[Posted by Paul Gleason]

In Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t, Stephen Prothero claims that Americans, despite being a relatively devout bunch, know shockingly little about the precepts of their faiths. Prothero teaches at Boston University and shares a list of “biblical bloopers” that his colleagues have collected from student exams over the years.

• “Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.”
• “The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert [sic]. Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.”
• “Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the Battle of Geritol.”
• “Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you. He also explained, ‘A man doth not live by sweat alone.’ ”
• “The epistles were the wives of the apostles.”
• “St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.”

In State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, 50 great American writers bring us 50 indelible essays, each on one state of the union, and each marked by writerly insight, unexpected detail, and crisp prose. The book’s appendix offers another way of reading America—30 pages of tables ranking the states on a variety of measures (some enjoyably quirky), from temperature to divorce rate to numbers without health insurance. Today we bring you the top ten states by . . .

Classic Movie Theaters and Drive-ins Per Capita

1. Rhode Island (143.1)

2. North Dakota (111.5)

3. Oklahoma (108.2)

4. Missouri (102.1)

5. Illinois (83.1)

6. Wyoming (80.5)

7. New York (74.0)

8. Montana (66.3)

9. Idaho (65.8)

10. Massachusetts (65.5)

SOURCE: Cinema Treasures. Movie theaters considered classic theaters or drive-ins as of July 2006, per 1 million population.

To see how the other 40 states fare on this and other measures, see State by State.

In State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, 50 great American writers bring us 50 indelible essays, each on one state of the union, and each marked by writerly insight, unexpected detail, and crisp prose. The book’s appendix offers another way of reading America—30 pages of tables ranking the states on a variety of measures (some enjoyably quirky), from temperature to divorce rate to numbers without health insurance. Today we bring you the top ten states by . . .

Roller Coasters Per Capita

1. New Hampshire (5.3)

2. New Jersey (4.7)

3. Ohio (4.0)

4. Missouri (4.0)

5. Pennsylvania (3.8)

6. Nevada (3.3)

7. Utah (3.2)

8. Colorado (3.2)

9. Maryland (3.2)

10. Maine (3.0)

SOURCE: The Roller Coaster Database, 2006. Number of steel and wooden roller coasters per capita, expressed per 1 million population.

To see how the other 40 states fare on this and other measures, see State by State.

[Posted by Sarah Silbert.]

In his new book, 1959: The Year Everything Changed, Slate columnist Fred Kaplan describes the last year of the fifties as a period of change, upheaval, and progress in all areas of society that sparked the tumultuous developments of the sixties. Kaplan covers the year chronologically, devoting chapters to such various events as the Soviet rocket Lunik’s flight past the moon and a new generation of Beat poets and writers’ rise to prominence. The conviction that this year was a turning point, the introduction of a “new frontier,” pervades the whole book.

Kaplan sees the implications of this pivotal year as a double-edged sword: “It was this twin precipice—the prospect of infinite possibilities and instant annihilation, both teetering on the edge of a new decade—that gave 1959 its distinctive swoon and ignited its creative energy.”

Here are five areas in which major change occurred in 1959, as outlined Kaplan’s book:

Politics

• Spurred by fears of a “missile gap” between the two countries, the United States government invested time and money in nuclear development. In the case of war, the U.S. Strategic Air Command was prepared to drop all of its 3,423 nuclear bombs on targets in the Soviet Union and Communist China.
• U.S. relations with Cuba cooled considerably after Castro and his government developed closer ties with the Soviet Union. The Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow the Cuban government and secretly planned for Castro’s assassination.
• Later that year, the beginning of the Second Indochina War, in which North Vietnamese nationalists fought for control over American-aided South Vietnam, marked a step toward heightened American intervention in international conflicts.
• At the same time, the University of Wisconsin historian William Appleman Williams introduced his concept of “Open Door imperialism,” a view of U.S. foreign policy that maintained that America’s foreign aide was economically motivated.

