Minnesota Books

Im so impresed with this mans work I am obsessed. He is a rare breed of intelligence. He has a piece in this called 'Mouth" which refers tothe position our heads take well being thrown back in a scream as that of an extension to our spines, inother words that we assume an animal architecture to our bones in the most extreme pains. Batailles constant opinions detailed here in wonderful totaly controlled short pieces , is for me, the only truly awful reading I have ever done. A music piece I often play also has this effect. It is genuis to have the power of horror in works not involving the 'supernatural". I am in awe of this odd,dead man.

in reponse to stevie, i'd say that andre breton has left us infinitely more to 'go on' than the far too reductionist bataille. unlike bataille, breton was not living in the shadow of his idols (bataille:sade) but trying to generate something new. bataille's assessment of nietzsche and the surrealists as romantic icaruses also seems a self assessment; bataille could never rise above his 'need to go below'. he was guilty of precisely the same things he accused the surrealists of.

Bataille was French surrealist who wrote like an alien trapped on a hostile planet. In searing essays like "the Solar Anus," he almost convinces you that the end is not just near, but here. Disturbing and beautiful, this book is highly recommended.

He and Breton (the dead ox, vile priest, castrated lion of surrealism) violently attacked one another precisely because Bataille was opposed to the idealism and the upstanding morals of surrealism. Bataille is probably spinning in his grave at the mere thought that his legacy would be trashed by the sloppy reference to him as a member of religion he so hated.

If you plan to visit the Northshore of Lake Superior, take this excellent book with you. It describes and rates on a five-star scale all the many waterfalls of the Northshore, helping you to plan your trip.

Cascade River State Park, Gooseberry Falls State Park, and Tettegouche State Park are must-see destinations, but there are more.

As someone who once lived about half a block from one of these waterfalls and visited about a dozen of the others, I must say that the descriptions are accurate, detailed, and helpful. I believe, however, that the Wallingas' estimations (on a one-star to five-star scale) of each waterfall's beauty are slightly inflated. I never saw a five-star waterfall on Minnesota's North Shore. That designation should be reserved for Gullfoss, Niagara, or the like. The falls that the Wallingas rank three or four, I would rank two or three -- and some things that they call waterfalls are just one-star rapids. But this is not a criticism, just an expression of difference of opinion.

My only real criticism is that the photos should be in color, not black-and-white, with many more full-page bleeds.

I recently spent 3-4 days on the North Shore hiking to some of the waterfalls that Eve and Gary had listed as their favorites in this book.

Their descriptions of each waterfall seemed right on. Directions were easy to follow, their rating of the hike difficulty seemed accurate, and they certainly had a good sense of what made a 5 star vs. a 2 star waterfall.

I am a photographer, and so the only thing I would have liked to see added was a little more commentary on how 'accessable' a particular falls was - i.e. if I could only see it from a pre-built deck, or if with waders I could get in the river and approach it from other angles.

However, without this book I certainly would not have had the time to find many of the falls that I did. It is a wonderful resource - I'd call it essential for anyone planning a sightseeing / hiking trip along the North Shore and will recommend it to my friends and fellow photographers.

There are numerous books about Minnesota's North Shore, but this new book manages to offer something not previously available. It concentrates exclusively on the waterfalls along the Minnesota North Shore, and I don't think there has been such a book before with this kind of information all in one place. Most importantly it includes literally every falls there is including many you won't read about elsewhere. Good directions and trail comments are included - I know we would have had found more difficulty finding some falls without it.

This book is very well written as well. Avoiding both dry commentary and flowery prose, the Wallingas write in an engaging conversational tone, that is nevertheless carefully constructed. It is a pleasure for me to pick up anytime and read at random.

If you love Lake Superior, I recommend this book very highly as one you should consider owning, rather than borrowing.

