Book picks similar to
The Grand Portage Story by Carolyn Ives Gilman


nature-environment
mn-history
mn-historical-society
minnesota

Some Girls


Cyrus R.K. Patell - 2011
    A fascinating look at the Stones in the late 70s - inspired by a year just spent in the disco/punk cauldron of New York City.

Action at Beecher Island


Dee Brown - 1967
    This is the bloody saga of Beecher Island.Historian Dee Brown dramatically recounts the nine-day siege between Plains tribes and Major James William Forsyth’s scouts. Based on historical sources, the novel is told from a variety of viewpoints, including that of Lieutenant Frederick Beecher, still wounded from the Civil War and charged with clearing out American Indian settlements to make way for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Beecher is joined by General Sheridan and Major Forsyth, as well as the scouts—from seasoned frontiersmen to young boys—employed to take part in the perilous mission. On the other side are the famous American Indian players in the battle: Turkey Leg and Roman Nose. With this complex assortment of characters, Brown vividly recreates the 1868 siege, as well as the competing worldviews of life on the prairies. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The Long-Shining Waters


Danielle Sosin - 2011
    Frigid. Lethal. Wildly beautiful. The Long-Shining Waters gives us three stories whose characters are separated by centuries and circumstance, yet connected across time by a shared geography.In 1622, Grey Rabbit—an Ojibwe woman, a mother and wife—struggles to understand a dream-life that has taken on fearful dimensions. As she and her family confront the hardship of living near the “big water,” her psyche and her world edge toward irreversible change. In 1902, Berit and Gunnar, a Norwegian fishing couple, also live on the lake. Berit is unable to conceive, and the lake anchors her isolated life, testing the limits of her endurance and spirit. And in 2000, when Nora, a seasoned bar owner, loses her job and is faced with an open-ended future, she is drawn reluctantly into a road trip around the great lake.As these narratives unfold and overlap with the mesmerizing rhythm of waves, a fourth mysterious character gradually comes into stark relief. Rich in historical detail, and universal in its exploration of the human desire for meaning when faced with uncertainty, The Long-Shining Waters is an unforgettable and singular debut.

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain or 2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots In Charge


John O'Farrell - 2007
    Back then 'The Origins of the Industrial Revolution' somehow seemed less compelling than the chance to test the bold claim on Timothy Johnson's 'Shatterproof' ruler. But here at last is a chance to have a good laugh and learn all that stuff you feel you really ought to know by now...In this "Horrible History for Grown Ups", you can read how Anglo-Saxon liberals struggled to be positive about immigration; 'Look I think we have to try and respect the religious customs of our new Viking friends - oi, he's nicked my bloody ox!' Discover how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendants still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne today. And explore the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel; (because the Stuarts were such a useless bunch of untalented, incompetent, arrogant, upper-class thickoes that Parliament didn't have much choice.) A book about then that is also incisive and illuminating about now, "2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge" is a hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain' fascinating and bizarre history. It is as entertaining as a witch burning, and a lot more laughs.

Becoming Lola


Harriet Steel - 2010
    It brings to vibrant life the true story of Eliza Gilbert, the daughter of an obscure Ensign in the British Army and his cold Irish wife. When she grew up, Eliza changed her name to Lola Montez. She was a dancer, a courtesan, a bigamist, the mistress of a king and the nineteenth-century’s most notorious adventuress. Blazing like a female firecracker across the stages and courts of Europe and beyond, she was, for a while, second only to Queen Victoria in fame.

Amos: To Ride A Dead Horse


Stanley Gordon West - 2000
    A sports legend resides in a nursing home who encounters and unexpected life journey.West’s AMOS is an imposing landscape of human drama and emotion – hear-rendering, timeless, hilarious, stunning, joyful, - an incredible story, a book that rips readers early and late, a novel they don’t want to end… a page turner with heart, a joy to read, a treasure to cherish.Ever so often, indifference and neglect mutate into unmitigated evil and then humanity goes on trial.  Rarely, someone stands in the breach and shouts “No” with only courage and dignity as weapons.  Amos was a man who thought he’s experienced all that life had to offer, when with a capricious turn of fate, he fell through the cracks of society’s institutions, in to the merciless cogwheels of human apathy and carelessness.  His struggle not only to survive, but, to overcome is a compelling testimony to the inner strength and irrepressible spirit of man.  Against devastating odds and arrogant brutality, Amos finds a triumph he never expected.

Defeating the Ministers of Death: The compelling story of vaccination, one of medicine's greatest triumphs


