Our Story

Every state has a legend. Some are carved in stone at Lexington and Gettysburg. Some were found once in a mountain and never again. And some are still told only after dark, on back roads and in old farmhouses, by people who swear they saw something.

States of Legend was founded to give those stories the books they deserve: big, beautiful, illustrated hardcovers that look as good on the shelf as they read in the chair by the fire. Not textbooks. Not cheap paperbacks. Books to keep, and one day to hand down.

Three books, one nation

AMERICA: Land of the Brave is an illustrated encyclopedia of United States history: the people, the battles, every presidency and all fifty states, from the first ships to America at 250.

The Lost Legends of America gathers the tall tales, lost treasures, frontier heroes and unsolved mysteries, and shows where the truth ends and the legend begins.

Dark Legends of America is a field guide to the monsters, hauntings and curses that people reported to sheriffs, preachers and the morning paper.

How we make them

• Facts are checked against primary sources: the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the National Park Service and state historical societies.
• Every legend carries a date, a place and its first recorded source. When a story was a hoax, we say so.
• Native American sacred traditions are not ours to sell, and they are not in these books.
• Every book is a large-format 8.5 × 11 in. hardcover, illustrated in full color.

The First Edition

The First Edition is printed in a limited first run. Take home the whole collection, and you'll own the first printing of a set we hope your family keeps for generations.