This is a chilling, true-life account of a childhood that should have never been, and 17 years of life that would forever haunt the author, Peter Razor. Peter, an intelligent boy that was raised in an orphanage as a ward of the state, then placed in an abusive indentured farm home had a childhood that is reprehensible, and sadly true. Supposedly protected by the state, Peter became a boy who flinched from physical contact, and had no understanding of what a normal happy home should be like. Unlike Peter Razor, not all children were lucky enough to survive the abuse that could be found in state orphanages when Peter was growing up. Corporal punishment went unchecked, and Peter, an American Indian, also had the added disadvantage of prejudice thrown in. Eventually placed on a farm, his placement was not carefully monitored, and the abusive treatment with this family was never noted by the social worker who was suppose to be monitoring Peter's placement. While the Locust Slept, a Minnesota Book Award Winner, is a compelling, well written tale that reads like a novel, yet is sadly a true tale of a horrific childhood that was unchecked by the state that was suppose to be protecting him

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Razor while on a trip to Cochiti Lake, New Mexico. After talking for a while he passed me a copy of his book and asked me to read it and then share it with others. I read the book cover-to-cover on the trip home and was amazed that the man I had talked to had once been the little boy in the book. Mr. Razor was a kind and gentle man that never revealed the scars from his childhood in any part of our conversations. America's inhumane treatment of the Indian people is well documented. This book offers graphic descriptions of individual cruelty that was fueled by ignorance and prejudice. I don't know if many human beings could have endured this sort of trauma and survived to be so kind. Peter is a truly incredible person and I would recommend his book to anyone.

My father as well was in the Owatonna "orphanage" which he termed as an "intournment camp/prison"! Babies and children were treated more tragically at this place than you could even imagine. Babies died for lack of "touch" and nurturing! Children were beaten, mauled, and oftentimes died as a result of such treatment. Peter Razor cites an insightfully true story of just SOME of the horific experiences of babies and children in this most insightful book on our country's past (AND EVEN PRESENT) ways of "Social Services" treating our "lost" children!! A MUST TO READ!

Like Peter I lived and went through total hell from a matron while I was in the same orphanage. After reading Peters book while the locust slept,I relived the same anger, as Peter indured.This book should be a must read by anyone,who plans on going into the socialwork field and know that this is truly a non fiction tragedy which happened.This is a story that took place a long time ago,but could still and does happen today.

I simply wish to echo what was said in the previous two reviews of this book. If one wants a primer on wolves for lab, classroom or at home reading this is the one to get.

It is a highly enjoyable book easy to understand for a wide ranging audience. It is my hope this book will inspire it's readers to probe deeper and consider reading further on the topic, for example: Wolves of Minong: Isle Royale's Wild Community (Ann Arbor Paperbacks) by Durward Leon Allen.

This book fascinates every wolf lover even more of this species, and those, who haven't decided yet what to think about wolves, might start to love them and "fight" for the recovery of this species. It gives many details about behaviour, ecology, and conservation of wolves. Despite being written in the 90ths most of its information is still up to date. This book is used by many students, but is equally suitable for the interested public as Mech manages to describe the facts in clear, understandable words. It is highly recommendable for people who want to learn more about wolves.

For anyone with a serious interest in Wolf Ecology or Dog Psychology this is a'Must Read!'. In the book Mech draws on his own observations of wolf behaviour, as well as those of other influential wolf researchers. Full of information and observation on the ecology, sociology, behaviour and communication of wolves, I have found this book invaluable in my research into Dog Physcology, and have even applied some of what I learnt from its pages to the training of my Inuit pup.

This was the first book I studied before I bought my wolfdog. It's a great general reference book on wolves, factual and not biased. It's especially useful for understanding wolf behavior and body language, which one must aquaint one's self with before considering getting a wolfdog. Some of data is outdated, such as showing the wolf and domestic dog as separate branches on the canine family tree, but by and large it's a good reference book.

Great book! I owned my first arctic wolf/husky some 25 years ago and have owned two other wolves since. Little Grizz just howled in the back yard, probably to his firefighter friends who just went by with their siren whistling. After experiencing The Wolves of Minnesota, David Mech has reminded me; I'm still learning.

Edited by renowned wolf expert L. David Mech, The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland collects the expertise of individuals who have devoted themselves to studying Minnesota wolves, and presents the amazing true story of the wild Minnesota wolf's remarkable comeback. Gorgeous full-color photography on almost every page enhances this collection of essays that range from a summary of the wolf's life cycle and predator/prey habits to an in-depth discussion of managing the conflict between livestock owners who suffer from wolf depredations, wildlife supporters who have strong beliefs against allowing the killing of wolves, and government wolf control and compensation programs meant to chart an equitable middle ground. Enthusiastically recommended for wolf lovers everywhere.

