Minnesota Books

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Art history teacher Fred W. Peterson presents Homes in the Heartland: Balloon Frame Farmhouses of the Upper Midwest, the true story of the architectural phenomenon of balloon frame house construction that pervaded Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin from 1850 to 1920, which allowed settlers to establish affordable permanent frontier homes. Homes in the Heartland examines the social, economic, and aesthetic aspects of these homes, including their impact both on architectural history and on the lives of the people who lived in them. Enhanced with more than 150 black-and-white illustrations such as vintage photographs and house plans, as well as brand new preface for its paperback edition, Homes in the Heartland is a welcome addition to college library and American architectural history shelves.

An inventive look at localist twists and practices in cinema, literature, urban space, within contexts of transnational porousness and neo-nationalism. A poetics of distraction and late capitalist bemusement, useful and the mall and in the movies and poesy too.

"Honoring the Grandmothers" is a slim book, barely bigger than your average sized pamphlet. Edited by Sarah Penman, a video and radio commentator living in Minnesota, the book is a collection of musings by four Dakota/Lakota grandmothers about traditional Indian knowledge and customs and how they relate to today's fast paced world. Penman captured the stories on tape over a period of years, working hard to overcome many obstacles to get the stories to us, the reader. There is little commentary on the stories; Penman allows them to speak for themselves. Two of the grandmothers have since passed away, but their words do continue to speak about maintaining dignity and culture in a world that likes to forget about the Indians and their way of life.

Celane Not Help Him is the first speaker presented in the book. Celane did not have an easy life; she lived in poverty for most of her life, with little formal education. Her family lost their property when the United States Air Force confiscated it during WWII for use as an artillery range. Celane is the granddaughter of Iron Hail, a Lakota who survived the Battle of Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890. Celane provides an oral history of Wounded Knee that is both enlightening in historical terms and depressing in an emotional sense. It is hard to read Celane's account, as her speaking skills do not land easily on an English-speaking ear. It is best to read the account straight through, and then think about it for a time. When this is done, Celane comes across as clear as a star in the sky.

The next set of stories comes from Stella Pretty Sounding Flute, a Wahpekute-Hunkpati Dakota. The Dakota people, like most Indians, had difficulties dealing with the burgeoning white population of America in the 19th century. After years of declining fortunes, an 1862 uprising in Minnesota brought down every bit of force the American government could muster on the Dakotas. The Dakota did not disappear, but scattered throughout Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Stella does not concern herself with these events as much as she does with the traditions she learned from her own grandparents. Her grandmother passed on skills and knowledge that no school can teach. Stella discusses the loss of the Black Hills, the traditions of pipe carrying, and spiritual beliefs.

The third storyteller is Cecilia Hernandez Montgomery. Cecilia is part Mexican, part Oglala Sioux, and part firecracker. This is one tough dame. Cecilia spent time in a Catholic school (back when they REALLY used the ruler), studied music, and worked herself dizzy at a series of low paying jobs. Cecilia really came into her own when she started a career as an activist in South Dakota, working hard to improve the living conditions of poor people (all poor people, not just Indians). She sits on many boards, committees, and still pounds the pavement when problems arise. She did all of this into her seventies and beyond, not only exploding the myth of the lazy Indian but also causing irreparable harm to the conception that old people cannot do anything of value.

The last narrative comes from Iola Columbus, a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota. Like many other Indians, Columbus spent time in an Indian boarding school, where military discipline combined with strict adherence to corporeal punishment attempted to erase the "Indian" from the Indians. Columbus's story is different from the others because she went on to become the first woman elected to tribal chair in the state of Minnesota. She later founded a grandmother's society, where women elders can gather to share traditional knowledge with new generations.

"Honoring the Grandmothers" is really a book about the elderly and their marginalized role in American society. This is occurring not only in white society but in Indian society as well. A couple of the grandmothers lament the fact that their knowledge is not passed on, but disappearing as older members of Indian tribes pass away. In short, the same mentality (of the doddering old fool who is well past his/her prime) that leads whites to toss the elderly into nursing homes happens in Indian society as well. The elderly are rich sources of knowledge and culture in every society. We ignore them at our own peril.

On the heels of his chilling first novel Where Evil Hides, Dean Hovey's second novel Hooker is further testimony of marvelous new talent in the murder mystery genre. Like the first, Hooker weaves a nailbiting web of suspense surrounding a grizzly crime in a northern Minnesota small town. Many suspects abound and you find yourself unable to put the book down until the surprising finale. Hovey's scientific background, knowledge of forensics, and brilliant story writing ability all come together to take you into the world of criminology in a rural sheriff's department. A must for mystery / suspense readers.

This is a must for all "true" Minnesotans! The book covers everything about Minnesota from A-Z!

This is one of three Paul Wellstone books I bought, and am I glad I did. The other two, which I am reading, and will review later are, The Conscience Of A Liberal and Politics the Wellstone Way. Each is a MUST read in my opinion. And here is why. Let me say that the author doesn't sugar coat what happened and he shows warts and all of those whom he worked for and how this helped people change and succeed.