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In State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, 50 of America’s foremost writers present original pieces of reportage and memoir that capture the 50 states as they are today. All of which is great and well worth reading. Tucked in the back of the book, though, is something almost as compelling — thirty pages of tables ranking the states on an eclectic but revealing range of measures, such as divorce rate, alcohol consumption, temperature (high and low), voter participation, crime, and even number of roller coasters per capita.

Incarceration Rate

Incarceration rates for inmates sentenced to more than one year, expressed per 100,000 residents. Source: U.S. Department of Justice (PDF)

1. Louisiana (736)
2. Texas (724)
3. Oklahoma (622)
4. Mississippi (574)
5. South Carolina (550)
6. Nevada (542)
7. Alabama (509)
8. Arizona (507)
9. Georgia (502)
10. California (478)

In State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, 50 of America’s foremost writers (see below) present original pieces of reportage and memoir that capture the 50 states as they are today. All of which is great and well worth reading. Tucked in the back of the book, though, is something almost as compelling — thirty pages of tables ranking the states on an eclectic but revealing range of measures, such as divorce rate, alcohol consumption, temperature (high and low), voter participation, crime, and even number of roller coasters per capita. Starting today we’ll bring you the top tens from various of these lists, with sources. First up, topically enough, are the ten states with the highest percentage of people lacking health insurance

Percentage of population without health insurance

1. Texas  (24)
2. New Mexico  (22)
3. Florida  (21)
4. Arizona  (20)
5. Louisiana  (20)
6. Mississippi  (19)
7. California (19)
8. Oklahoma (19)
9. Nevada  (18)
10. Arkansas  (18)

Source: Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Estimates based on the Census Bureau’s March 2006 and 2007 Current Population Survey. (PDF)

See State by State’s authors after the jump.

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[Posted by Paul Gleason]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its annual data on how we the people spend our day. Working, mostly. But we also cook, mow the lawn, and pick little Andrew up from soccer practice so he can play Guitar Hero. Below are some of the survey’s more interesting findings.

• Among full-time workers, men worked longer than women—8.3 versus 7.7 hours.
• On an average day, 20 percent of men did housework—such as cleaning or doing laundry—compared with 50 percent of women.
• Of those who engaged in leisure activities, men spent more time in these activities (5.7 hours) than did women (5.1) hours.
• Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, accounting for about half of the leisure time, on average, for both men and women.
• Socializing, such as visiting with friends, was the next most common leisure activity, accounting for about three-quarters of an hour per day for both sexes.
• Employed adults living in households with no children under 18 engaged in leisure activities for 4.5 hours per day, nearly an hour more than employed adults living with a child under age 6.
• On an average weekday, among adults living in households with children under 6, women spent 1.2 hours providing physical care, such as bathing or feeding a child. By contrast, men spent 0.4 hour (25 minutes) providing physical care.
• Adults living in households with children under 6 spent an average of 2.0 hours per day providing primary childcare, such as reading or talking to their children.
• Adults living in households where the youngest child was between the ages of 6 and 17 spent less than half as much time (0.8 hours) providing primary childcare.
• Individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 0.2 hour (10 minutes) per weekend day while spending 1.0 hour playing games or using a computer for leisure.
• Individuals age 75 and over averaged 1.2 hours of reading per weekend day and 0.3 hour (17 minutes) playing games or using a computer for leisure.

Photo: AP

I have to be honest, I don’t really get this “summer reading” thing (though of course I’m happy to pile on). As best I can tell, the idea is that a good summer book is an “easy” read? Easy reading has its place, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve always found that summer vacation is the only time I can really get into a book for long (more or less) uninterrupted stretches; in other words, the more concentration a book needs, the more likely I am to read it during the summer; whereas the breezy page-turner is about all I’m good for during the year, in the roughly 7 minutes between reaching over to the nightstand and crashing out.

But anyway: here, for your consideration, are some more summer recommendations from here and there.