In this book, the alpha male of wolf studies, David Mech, has collected contributions from other leading researchers on a variety of topics concerning wolf behavior, wolf-human conflicts, and wolf research and policy. It differs from other books on wolves in focusing very narrowly on the Minnesota population, with only occasional mention of connected metapopulations in Michigan, Ontario and Wisconsin.

The book is filled with beautiful pictures of wolves at all times of the Minnesota year - - winter, no longer winter, and getting to be winter. (These seasons are also known as "winter" and "road construction.") Jokes aside, the pictures are beautiful and well worth the modest price of the book.

The chapters provide a very helpful introduction to wolves, written at the classic tenth-grade reading level that we are all supposed to use for adults. They are accessible and informative, but wolf freaks won't find anything new.

I'd heartily recommend this book for every high school and public library in Minnesota, and also recommend it to others for the pictures. The text is good for a certain audience, which I hope I've described above, but not for other audiences.

I recieved this book as a gift, and I was duly impressed by the stunning photography and loads of intriguing wolf information. I am also an avid wolf artist, and I use this book's color photography for reference quite often. Anyone who loves wolves and wild canids, Minnesotan or not, should read this book.

I saw the author on a morning talk show and he mentioned that he was from Sioux Falls, S. D. This is my home town and his story sounded so interesting that I just had to read the book. What a love between two people. I loved the book and highly recommend it. Wonderful thoughts that made me realize that we should love with all of our power because we are only here for a short time on Earth.

WOW! I was very impressed. I'm not a big fan of true stories but I loved it. I laughed during the "Fugitive" chapter. I cried when their dreams where shattered. I couldn't put it down because; it had you on the edge. You are always anticipating that next chapter. Now for things you won't get in the book. Some people might think that I am bias because I lived near Mitch and Brenda for many years, but that isn't the case. I was shattered the day that I found out about Brenda's passing. I didn't want to believe it. I walked to Mitch and Brenda's and knew it instantly when Mitch opened the door. My voice was paralyzed and could do nothing but just give Mitch a hug as we tried to comfort each other. Enough... I don't want to give away the whole book. Order it, it's well worth the money.

I read "Yes Dear" as soon as I received it. At first I didn't think I could read it at all. I knew Brenda on a personal level. I really didn't think I could read about a friend that had just died. I read the book in one night. I read the review from the person that said Mitch and Brenda were materialistic. This is far from the truth. They both worked very hard for what they had. (you would know this if you read the book) Yes their home was nice, but they deserved it! I thing it is one of the best things that Mitch could have done in the memory of his loving, beautiful wife is to write this book. I know from talking to Mitch that it was a way of healing for him. It was also a way of healing for many of Brenda's friends like myself. People can learn alot from this book about how a loving, giving relationship should work. Brenda and Mitch's relationship was wonderful, but they also had their bad time which they worked threw. As far as Mitch not mentioning Jean in the book, this book is not about Jean. Good for Mitch for meeting someone that he can be happy with again. I believe Brenda would have wanted Mitch to move on with his life.

I received the book for Christmas, and didn't have any familiarity with the book, author, or of the story that
the book is about.
However I live in the part of the country that is near to where this story took place.
At first I questioned the writer, as he told of all the things they (he and his 'then' girlfriend) were doing in their home they bought.
Sounded like there was a lot of materialistic factors in the story. You know, big house,nice furniture, fancy landscaping, nice vehicles, and the whole bit.
The only thing that I kept wondering was, where was the station wagon and the kids? :) I kept thinking "yuppies", as I read along about the whole house thing.
And a friend and I both had the book, and we compared notes on what kind of a "take" we had made, as far as we both were, into the reading of the book.
Although the author sounds like a really good person, we both come up with the same view. He seemed to be ...-whipped by the lady. :)
All in all, it was a very interesting book, and for the most part, it was done in good taste.
I found only a few minor spelling errors. Nothing too serious though.
Brenda did sound as if she was a wonderful person. It almost seemed as if Mitch worshipped the ground she walked on.
If he should ever remarry, I hope the next gal realizes she has a tough act to follow.
In essence, the book was very good. Each person reads things in a different way.

