NEW BOOKS: NOVEMber 2008

Non-Fiction

A Crowning Achievement: 130 Years of Innovation, Perseverance, and Trust, 1878-2008,

This history of Crown Iron Works traces the Minneapolis company from its origins to its role today as a designer and manufacturer of seed oil extractors (think soybeans, canola, etc.). 

Fighting for Delphine: A Soldier's True Story of Triumph and Tears, by Lee Burtman

Using Ken Krueger's written memories and subsequent discussions with him, Burtman wrote this Minnesotan’s account of his experiences in Europe during World War II, including his romantic involvement with a young French woman. Employing a first person writing style, Burtman nicely captures Krueger's personality and speaking style.

To learn more about this book, visit the book's website. Read a review in Roseville Review.com.

Porthole Views of the World, watercolors by Hazel Thorson Stoick Stoeckeler, poems by Elizabeth Weber

This work features watercolors of Minnesota artist, teacher, and world-traveler, Hazel Stoeckeler, depicting scenes from many of her favorite ports-of-call.  Accompanying Stoeckeler’s paintings are the comments and poems of poet Elizabeth Weber.

Ranier, Minnesota, My Hometown: A Journey Back to Childhood, by Bernie "Spike" Woods

A delightfully illustrated reminiscence of life in the farthest north of Minnesota.

To learn more about this book and to view some of the images, visit the book's website. Read a review in the International Falls Daily Journal online.

Ten Minutes Later ... : The USS Helm in WW II, by Frank C. Wotring

This book is actually a memoir of Wotring’s career in the Navy, beginning in the late 1930s and ending with the close of World War II.  Much of the book concerns his service on the USS Helm, a destroyer, which was the only ship underway and at battle stations when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

Three Across: The Great Transatlantic Air Race of 1927, by Norman H. Finkelstein

This book describes the contest that led to Charles Lindbergh’s famous solo crossing of the Atlantic, describing the other primary contestants and their contributions to aviation history.

Fiction

Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins, by Marion Dane Bauer

A novel for young people set in the Midwest during the 1950s.

The author is a Newbury Award winner and resident of Eden Prairie.

Read a review—written by a teen—on Flamingnet Young Adult Book Blog.

Stalking Susan: A Novel, by Julie Kramer

Inside the desperate world of TV ratings, an investigative reporter discovers that a serial killer is targeting women named Susan and killing one on the same day each year.

Julie Kramer was an award-winning investigative producer for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.

To learn more about this book, visit the book's website—it includes a YouTube "book trailer." Check out what Minnesota Public Radio has to say and listen to their audio feature. Or read what the International Thriller Writers have to say on their blog.

Winner in the Genre Fiction category, 21st Minnesota Book Awards.