Minnesota Books

With an honest approach to the world of screenwriting, coupled with a sincere helping-hand outstretched to its readers, this "Selling to Hollywood" Guide was a pleasant surprise.

Many authors claim to know the quickest and easiest ways to market a script, but only in this book have I found the most un-skewed view of the industry expressed. Sometimes brutally honest, Selling to Hollywood exposes many of the unrealized truths about Hollywood to the undeterred screenwriter in attempts to inform rather than discourage. In fact, coming to these realizations gives the edge that is desperately needed to be a successful screenwriter, daunting as the odds may be.

Selling to Hollywood also reveals the "Rules of the Game", addressing vital steps in the process of effectively pitching your screenplay. It describes the Face to Face Meeting, the quick 30 Second Pitch, and the Unsolicited Letter. It doesn't stop there though. It continues to teach you how to sell yourself along with your script.

Everything written is meant to arm the reader with knowledge so as not to be taken advantage of. Extensive information on the copywriting process is provided, helping the screenwriter protect him or herself.

Also, a nice touch was a very thorough list of contact information for Feature Film and Television Production Companies, as well as Literary Agents.

This is a MUST BUY if you are looking to beat the odds and sell your script(s) to Hollywood.

This book was a wonderful insight into the mind of a woman and artist in the early twentieth century. Growing Pains follows the story of Wanda Gag from age 12 to 22 or 23. It is fascinating to see how different life was at that time, and watch a woman with vast creativity and talent as she struggles to survive the poverty of her childhood. How poignant the destitution of her early years, as well as her discovery and development of her talent. Wanda Gag was also a very introspective person, and had a decided trancendentalist slant. It is interesting to read her philosophies about the self which apply even today. I think this book would appeal to people who have an interest in the early twentieth century or illustration. I also recommend it to fans of the Betsy-Tacy books, as Wanda grew up in New Ulm, MN, not far from Mankato (Deep Valley) and during the same time period. She also appears to be aquainted with Delos Lovelace (the husband of Maud Hart Lovelace (the real Betsy) who wrote the series). Later in the book she mentions going to a concert or play with tickets given to her by Delos Lovelace (Before he ever met Maud!). Overall this book was very good and I was extremely sorry to reach the last page.

I have taken canoe trips into the BWCA for 15 years. I have been fortunate to be guiding with a gentleman who has taught me many things about the Gunflint area from his 45 years of life on the Trail. This book is well written and well versed in the people and places of the Gunflint Trail. Many of the people and events from this book I have had direct or in-direct access to. There is so much life and adventure yet to write about that I hope there is another book. The CD that is include is a treasure. I just wish there was more stories by those great people!

Mech's book is an excellent resource when radio-tracking critters. I kept the book with me in the truck as I tracked down the endangered kit fox in California. The books gives a good overview of what telemetry is and a nice section on tracking from the air - which I used several times. Any radio-telemetry tracker needs this book in the glove box.

This is an excellent reference book for those who seek scientific information on mammals of the northern Midwest. It contains an entire section which covers the various environments in this area, the geology past and present, the soils, climate, vegetation, and the influence of human beings on the ecology.

The book also has a wonderful section on the animals themselves, with a page devoted to each creature, complete with scientific name, habitat map, photograph or line drawing of the animal, distribution, written description, natural history, and in many cases additional reference suggestions. It is a very thorough and complete book, well researched and presented.

This compact and unimposing book takes a major swipe at various assumptions in previous accounts of nursing history. Its irreverence is refreshing and the questions that it raises about nursing history (e.g. ?do nurses care??) are provocative and enlightening. ?Handling the Sick? is well worth the read.

If Hannah Arendt has always intrigued you, but you never managed to read one of her books all the way through (or you wish you had read Arendt), this is the book for you. McGowan tells the story of her intellectual life, her passions, her ethics, her principles--in clear and readable prose that makes Arendt and her era come alive. I think it's the best little book ever written about Hannah Arendt.

Hard Time: Voices From A State Prison, 1849-1914 is the story of the state penitentiary at Stillwater, Minnesota -- a dangerous, sometimes lethal, stone fortress erected for the purpose of exacting punishment and penance from it's inmate population. Enhanced throughout with period photography, Hard Times is a documentary history of the facility where those men deemed incorrigible were send to do "hard time" and which, over the sixty-five years of its existed, evolved to become one of the most respected penal institutions in the nation. Hard Times offers up such memorable events as the imprisonment of the Younger gang in 1876; the prison fire of 1884; the escape of Frank P. Landers and Oscar J. Carlon in 1887; the "twine shop insurrection" of 1899; the manhunt for escaped convicts Peter Juhl and Jerrfy McCarty in 1911; and a great deal more. Very highly recommended contribution to Penology Studies; Minnesota History; and American History supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections...

This book had a surprising amount of information and insight. Mr. Cummings followed politics, read newspapers, and wrote poetry, then wrote about these things in his journals. It really gives a look at how hard life was back then, and we like the lead character a lot. I recommend this for anyone who knows someone who grew up on a farm, or who is interested in history.

Harvest of Grief, by Annette Atkins chronicles the grasshopper plagues of the 1870s and discusses the hardships faced by the farmers of that decade and the failure of the government to supply them with public assistance.

I found out about this book doing a search on the Internet after reading "On The Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my son. When Laura and her family moved to Minnesota, their crops were devestated by the "Rocky Mountain Grasshoppers" that swept over the western praries from the years 1873-1878 and caused millions of dollars in damages.

This book (Harvest of Grief) deals with the farmers' plight in Minnesota.

The 1870s were a time of change in America and it's territories. Ideals were changing and it wasn't the farmer that was the cornerstone of American society any longer, but money that proved success. With families like the Rockerfellers and the Vanderbilts, the definition of "success" was rapidly changing.

The book tells of the theories behind why the grasshoppers came and why they suddenly disappeared after 5 years, how farmers tried desperately to save their farms, often losing them to mortgage companies, and those who begged and borrowed trying to survive along with their families.

The book also tells of how they tried to get federal relief from the government and why this was difficult. Hundreds of people were in some cases left homeless with nothing more than a blanket and a sheet, without a bed to sleep in nor a floor to make one on.

Annette Atkins uses Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family as a reference several times in the book, along with others who suffered greatly during that time, when being poor and unable to pay your debts was looked on as a character flaw, the result of laziness and an unwillingness to work.

This was an excellent book and I highly recommend it.