THE 50 STATES

With this alphabetically arranged overview of the U.S.’s 50 states, Lee and Stanev wheel out distinctive vehicles, bridges, roads, geographical features, tourist attractions, and local events.

Lee promises “trains and planes, trucks and cars” but delivers much more as Stanev spills kinetically posed images in exuberant profusion across each state’s one-page entry. Iconic destinations from the Statue of Liberty to the Golden Gate Bridge appear. In this parade of wonders, Lee has interpreted the “things that go” theme loosely enough to roll past 10 lighthouses (including one in Nebraska), as well as races involving cars, horses, turkeys, funeral caskets, outhouses, toilet bowls, and mattresses in diverse locales. Also included are a drive-thru museum in Alabama and the world’s biggest truck stop (Iowa), drive-in restaurant (Georgia), rubber duck (Minnesota), and hot-air balloon festival (New Mexico). Generic figures paddling down waterways or riding carousels, skateboards, and the like join a select but reasonably inclusive cast of inventors, aviators, and other notable movers. The general impression that there’s always something going on nearly everywhere in the country turns this quick flyover into an epic sweep.

Fun to browse, and on track to excite an interest in any vacation trip.