David Isaacs - 2020
    In 1919, Spanish flu killed over 50 million people, more than died in both world wars combined. In 1950, an estimated 50 million people caught smallpox worldwide, of whom 10 million died. In 1980, before measles vaccine was widely used, an estimated 2.6 million children died of measles every year. Today we are hostage to a new pandemic disease -the seemingly unstoppable COVID-19.Less than 100 years ago, losing a child to an infection like diphtheria or polio was a dreaded but almost inevitable sorrow faced by all parents, from the richest to the poorest. Today, these killer diseases are almost never seen in industrialised countries, thanks to the development of vaccines. Immunisation has given modern parents peace of mind their ancestors could not imagine.The history of vaccination is rich with trial, error, sabotage and success. It encompasses the tragedy of lives lost, the drama of competition and discovery, the culpability of botched testing, and the triumph of effective, lifelong immunity. Yet with the eradication in the first world of some of humanity's deadliest foes, complacency in some quarters has set in. COVID-19 has us again racing for a vaccine. The story of past achievements and failures helps us keep the race - and the hope - in perspective.This is a book for everyone who wants to understand our past - and cares about our future.PRAISE'Anyone who has doubts about the life-saving miracle of vaccination should read this' Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald'An entertaining and engaging work that is sure to delight general readers' Australian Book Review'The ideal handbook for pregnant women, parents, travellers, childcare and aged-care workers, GPs and anyone with an interest in public health' The Australian'Isaacs explores the understanding of immunity as it develops from the fifth century BC to the present day and thrills us with the progressive successes of each of the 14 vaccines which a child routinely receives today ... The work is authoritative, beguiling, amusing, instructive and inspirational. It deserves a wide readership, including infectious disease experts, other health professionals and, most assuredly, a diversity of lay people' Sir Gustav Nossal, immunologist and director of The Walter and Eliza Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, 1965-1996'A rollicking story of human endeavour, error, misinformation, success and failure ... and more than a glimpse of why we need to continue to research, evaluate, educate and fund vaccines to prevent disease' Fiona Stanley, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Western Australia'Effortlessly accessible, Defeating the Ministers of Death brilliantly reveals the people behind the most important public health intervention in history' Professor Andrew J Pollard, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford'This book is an unflinching look at the triumphs and inevitable tragedies in the war against infectious diseases. Nonfiction is at its best when it reads like fiction. And David Isaacs has written a page turner' Paul A. Offit, MD, author of Bad Advice: Or Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren't Your Best Source of Health Information

Hunter's Moon


Chuck Logan - 1996
    A survivor, he is guided in all things by his unfailing loyalty and honesty. But a tragic altercation in Minnesota's North Woods that leaves a young man dead and suspicions of murder hanging in the air tests Harry's courage as never before. Nothing could have prepared him for the eerie silence that has fallen over the incident, the challenge to his nerve, and the raw carnality of his best friend's wife.Digging for answers in a town ready to lash out in fear of the dark secrets he is moving ever closer to, Harry ignores the signs of danger at his own peril. Until it all ignites in a fire of unexpected betrayal and a bloody settling of accounts.

Thirty Rooms to Hide In: Insanity, Addiction, and Rock 'n' Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic


Luke Sullivan - 2011
    . . but funnier.” That's how the author describes his memoir Thirty Rooms To Hide In: Insanity, Addiction, and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic. It's the story of six boys growing up in a great dark house in Minnesota, as the father – a respected surgeon – goes slowly insane. With winters raging outside and the father raging within, it is their mother's protection that allows the boys to have a wildly fun, thoroughly dysfunctional time growing up. With dark humor as the coin of their realm, and the Beatles as true north on their compass of Cool, the band of brothers make movies, start a rock & roll group, and wise-crack their way though a grim landscape of their father's insanity, Eisenhower's Cold War, fallout shelters, and JFK's assassination.

Dirty Gold: The Rise and Fall of an International Smuggling Ring


Jay Weaver - 2021
    Instead, Dirty Gold lifts the veil on an illegal international business that is five times as lucrative as trafficking cocaine, and arguably more dangerous.As the award-winning team of Miami Herald reporters show, illegal gold mines have become a haven for Latin American drug money. The gold is then sold to metals traders, and ultimately to Americans who want it in their jewelry, smartphones, and investment portfolios. By following the trail of these three traders, Dirty Gold leads us into a criminal underworld that has never before been in full view.

Letters from Provence


Vincent van Gogh - 1990
    It reproduces extensive extracts from his correspondence and is illustrated with his paintings, drawings and facsimile letters. Van Gogh's letters are a testimony to his struggle to survive and work. Here, the combination of letters and illustrations, concentrating on the period when he painted his greatest works, aims to provide an insight into his daily life in Arles and St-Remy, his spiritual torment and the process of artistic creation itself. The author is an "Observer" journalist specializing in the arts, and has published four previous books, including "Young Vincent: The Story of Van Gogh's Years in England".

Pierre Elliott Trudeau


Nino Ricci - 2009
    Love him or hate him, Pierre Trudeau has marked us all. The man whose motto was "reason over passion"managed to arouse in Canadians the fiercest of passions of every hue, ones that even today cloud our view of him and of his place in history. Acclaimed novelist Nino Ricci takes as his starting point the crucial role Trudeau played in the formation of his own sense of identity to look at how Trudeau expanded us as a people, not in spite of his contradictions but because of them.

Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time


Tim Wendel - 2014
    Yet in 1991, lightning struck twice as the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves both reached the World Series. The remarkable turnarounds resulted in arguably the greatest Fall Classic of all time.Four of the games between the Twins and Braves were settled by "walk-off" runs. Three of them, including the climactic Game Seven, went into extra innings. And all seven games had memorable moments—from close plays at the plate to base-running blunders to pitching gems to dramatic late-inning home runs. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cautioned fans about sleep deprivation as the nation was riveted watching Jack Morris, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, and Kirby Puckett go against Tom Glavine, Lonnie Smith, John Smoltz, and David Justice on primetime television.In Down to the Last Pitch, award-winning writer Tim Wendel brings to life these seven memorable games, weaving contemporary interviews with discussions decades later about this classic World Series, and teasing out fact from legend.When the final out was recorded in 1991, the cover headline in Baseball Weekly read, "BEST WORLD SERIES EVER?" While that can always be debated, what happened inside and outside the lines in 1991 continues to resonate today.

A history of the United States


Cecil Chesterton - 1919
    This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Flames in the Sky


Pierre Clostermann - 1951