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With the hustle of the holidays past and spring still a couple months away, it’s easy to be melancholy about winter.
And with all the Christmas parties and egg nog, it’s easy to miss some of the new books hitting the shelves.
But some of the new releases may be the perfect remedy for the winter blues.
Here are some recently published books about regional topics that would be a great way to welcome in the 2008 reading year:
“Odd Wisconsin: Amusing, Perplexing and Unlikely Stories for Wisconsin’s Past” Erika Janik, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, $16.95
This is wonderful history for people who like Wisconsin history and even better history for people who think they hate history.
This amusing, small collection of historical oddities collected from the badger state’s past makes for a fun read and gives you an appreciation for the characters and odd events that give Wisconsin color.
The book is ideal for many ages of readers and includes serious historical vignettes, like Jefferson Davis’ stint in Wisconsin as well as lesser serious ones like Alfred Stanley Johnson Jr’s. obsession with producing novelty postcards that featured overgrown vegetables to quirky stories like the Morris Pratt Institute in Whitewater.
The upbeat collection is easy to read and isn’t something too heavy during this period of overcast weather. And, it’s sometimes hard to believe history can be this fun. Or weird.
“The White Pine Industry in Minnesota: A History” Agnes M. Larson, University of Minnesota Press, $17.95
From bizarre history to serious history, Larson’s “The White Pine Industry in Minnesota” is a reprint of a 1946 tour-de-force on the lumber industry in Minnesota. Though the writing is somewhat dated by today’s standards and the subject admittedly has limited appeal, this book is an important one to have for local historians because of the white pine industry in the region.
The book has plenty of references to Winona and the surrounding area, and a good overview of the Laird Norton Co.’s history in Winona. While white pine was not plentiful in the area, it was nonetheless important because of the milling that went on here.
Larson, who has been dead for 40 years, still continues to give what may be the best historical overview to the timber industry that did so much to shape Minnesota’s history, even though we tend to think of Minnesota as farming country today. The book points out that more than 70 percent of the state was once covered in old-growth forests and riverboats may have brought people here, but lumber brought the money.
It’s good that the University of Minnesota opted to reprint this classic historical survey. It’s a testament to Larson’s scholarship that a book written more than 50 years ago still holds up today.
“Lombardi and Me: Players, coaches and colleagues talk about the man and the myth” Paul Hornung with Billy Reed, Triumph Books, $14.95
Like so many things, great leadership is hard to define, but easy to spot when you see it. And Vince Lombardi is in a league of his own.
For Green Bay Packers fans, the book is a must-read. But it’s also a worthwhile read for anyone wanting to learn something about leadership and what it takes to make it to the top. While this book might first appear to be a book about football, it’s really a study about the complexity of Lombardi and his leadership style. Lombardi was the kind of man who got people like Willie Davis to say: “Vince made me believe I could do anything.”
“Lombardi and Me” provides not only an oral history of Lombardi the man by the players and greats who knew him, but also great football stories that should be preserved. Although the book bleeds Packer green and gold, it’s also a testament to a man who was not only a legend, but worked darn hard at becoming a winner.
George Dixon said of Lombardi: “Vince was the only coach I ever worked for that came in and did the g——d gruntwork.”
Jerry Kramer said: “He could tear you apart, but also had a knack of saying or doing just the right thing to bring you back up and make you believe that you could be a lot better than you really were.”
“Wild About Minnesota Birds: A Youth’s Guide to the Birds of Minnesota” Adele Porter, Adventure Publications, $17.95
Since when did kids books become so much fun?
But “Wild About Minnesota Birds” isn’t just a book for youth and young bird enthusiasts. It’s a great book for adults, too.
Sometimes, we forget that we’re surrounded by an amazing array of wildlife and birds. “Wild About Minnesota Birds” is an excellent, high quality, easily read book about the different birds you’ll find in your neighborhood and around Minnesota.
The book has basic information on many birds, similar to the other Adventure Publications, which produce bird and wildlife guides for adults. But with larger photos and more interactive photos with tips and guides, this book works well for adults just beginning to start watching for feathered friends.
This book makes as good a gift as it does a basic reference. It includes maps, egg photos and plenty of odd trivia.
