Creating Minnesota


Book Description

Winner of a Spur Award, presented by the Western Writers of America (WWA), for the Best Western Nonfiction Historical Book. Renowned historian Annette Atkins presents a fresh understanding of how a complex and modern Minnesota came into being in Creating Minnesota. Each chapter of this innovative state history focuses on a telling detail, a revealing incident, or a meaningful issue that illuminates a larger event, social trends, or politics during a period in our past. A three-act play about Minnesota's statehood vividly depicts the competing interests of Natives, traders, and politicians who lived in the same territory but moved in different worlds. Oranges are the focal point of a chapter about railroads and transportation: how did a St. Paul family manage to celebrate their 1898 Christmas with fruit that grew no closer than 1,500 miles from their home? A photo essay brings to life three communities of the 1920s, seen through the lenses of local and itinerant photographers. The much-sought state fish helps to explain the new Minnesota, where pan-fried walleye and walleye quesadillas coexist on the same north woods menu. In Creating Minnesota Atkins invites readers to experience the texture of people's lives through the decades, offering a fascinating and unparalleled approach to the history of our state.




Prince


Book Description

An inside look at the early years of Prince, presented through both iconic and never-before-seen images taken by the photographer who was at his side through it all.




Sights, Sounds, Soul


Book Description

A photographic celebration of musicians, artists, and everyday scenes from the Twin Cities African American community of the 1970s and '80s by a renowned local photographer.




Double Exposure


Book Description

A rare and intimate look at Minnesota's African American community in postwar America through the lens of a pioneering black photographer.




Minnesota Book of Days


Book Description

A chronological compendium of remarkable and curious events in the history of the North Star State




Historic Homes of Minnesota


Book Description

Great Houses of Minnesota is the engaging story of the evolution of architectural styles in Minnesota from 1830 to 1914--from the influence of the early French traders along the Mississippi and St. Croix to the emergence of the school of Frank Lloyd Wright. Through photographs and colorfully informative text, internationally known historian Roger Kennedy helps readers understand the unique styles of Minnesota's first homes, including the Mower House in Arcola, the first large house on the St. Croix; Alexander Ramsey's "Mansion House" in St. Paul, influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch virtues; the whimsical Charles C. Clement house in Fergus Falls, clearly Norse in spirit; and the Purcell House in Minneapolis, a fine example of the Prairie School design. On a broad plane these architectural eras reflected social customs, politics, commerce, religion, and literature. On a personal level they often revealed the national origin and character of the families that made the house a home. In short, this is in large measure a history of the people. Kennedy has considered their heritage and traditions as carefully as he has examined the architecture they created, and he offers a fresh, wholistic approach to the study of our state's great houses.




Minneapolis-St. Paul Then and Now


Book Description

Celebrating America's favorite cityscapes, this series combines historic interest and contemporary beauty. Then and Now features fascinating archival photographs contrasted with specially commissioned, full-color images of the same scene today. A visual lesson in the historic changes of our greatest urban landscapes.




Suburban World


Book Description

An amateur photographer's astonishing collection of images showcase the oftenunexpected psyche of a developing American suburb in the 1950s and 1960s.




Blue Ribbon


Book Description

Covers everything from prize animals to fair architecture to speeches to Pronto Pups.




Historic Photos of Minnesota


Book Description

Minnesota’s past is defined by its remarkable natural resources, and shaped by its native peoples and early settlers. From the fur trade and the establishment of Fort Snelling, to harnessing the power of the Mississippi River as a means to fuel emergent logging and milling industries, Minnesota’s history is that of a land like no other. Pioneering Minnesotans embraced everything that the sprawling prairies, rich farmlands, and more than 10,000 lakes offered. Boomtowns and small towns sprang up and were connected to the thriving metropolises of Minneapolis and St. Paul through a great labyrinth of railways. From the time photographers first started pointing their cameras in the direction of Minnesota’s land and people, crystallized moments from the state’s history were captured, and stories preserved. The archival images collected in Historic Photos of Minnesota offer unique insights into the state’s not-so-distant past. Spanning more than 100 years, this book documents everyday lives and significant events in Minnesota’s extraordinary history.