NEW BOOKS: MARCH 2009


	Divided Loyalties in a Doomed Empire, by Daniel Royot This book examines the link between New France and the American frontier, and describes how policy decisions in France influenced the fur trade and French settlements, or lack of them, in the Great Lakes region. Chapter titles: From Quebec to the "Pays d’en haut" — New France goes West — The wilderness at stake: the colony at the crossroads — Life in the Pays des Illinois at mid-eighteenth century — Shifting identities — French culture in transition — The Métis — French America seen from France -- The French background of the Lewis and Clark Expedition — Across the great ethnic divide: the French in the Lewis and Clark Expedition — The French around and against the Expedition.

	Native Activism in Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty, by Daniel M. Cobb This book examines the early days of American Indian activism beginning in the aftermath of World War II and focusing on the struggle against Federal efforts that threatened to undermine tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Winner of the inaugural LaBriola Center American Indian National Book Award.

	Warriors in Uniform: The Legacy of American Indian Heroism, by Herman J. Viola; foreword by Carson Walks Over Ice; introduction by Ben Nighthorse Campbell Viola examines the often complex and conflicted relationship between American Indians and the U.S. military. The author combines narrative with examples of individual stories from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq. Some unusual stories emerge, such as the Choctaw "code talkers" during World War I and the stories of Indians fighting the "Short Wolf Men" in Korea.

	Weather Matters: An American Cultural History Since 1900, by Bernard Mergen Mergen examines Americans' obsession with weather, both its physical reality and cultural impact. He even mentions the MHS weather exhibit! "Rich in detail and anecdote, Weather Matters is filled with eccentric characters, quirky facts, and vividly drawn events. Mergen elaborates on the curious question of the “butterfly effect,” tracing the notion to a 1918 suggestion that a grasshopper in Idaho could cause a devastating storm in New York City. He chronicles the history of the U.S. Weather Bureau and the American Meteorological Society and their struggles for credibility, as well as the rise of private meteorology and weather modification—including the military’s flirtation with manipulating weather as a weapon. And he recounts an eight-day trip with storm chasers, a gripping tale of weather at its fiercest that shows scientists putting their lives at stake in the pursuit of data." from the book cover

	Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges, by Denis P. Gardner; afterword by Eric DeLony "Like never before we are aware of the crucial place of bridges in our lives. The spans that warranted little notice are now at the forefront of public and political debate and we are reminded of the rich history-and the uncertain future-of bridging in Minnesota." This is another nicely-produced local-history book by the University of Minnesota Press. The work is an overview of the state's historic bridges, both rural and urban, describing nearly every bridge type found in Minnesota, with many illustrations. There also is a useful listing of bridges by county. Read an online review in The Bridge, the StarTribune, or Twin Cities Daily Planet.