As a camper at Camp Widjwagan (a YMCA camp outside of Ely, Minnesota) who has used Joe Seliga's canoes many times, I have to say that this is an excellent source of information about canoe making. He was a skilled artist who made magnificent canoes, and I'm honored to say I have used one of his own. So, thank you, Joe Seliga.

If you have any thought of building a canoe and want to stand beside a true artist in the field you should get this book. The photography is superb and you can't beat experience and Joe has that. The book shows a price sheet from 1946 when a 18 footer cost $178.00 so that gives you an idea of how experienced. A Beautiful Beautiful book.

I stopped by Joe's house in Ely to have him autograph my copy. We had never met before but he greeted me warmly, offered me cookies and a drink, showed me his shop, and added me to his list of people who want a canoe. This man is a national treasure and his canoes will be timeless heirlooms.

This book goes into great detail on how he crafts each of his beautiful, rustic, canvas-covered wooden canoes by hand and has given me a bold appreciation for how much work goes into just one canoe. I have no idea how he ever made a living charging only a couple thousand per canoe.

The author Jerry Stelmok did a fine job of breaking a complicated process down into simple text that anyone can enjoy. And National Geographic photographer Deborah Sussex filled the book with enticing photos.

The book sits on my office wall along with other non-fictional works about the woods of Northern Minnesota, and this one by far gets the most attention. It's a wonderful addition to anyone's library.

Enjoy!

I received the book very quickly, even though it was ordered over the holidays.

I enjoyed this book very much because it's a part of our history many Americans are unaware of. I was a child during World WarII and I seen the POW's working on the farms. My Grandchildren took the book to school to share with the History class and even the teacher was amazed. It's a book you will keep and re-read.

This is a book about a little known or less remembered phase of World War II history as it relates to Minnesota. It suggets the success of the Geneva Convention regarding treatment of prisoners of war in the United States. In the simple presentation of factual information, the author allows us to feel something of the fears, the loneliness, and concerns of prisoners and their willingness to work rather than be idle. The concerns of citizens are also presented clearly concerning escapes, those of labor unions interested in protecting American labor, as well as the general concern about work necessary to pursue the war. It is a facet of the war that most histories neglect.

These books are amazing. that's almost all there is to say. The characters are great, the plot is great. I can't believe it was all real. I daydream about being Betsy almost every day. If you are looking for a series to read, read these. It doesn't matter how old you are, they're for everyone.

As a child growing up, I was an avid reader. I began reading the "Betsy-Tacy" books when the school librarian introduced me to the series. This is a wonderful series showing the life of the main chracter, Betsy. I can remember devouring each of the books. Now that I am a teacher and a mother, I can't wait to find and purchase the books for my daughter and my classroom library. In today's society of technology and media, this is a wonderful collection of old fashioned, classic stories.

as a young girl i loved the "betsy" books and it was a pleasure to pass them along to my daughter. only last night we discussed the books - she's introducing her fourth grade daughter to them this spring. the series is timeless and i love every book !

I borrowed this from my Dad, who also grew up in Minnesota. I couldn't wait to read another chapter every night to see what these 14-year old scalawags would do next. This is a 20th century Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer, unsentimental, but full of love while telling stories that made me laugh out loud. The unfolding story of Bill Bockus (Billy Billy Beaner, Backhouse Cleaner) and his group of pals is something that would be a great gift for a youngster of 12, a Mom or Dad with a young teenager, or someone like myself, a middle-aged gal who had almost forgetten how charming, and maddening, 14-year old boys can be.

This book is a glimpse into the life of a young boy growing up in a small midwestern town in the late 1920's. Billy and his friends romp through childhood having one adventure after another. This author transports the reader back into time and into his his escapades. This is a must read for girls and boys of all ages!

What a great escape to the days when life was simpler, more carefree, and seemingly without worry. A great book for an afternoon when you just want to be entertained and chuckle a lot. Would be wonderful for young people in today's world to get a feel for the early 1900s.