Minnesota Books

Katherine Mansfield, who died in 1923 of tuberculosis while still a young woman, gave us many glimpses into her private psyche when her celebrated "Journal" was published. But editor Margaret Scott, in assembling "The Katherine Mansfield Notebooks" gives us a more intimate perspective by supplementing the already famous journal entries with poems, half-finished stories, and even recipes and shopping lists. The result is an addicting mix of literary divinity and the charming mundane.

These faithfully reproduced writings reveal Katherine Mansfield to have been a highly strung, creative genious with an obession about her own mortality. Equal parts tragedy and comedy, reading "The Notebooks" is the closest that any of us will ever come to knowing Mansfield herself. It's an advantage that not even her husband, J. Middleton Murray, experienced during her lifetime.

This book is a valuable addition to the collection of anyone who enjoys reading about Christmas traditions.

Stoker traces the Roman and Viking roots to Christmas celebrations in Norway and their evolution among Norwegian-Americans. She emphasizes the importance of preserving ethnic heritage: "Americans find in ethnicity an antidote to the isolation that has grown increasingly acute in the wake of the massive suburbanization that began in the 1940's.... Ethnicity fulfills the particularly American need for origins and belonging..."

Christmas is an ideal time to reconnect with one's cultural roots. As Stokker writes: "Incorporating change while retaining everything that makes it so beloved, Christmas holds within its vast and monumental embrace diverse individuals, families and cultures, allowing each a means of self-expression."

The "authenticity" of ethnic celebrations, however, is open to interpretation. Stokker writes: "When people no longer fear that their ethnicity may threaten their life chances, they can express it more freely. With greater time separating them from the Old Country, they can also feel less constraint about the way they choose to express their attachment to it. As a result, individuals and families increasingly create the content of their ethnicity, picking and choosing the items that they themselves find meaningful...."

This book is a great read and worth the trouble of finding a used copy. (Or buy a brand new copy from Barnes & Noble)

Christopher Peterson (Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature, Claremont McKenna College, California) presents Kindred Specters: Death, Mourning, and American Affinity, an in-depth exploration of the themes of death, mourning, and violence as well as how they affect kinship relations in literary works such as Charles Chesnutt's "The Conjure Woman" and William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!" Focusing specifically on American culture, Kindred Specters observes how non-normative forms of kinship (including interracial relationships and the fairly recent issue of gay marriage) have been relentlessly condemned to the extent that the abstract concept of death is projected upon and associated with them. Calling for the need to become aware of the mortality and mourning that form a cornerstone of all kinship relations, rather than unconsciously deny, extrude, and project fear and death upon "others" at every opportunity, Kindred Specters is a thought-provoking and rewarding philosophical discussion.

This book is all about the Twins's run to the World Series in 87. All twins fans should read it to get the inside look at the Twins.

Like a medic writing from the trenches about the ravages of war, Dr. Cwayna shares his unique perspective as a medical doctor who has dedicated his life to the service and medical treatment of homeless youth. Dr. Cwayna provides expert insights into the needs of these kids and the inadequacies of our social system that are supposed to serve them. Dr. Cwayna goes beyond an analysis of these systems, he introduces us to the unique kids he works with and shares the pains and struggles that brought them to live on the streets. A heartfelt book by a gifted author and healer.

This book is the beginning of a colossal critique on late capitalism, its logic and the dismay of the state form. It announces what would later become the theory and book of Empire, one of the most relevant perspectives to understand the world today, in terms of postmodernism, inmaterial production, globalisation, war, democracy and the new sovereignty. It is highly recomended for anyone looking for thought stimulation and provocation, as well as a penetrating account of actuality inside our philosophical and political traditions.

This book provides an excellent literature review on tourism impacts. The text is quite readable but it is not superficial, as many texts in tourism management.

The Lake District Of Minneapolis: A History Of The Calhoun-Isles Community is the collaborative work of David A. Lanegran (Professor and Chair of Geography, Macalester College) and historian, academician, and former codirector of the Living Historical Museum at Macalester College) offers a unique regional history of one of the most colorful of Minneapolis' distinctive neighborhoods which includes Lowry Hill, Kenwood, Lake of the Isles, and East Calhoun. This is a complete history of the area beginning with the early Native American settlements and the arrival of pioneering missionaries, through the era of the turn-of-the-century grand resorts and the innovation of streetcars; to the park board's remaking of the lakes and the landscape in 1911. Enhanced with superb historical photographs and illustrations, this informed and informative history concludes with historical walking tours of the Lowry Hill, Kenwood, East Lowry Hill, Lake of the Isles, East Calhoun, and Cottage City neighborhoods, The Lake District Of Minneapolis is superbly organized and presented -- and would well serve as a template for other localized and regional histories of American communities elsewhere in the country.

I have not heard the whole cassette yet (I will since I plan to order this when I'm finished the review). But I just heard the *Young Lutheran's Guide to the Orchestra* on my Public Broadcasting Station as I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. I sat in my car for 25 minutes, totally enthralled, laughing until I hurt at his comments on each orchestral instrument and why each was unappropriate for a Lutheran to play.

My sister drives quite a distance to work and listens to audio tapes in the car. After I enjoy Keillor's tape, I'll give this to her for Christmas--or maybe I'll get one of my own...?

Ever wonder why you or someone you know fears something for no particular reason. Well wonder no longer because Yi-Fu Tuan has applied his geographical mapping skills to the cultural origins of fear. The result is a fascinating reconstruction of how fear originates in humans from our first days as a child to our last days of life. Tuan uses examples from cultures all over the world to help his readers fully understand the similarities/differences of cultural fears and how we express them in our vast and varied, mental and material constructions.

Tuan also examines how fear has led to many of the human race's greater advancements and accomplishments. Perhaps the most stunning and interesting facts contained in this book will be the discussions of the rate of crime/violence in earlier ages and how rural/agrarian life was never as quiet and peaceful as we would like to think. This work raises a definite challenge to those who believe that contemporary societies are mired in a moral collapse.

This is a must read not only for its brilliant look at the phenomenon of fear, but also for its accessibility to all levels of readers. If you have any interest in cultural studies, crime/justice, psychology, cultural geography, or horror literature then this book demands a spot of honor on your bookcase.