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...

Autobiography of Minnesota state senator and activist Allan Spear, who recounts his life and achievements serving in the state legislature for over twenty years. Begins with his childhood, his activism in Vietnam antiwar movements in college, his awareness that he was gay and coming out while a state senator, one of the first men to do so, and his political accomplishments, including fighting for the establishment of the African American studies program...

"Minnesota forged an identity during the 1970s that would persist, rightly or wrongly, for decades to come. It was a place of note and consequence--a state of presidential candidates, grassroots activism, civic engagement, environmental awareness, and Mary Tyler Moore. All these subjects and more are covered in this book"--

The Red Lake Nation has a unique and deeply important history. Unlike every other reservation in Minnesota, Red Lake holds its land in common -- and, consequently, the tribe retains its entire reservation land base. The people of Red Lake developed the first modern indigenous democratic governance system in the United States, decades before any other tribe, but they also maintained their system of hereditary chiefs. The tribe never surrendered to...

In every arena, Jesse Ventura put a headlock on the competition. From his Navy SEAL days, to his infamous wrestling years, to his stunning political victory, read the story of the Body, a man who truly embodies the American Dream. How did an outrageous, outspoken, boa-wearing pro wrestler nab the title of Minnesota's governor in an overwhelming upset? This is the question the nation is asking--and Washington journalist Jake Tapper provides the fascinating...