“A Country Doctor’s Journal: Amazing Stories from Incredible Situations” Dr. Roger A. MacDonald, Adventure Publications, $12.95
“E.R.” or “House” — eat your heart out. A country doctor from northern Minnesota has had some experiences that would fit well into prime-time television.
Dr. Roger A. MacDonald, a rural doctor from Grand Marais, Minn., writes about a lifetime of being the only doctor within miles, making “emergency house calls” and diagnosing mystery illnesses.
While the book lacks organization, the stories meander in a homespun and sincere way. What may come through even more than the odd stories of medicine are the compassionate interactions of MacDonald, who proves that medicine is truly more art than science.
In 46 years of experience, MacDonald demonstrates two truths about medicine today: The technology and the know-how of doctors has come light years, but what is getting lost is the personal connection MacDonald has with his patients. You wonder if the modern high-tech, sterile health-care environment allows for the kind of rapport MacDonald has with his patients.
“Twin Cities Picture Show: A Century of Moviegoing” Dave Kenney, hardcover, Minnesota Historical Society Press, $29.95
This magnificent book chronicles the history of moviegoing in the Twin Cities. But more than that, it’s really a social history of the 20th century. The changes in the movie theaters and the changes in movies have really mirrored the changes in society.
The book traces the history of the different movie theaters and architectural styles. From early Egyptian revival theaters to art deco to modernist buildings, the pictures of movie theaters in “Twin Cities Picture Show” are just as fascinating as some of the movies they showed.
There also are great pictures of moviegoers, notably patrons of the Riviera in St. Paul watching, “Bwana Devil” in 3-D. A little old woman with a purse the size of Rhode Island is sitting, obviously not as enthused as others with the movie or the wonders of 3-D.
If you grew up in the area, or if you just love the silver screen, this book is a treasure trove of movie history and local history rolled into one.
“Minnesota State Fair: An Illustrated History” Kathryn Strand Koutsky and Linda Koutsky, Coffee House Press, $35
From the authors of “Minnesota Eats Out” and “Minnesota Vacation Days” comes “Minnesota State Fair,” a chronicle of the “Great Minnesota Get-together.”
This profusely illustrated history of arguably the best state fair is a book that is similar to the Koutskys’ other publications, which rely heavily on great photos that would otherwise be tucked away in some archive. While it serves as a solid history of the event itself, the book is much more eye candy than in-depth study. It also features more than 100 blue-ribbon recipes from the fair.
For anyone who’s ever traveled to the fair, the photos will surely bring back great memories.
The size is a bit unwieldy for reading, but a great coffee table book. And, it’s one of those books that you can’t quite put down once you’ve begun and need to pick up again and again.
“Creating Minnesota: A history from the inside out” Annette Atkins, Minnesota Historical Society Press, $27.95
Atkins, a history professor at St. John’s University, attempts to tell Minnesota’s history not from a political perspective, but by other events that have subtly, but surely, changed the state’s complexion.
Unfortunately, the book lacks a coherent strain. It’s hard to piece these individual accounts together to form any kind of meaningful historical tapestry.
While Atkins’ writing style is warm and personal, too often the book becomes a medium for her to muse about her own experience rather than focus on the history. Nowhere is this more evident than in the opening pages where the reader learns more about her childhood in South Dakota than any Minnesota history.
The chapters and the subjects are thoroughly original, but seem to serve more as interesting vignettes than any cohesive historical endeavor.
“Hmong in Minnesota” Chia Youyee Vang, Minnesota Historical Society Press, $13.95
For years the Minnesota Historical Society Press has been publishing books about different ethnic groups in the state (Swedes in Minnesota” and “Polish in Minnesota”) and we often think of groups that have been here since the territory days. That’s why it is refreshing and wonderful to see “Hmong in Minnesota.”
Not only is it a great history for those who want a basic primer on the Hmong in Minnesota, it’s also a reminder that our state’s complexion continues to change as different ethnic groups add to our cultural melting pot.
This is an important book for our region as well. According to the 2000 Census, Winona was second on the list of nonmetro cities with the number of Hmong households, just 12 households behind Rochester’s 211.
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