In How the Rural Poor Got Power -Narrative of a Grass Roots Organizer the late Senator writes back in the 70's long before he ran and successfully was elected by the good people of the state of Minnesota. It begins in the early seventies in chapter 1 titled The Struggle for Recognition, in Rice County located directly south and adjacent to the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

He lays out in great detail the economics of the area, the make up of the area by age, marriage, unemployment and under employment etc., and how he helped the poor organize into a group called Organization for a Better Rice County and the hell, literally they had to go thru, the insults the powers that be thru at them and how they were beaten up so many times, but never ever gave up, and in the end, succeeded in so many ways.

How sad it was to read of so many hard working poor and WW2 veterans who lived in horrid housing, had no public assistance what so ever in the county and the mistreatment those who were qualified for medical assistance, like the family with the child with cancer who were given the run around and even targeted for harassment.

Or in Chapter 2 titled Welfare Rights of OBRC President Therese Van Zuilen who received notice from the welfare department that her family was no longer eligible for food commodities and medical assistance, because the welfare department had taken upon itself to price her home as more expensive than it was. And then how the same welfare department played fast and loose and attempted to deprive her of due process and how when she showed up the next day for the hearing, which under the law would have required a ten day notice of hearing, the state welfare official was annoyed by the situation and called a halt to the meeting.

The book is rich with a journal like lay out of how these people, step by step and some stumbles, succeeded starting at the local level and moving on up to the state house and Governor, to make Minnesota the progressive and humane state it became. And an example of how a state should care for those who simply need some assistance to keep from drowning. And these were not you conservative minded stereotypes of bum and lazy people, but the elderly who lived with no heat and often no indoor plumbing. Married couples who both worked and had to rent, but the many landlords in the county along with the bigger businesses, used scare tactics to keep good honest, patriotic citizens down.

Its a book that is as powerful and useful in 2006 as it was in the 1970's when first written, because its a call to arms, those who are disenfranchised and being held down by certain people in elected office and on certain media outlets who simply dislike with a passion the idea that society owes even crumbs to those in need. So much for being 'pro life'.

This book offers key resources to the individual who does not command the kind of files an experienced, professional Minnesota family law attorney such as Thomas Tuft develops over time in their office.

Even so, representing oneself -- whether out of financial necessity or a purely headstrong attitude -- is never a valid substitute for seasoned, independent legal judgment.

While using the key items provided, the user would be wise to obtain as much help as possible in planning, consulting, and reviewing their submissions from competent local counsel --such as Mr. Tuft -- with recent experience in Minnesota divorce work.

Every pro se party would be particularly well-advised to have "final" drafts of submisions to the court -- including draft settlement agreements -- reviewed by their own, independent counsel PRIOR TO signing or approval, and prior to service on the other party or to filing with the court, even if payment of some form of fee for that service is necessary.

Many tragically unfair settlements entered into by pro se parties could have been prevented by even a $100.00 pre-approval consultation with an experienced lawyer.

This book is very honest and straight forward - exactly what we as first time home buyers needed to become comfortable with the process. It was informative and easy to understand, the writing style made the points very clear and easy to relate to real-life situations. If you read one book about buying ahome - read this one!

This is a valuable book (resource) for budding entrepreneurs. It seems to try to cover all the bases for starting a small business, but it can't do them all well in the space available between its covers. The book is only 288 pages long. If you are in the planning stages of starting a small business, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. Read it, study it, and outline it. There are helpful checklists to help you grasp the subjects. You will come up with a plethora of keywords and terms that you will want to google to find Web pages giving more detailed (and maybe more current) information.

I am a SCORE counselor (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) who typically does face-to-face counseling sessions three nights a month. It would really be neat if my clients would read this book BEFORE they came to their session with me because they would pretty much be "educated customers" ready to ask educated questions. Our sessions would be so much more beneficial.

My favorite chapters were:

1. Initial business concerns
2. Your business' structure
3. Business start-up details
5. Sources of business assistance (SCORE is mentioned here)
7. Your smart business plan (and a good sample plan is included)
8. Obtaining the financing you need

The book is weak when it comes to how the Internet can be used in corresponding, hiring, and marketing. But this is just one example of how googling keywords and concepts found in the book will make the book more complete. Don't treat the book as authoritative on the law. It isn't. Nor was it ever intended to be. It is light on tax information as it relates to small business.

I was particularly impressed with the material presented in Chapter 2: Choice of Legal Entity. That subject is sorely ignored in most small business books, and it is critically important. It is a subject I regularly must spend a great deal of time discussing at my SCORE sessions. This book does a pretty good job on the topic.

Chapters 4 and 9 through 12 are easy to find fault with. The topic of each could fill a book. But having these topics covered definitely will help a budding entrepreneur know some of the issues they raise.

I would have liked the book more if Chapter 6 (marketing) had been less superficial. When I read it I got the impression that the author was more a public relations expert than a marketing expert. I generally categorize public relations as a subset of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, and a whole host of other promotion techniques. I did not get this message when I read the book. I also would have liked the book better if the Internet, email, and Web sites had been discussed more. But there are many books on those subjects. Therefore, I can't complain too much about the limited discussion of computers.

When you read this book it may feel a little like it was produced on an assembly line. Maybe it was? There are 50 versions of this book sold; the only state I haven't found a copy for is Montana. Content is king, and this book has it. 5 stars!