NEW BOOKS: September 2008

Non-Fiction

American Indians and State Law: Sovereignty, Race, and Citizenship, 1790-1880, by Deborah A. Rosen

Belying the common assumption that Indian policy and regulation in the United States were exclusively within the federal government’s domain, the book reveals how states and territories extended their legislative and judicial authority over American Indians during this period. Rosen uses discussions of nationwide patterns, complemented by case studies , including Minnesota, to demonstrate the decentralized nature of much of early American Indian policy.

Before Their Time: The World of Child Labor, by David L. Barker; forward by Senator Tom Harkin

This striking and sometimes distressing photo essay explores the world of working children.Although numerous international treaties and organizations work tirelessly to improve conditions for children, there are still 320 million children under the age of sixteen working around the world--150 million of those in the most harmful industries, such as prostitution and forced military service. This is their story, in words and photographs.

Read a commentary on this book by David L. Parker at Culture Wars.

Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star, by Tom Swift

This work follows the career of Charles Albert Bender, an Ojibway from Minnesota’s White Earth Reservation, who became one of the dominant pitchers in professional baseball during the early years of the Twentieth Century despite the rampant racism of that era.

Listen to Tom Swift read from and discuss Chief Bender's Burden on Monkeyreadblog.

Coming Back to Myself, by Jeanne Goldoff Bearmon

A memoir of the author’s experiences as a WAAC officer stationed in England during World War II.

The James Boys: A Novel Account of Four Desperate Brothers, by Richard Liebmann-Smith

Here is historical fiction with a real twist. What if novelist Henry James and outlaw Jesse James turned out to be long lost brothers who meet once more during a train robbery? Sounds like fun.

Mapping in Michigan & the Great Lakes Region, edited by David I. Macleod

This richly illustrated and annotated collection of essays examines the history of cartography in Michigan and the Great Lakes. The history of mapping this region reveals the story of how Europeans appropriated and settled these lands, of social and political negotiations and conflicts, of promoters' varied schemes, and of Americans' growing awareness of this region's complicated mixture of lands and waters. The volume is copiously illustrated with reproductions of historic maps spanning four centuries.

The Night the Sirens Blew: A Historical Account of the May 6, 1965, Twin Cities Tornadoes, by Allen W. Taylor

A compilation of first-hand accounts of these devastating storms.

Norseland: Where the Big Woods Meets the Prairie, published by the Norseland Community Anniversary Committee

A sesquicentennial history, cooperatively written but wide in scope.

Richfield: Minnesota's Oldest Suburb, by Frederick L. Johnson

This well-produced history traces Richfield's evolution from frontier outpost in Minnesota territory to the present day. It gives special emphasis to the community's striking metamorphosis from rural enclave to suburban boomtown.

Placeography portal to Richfield Historical Society

Sesquicentennial History, Norseland Lutheran Church, compiled by Craig A. Ferkenstad

This is a nice overview of the history of the church and its various organizations. It also includes complete lists of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and funerals from 1858 to 2008.

Photography Books

Picturing Indians: Photographic Encounters and Tourist Fantasies in H.H. Bennett's Wisconsin Dells, by Steven D. Hoelscher

This wonderfully illustrated book examines the relationship between the Ho Chunk people of Wisconsin and the tourism industry at Wisconsin Dells. In particular the book centers on the work of photographer H.H. Bennett.

Through Western Prairies, by Ben Sosniecki

A collection of landscape photographs taken mostly in the Dakotas and Nebraska, though some images from Minnesota are included.

Fiction

Undiscovered Country: A Novel, by Lin Enger

While hunting in the cold Minnesota woods, 17-year-old Jesse Matson’s life is forever changed when he discovers his father, dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But would easygoing Harold Matson really kill himself? If so, why? And just where was Jesse’s uncle Clay--always jealous of Harold, and a bit too friendly with Jesse’s mother--that cold afternoon?

Lin Enger is brother to Leif Enger, author of Peace Like A River.