Many books have been written about Maine across the fictional, nonfictional and historical genres. In honor of Maine’s Bicentennial celebrations, though, the Maine Historical Society selected a few books everyone with an interest in the Pine Tree State should read to understand the State’s history and its place in the United States today, the past two centuries, and before Maine became the State of Maine. 

Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present
This 1995 book, from Richard Judd, Joel Eastman and Edwin A. Churchill, is regarded as the “first comprehensive history of Maine to be published in decades” and surveys the region’s history from the prehistoric days to the early 1990s. The authors explore a wide range of subjects encompassing the political, anthropological, cultural, ethnic, maritime, and military facets of Maine. This book is available at the Belfast, Camden, Rockland and Rockport libraries. 

Historical Atlas of Maine
Hailed as a “wonderfully illustrated history of Maine through maps,” this 2015 Stephen Hornsby and Richard Judd book showcases Maine’s historical geography from the end of the last ice age to the modern millennium and details the Maine way of life for the past 13,000 years covering the history of Natives, European exploration and settlement, the American Revolution, Maine statehood, industrial development, and the rise of tourism and environmental awareness. This book is available at the Belfast, Camden, Rockland and Rockport libraries. 

Maine: The Wilder Half of New England
William David Barry’s 2012 book overviews 500 years of the State’s history from the initial contact of Europeans and Native Americans to modern society. Barry draws upon more than 200 images courtesy historical societies around the state and special collections to illustrate Maine’s history through the economy, culture, arts, education and religion. This book is available at the Belfast and Camden libraries. 

Maine’s Visible Black History
Forty-two contributors detail Maine’s Black history relating to a plethora of subjects in this 2006 book compiled by H.H. Price and Gerald Talbot. From slavery, civil rights, the arts and sciences to politics, education, religion and sports, the writers dissect how Blacks have shaped the state, despite being a racial minority. The book “uncovers and reveals a rich and long-neglected strata of state history and proves a very real connection to regional and national events.” This book is available at the Belfast, Camden, Rockland and Rockport libraries. 

Rivers of Fortune: Where Maine Tides and Money Flowed
Penned in 1983 by Bill Caldwell, this book examines the cultural history of the Penobscot, Kennebec, Saco and Damariscotta Rivers. Exploring more than three centuries, Caldwell outlines how scores of individuals — settlers, sea captains, merchants, shipbuilders, and barons — have made millions through Maine’s natural resources. This book is available at the Belfast, Camden, Rockland and Rockport libraries. 

Coastal Maine: A Maritime History
Roger Duncan examines more than four centuries of Maine’s coastal maritime history in his 2002 book, beginning with the initial discovery of the coast’s valuable resources to Maine’s hand in the nation’s history. Zeroing in on the past century, Duncan details how the state’s economy has transformed into what it is today from what it once was. This book is available at the Belfast and Camden libraries.