy Onassis move to save it, red velvet cake history, the riots over straw hats in 1922, Murder’s Row lineup, Lower Manhattan almost becoming a federal district, the last time Congress convened at New York City Federal Hall, why California was mistakenly named, Doritos started in Anaheim, the Beat Generation subculture, Cobb salad origin, The Cecil Hotel deaths, the Williams sisters, Bethany Hamilton, Michelle Kwan, and so much more.

The narrator, Derek Newman, did an awesome job! I would listen to another book by both the author and narrator. I do not have any critique for this book- it’s fantastic!

~A brief description~
Texas
Introduction- approximately 3 minutes.
1) History and Random Facts- approximately 35 minutes.
2) Pop Culture- approximately 36 minutes.
3) Inventions, Ideas, and More- approximately 27 minutes.
4) Sports- approximately 27 minutes.
5) Unsolved Mysteries, Supernatural, and Other Weird Facts- approximately 43 minutes.
6) Wildlife, Science, and Other Cool Facts- approximately 35 minutes.
Conclusion- less than a minute.

New York
Introduction- approximately 3 minutes.
1) History and Random Facts- approximately 37 minutes.
2) Pop Culture- approximately 32 minutes.
3) Facts about New York City Attractions- approximately 35 minutes.
4) New York Inventions, Ideas, and More- approximately 28 minutes.
5) Unsolved Mysteries, Supernatural, and Other Weird Facts- approximately 40 minutes.
6) New York Sports- approximately 27 minutes.
Conclusion- less than a minute.

California
Introduction- approximately 3 minutes.
1) California History and Random Facts- approximately 39 minutes.
2) Pop Culture- approximately 36 minutes.
3) Facts About California’s Attractions- approximately 30 minutes.
4) Inventions, Ideas, and More- approximately 28 minutes.
5) Unsolved Mysteries, Supernatural, and Other Weird Facts- approximately 43 minutes.
6) Sports- approximately 30 minutes.
Conclusion- less than a minute.

Overall, I recommend, regardless of your knowledge level. There is surely something for everyone in this book.

Parental guidance/trigger warnings: There is no swearing. It is pretty family friendly with exception to the chapters on unsolved mysteries, supernatural, and other weird facts- those sections discuss murders, serial killers, missing children, and like subjects. There are mentions of the Cosby show, 9/11 attacks, and OJ Simpson.

*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

A delightful trivia book

As a lover of history and all things facts, this book is like an early Christmas present. It has so many fun facts about these three great American states: Texas, California and New York. Being mostly fascinated by the Texans, I find this book informative on so many aspects of the state history, culture and icons. Also, it is a great way to pass time.

I got a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the author, and I have left this unbiased review.

Texas via trivia

A great way to catch up on fun history about Texas. The narration is great too, it creates a game show ambience. Also, with the randomness of the trivia, this this book keeps the listener guessing, and the end of each section with a quiz adds a nice touch to the overall book.

I was given this free review copy in exchange for a review. This review is only based on my assessment

The ugliest man on campus.

History, celebrities, music, film, sports, murders, hauntings, holiday attractions and beauty spots: they're all here in nice, bite sized offerings to give an overall flavour of the state being discovered. This box set compiles the first three books together of this fun and educational exploration of each of the U.S.states, with Texas, New York and California. I knew Texas was big but I hadn't realized it was the size of two Germany's. Nor that guano played such an huge part in the economy. I guess I hadn't really thought much beyond oil and cattle. Oh, but there is - so much more.

And that is what is such fun about these books individually. The reader is taken on a verbal journey found the state in question, past and present, being offered quick and fascinating facts under the separate headings of history, pop culture, ideas and inventions, sports and unsolved crimes and supernatural happenings. And after each chapter is is simple, multi-choice quiz to test one's memory: really useful for those who like entering trivia competitions. Or leave it out if it is not wanted, it is very short: only five questions each time, usually.

Not everything about these books is perfect, of course. There are occasional small editing glitches, an unexpected pause in the narration or a stumble over pronunciation There is the annoying repetition of title heading and paragraph beginning, as in:
'One of the most famous trees is located in California.
Did you know that one of the most famous trees can be found in California?'
This is fine on a visual text page but sounds too repetitious when spoken aloud, especially when occurring frequently in the course of the reading. One of the sentences is superfluous. But it is a minor irritation in an otherwise excellent collection. And Derek Newman's narration is easy to listen to, giving enough tone change to maintain an interest.

My thanks to the rights holder of American History by the State who, at my request via Audiobook Boom, freely gifted me a complimentary copy. It was very much appreciated. This whole series is a very pleasurable way of finding out more about the different States of America. It makes learning fascinating and fun. And I recommend this book, and any others in this series, to everyone who has a curiosity for odd facts or just wants to expand their knowledge in a pleasurable way.

Oh yes, and that music icon who was voted the 'ugliest man on campus'? If you don't know who it was, then you'll just have to look in 'Texas'