• Amy Walter, editor in chief of National Journal’s Hotline (Book TV)
• Sen. Mitch McConnel, Senate Minority Leader (Book TV) (No, really.)
• Summer Nonfiction Recommendations (NPR)
• Librarian Nancy Pearl Picks Summer’s Best Books (NPR)
• Vote For The Best Beach Books Of All Time (NPR)
• Summer Reading: 25 Books You Can’t Put Down (Oprah’s Book Club)

We asked Maureen Corrigan, book critic for Fresh Air with Terry Gross, PBC editorial board member, and serious genre fiction buff, to recommend some favorite mysteries, thrillers, and police procedurals for summer reading. Here’s what she came back with.

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

If you don’t know of him, Pelecanos has been writing crime novels for years about the “other” Washington (i.e., not Capitol Hill or Northwest DC) He’s socially and racially conscious and a terrific writer.  Also wrote for The Wire.  The working class “hero” of this novel works for his family’s remodeling company.

Small Crimes by Dave Zeltzerman

I really really loved this noir that came out last year.  A police officer newly released from prison tries to put his life back together in a small town in upstate NY and only proves himself to be one of fortune’s fools.  Pure, updated James M.Cain.

The Moe Prager mysteries of Reed Farrell Coleman

My find of the year.  Coleman is superb but relatively unknown.  Hailed by Michael Connelly and most of the Big Guys in Hard Boiled Detective fiction. His Moe Prager series is terrific (Jewish ex cop detective) and one of them, Redemption Street, is my favorite because it’s set in the crumbling Catskill resort area.  A perfect summer setting! [Listen to Maureen Corrigan’s

The Adamsberg series of Fred Vargas

Terrific, psychologically dense police procedurals set in Paris.  Reminiscent of the classic  Per Wahloo/Maj Sojwall police procedural series. This series stars Inspector Adamsburg and a recurring cast of police detectives and considers all the big questions about the nature of evil.  Vargas is one of the biggest names in crime fiction in Europe but, again, not widely known here except to real crime fiction fans.  (And, yes, she’s a she.)

Death of a Nationalist by Rebecca Pawel

Came out in 2003 and is set in the Spanish Civil War but its political story loops around in unexpected ways.  Pawel spun a series out of it but this was her debut book (she was a young Spanish teacher at the time) and it’s really smart and politically inflected.

The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin

This one is probably not in print (1958 is the date on my first edition) but I’d love to make a pitch for it.  It’s the first mystery that I know of in which a woman who’s recently given birth and is sleep deprived as a result sees things she shouldn’t see in the small hours of the evening.  Proto-feminist in its politics.

The following is excerpted from The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be by Michael Lux. In the book Lux shows that while conservatives were very much in the asendancy during the period after 1970, progressives were still able to notch up some impressive and valuable legislative and policy successes, to the benefit of the country as a whole. Here’s a partial list of progressive achievements in the last three decades, each secured over fierce conservative opposition.

1. Superfund (1980) for polluters that goes towards the cleanup of toxic dumpsites.  Republicans allowed it to expire in 2004.
2. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1983) originally vetoed by Reagan.
3. The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) allows employees to take (as of yet) unpaid leave for health or family reasons.
4. The Motor Voter law (1993) made voter registration significantly easier.
5. The National Service Initiative (1993) allowed young people to volunteer for social service programs in exchange for a small stipend and tuition help.
6. The Reinventing Government Initiative (1993) significantly cut down government bureaucracy and paperwork.
7. Cutting crime (1990s) with more cops, crime prevention programs, and stricter gun control.
8. The S-Chip program (1997) expanded healthcare coverage to millions of children.
9. Minimum wage increases (1996, 2007)
10. New congressional ethics legislation (2007, 2008) “…to clean up the stench left by the scandals of the previous few years.”
11. The Sarbanes-Oxley Bill (2002) created modest regulatory oversight in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals.