From ancient Native American civilizations to the pivotal 2020 elections that reshaped American politics, Georgia's story is nothing short of extraordinary.

In The Peach State: A History of Georgia, acclaimed historian Daniel Hardy takes readers on an epic journey through 13,000 years of one of America's most fascinating and complex states. From the sophisticated Mississippian culture at Ocmulgee to the Trail of Tears, from Sherman's devastating March to the Sea to Martin Luther King Jr.'s freedom movement, from Jimmy Carter's rise to the halls of power to Georgia's emergence as today's ultimate political battleground—this is the complete story of a state that has repeatedly found itself at the crossroads of American history.

Hardy masterfully weaves together the grand sweep of historical forces with intimate human stories, revealing how Georgia's past continues to shape our national conversations about democracy, justice, and identity. Whether exploring James Oglethorpe's utopian experiment, the brutal realities of plantation slavery, the courage of civil rights pioneers, or the dramatic political transformations of recent decades, The Peach State illuminates the struggles and triumphs that have made Georgia both a mirror and a catalyst for American change.

With vivid storytelling and meticulous research, this comprehensive history shows how a colony founded as a haven for debtors became the engine of the cotton economy, how a state torn apart by civil war reinvented itself as the capital of the New South, and how Georgia ultimately emerged as the place where America's democratic future hangs in the balance.

Part of the acclaimed Hardy Histories of the States of America series, combining scholarly rigor with compelling narrative to bring American history to life.