Minnesota (From Sea to Shining Sea, Second) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have to admit that I was surprised there was not a photograph of Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge in this look at "Minnesota" for the From Sea to Shining Sea (second) series, because it is the iconic image of the Zenith City. When Jessica Lange, who was born down the road in Cloquet, come up here to make "Far North" (1988), they managed to put the Aerial Lift Bridge in most of the shots so that it became something of a running joke in the film. It gets mentioned in this book, but no picture. In fact the photograph that accompanies Chapter One, Introducing the North Star State, shows a Minnesotan embracing the cold winter, which serves as a reminder that up here it is winter six months of the year, most of the 12,000 lakes get frozen, along with Lake Superior, which means there comes a time when the Aerial Lift Bridge no longer needs to be lifted. But then that is just our little corner of the North Star State.
The second chapter is devoted to the geography of The Land of Minnesota, which covers how the melting of the glaciers resulted in four geographic regions: the Superior Upland, the Young Drift Plains, the Dissected Till Plains, and the Driftless Area (you have to love these names). Pay attention to the Rivers and Lakes section this time around because with the 6,564 rivers and the aforementioned 12,000 lakes, Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, which is more than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined. Then there is the great understatement in the Climate section where Hasday informs us that, "Minnesota gets very cold." This, I will admit, is true, and explains why this book has one of the longest sections on climate in the series (think of it as an apologia).
Minnesota Through History is the subject of Chapter Three, where several pages are devoted to the Native American settlements that were supplanted by the arrival of the European fur trappers. Hasday covers Minnesota as a developing land, a territory, and then a state in 1858. The slavery issue and the Civil War are covered, as is the Dakota conflict that was happening at the same time. The impact of the Homestead Act and the logging and mining industries on Minnesota are explained. The final sections in the chapter are devoted to the two World Wars, and how the postwar period led to the modern times of today (ending with some rather kind words for former governor Jesse "the Body" Ventura).
The fourth chapter talks about Governing Minnesota, although after explaining the three branches of state government, the rest of the chapter is devoted to a tour of Saint Paul, the one of the Twin Cities that is the state capital. The map of downtown shows where the Minnesota Children's Museum, Science Museum of Minnesota, and Minnesota History Center are located. The final chapter is about The People and Places of Minnesota, which goes into detail on where people came from (although talking only along Finnish people when you mention the Scandinavians in the state is treading on thin ice), and what they do for work up here. With great joy I can tell you that the recipe here is for Minnesota Blueberry Tiramisu, and while the last word frightens me a bit, nothing beats blueberries. The last section is a tour of Minnesota that gives you an indication of what there is to see from the Mall of America to the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca (where you can walk across), and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Throughout the book there are the standard sidebars categories Find Out More (What can be made from iron ore?), Who's Who in Minnesota (Hubert Humphrey), Extra! Extra! ("whaleback" steamers), and What's in a Name? (Minneapolis is a combination of the Dakota word "minne" for "water" and Greek "polis" for "city"), but apparently nothing every happened here first because there is not Famous First box. There are some nice color photographs of Split Rock Lighthouse and the shore of Lake Superior at Grand Marais, and also shots of things further south from here.
The back of the book has an Minnesota Almanac, two-pages of statistics and basic information. A Timeline contrasts Minnesota state and U.S. history, while the Gallery of Famous Minnesotans has photos of Garrison Keillor and Charles Schulz, but also names Bob Dylan and Prince, although younger readers will be most excited about Mary GrandPre (illustrator of the American "Harry Potter" books in case you are out of the loop). After the Glossary, Hasday has a list of websites, books and addresses where young students can go For More Information. But there is plenty of basic information here and if you need something more specific for a school report it might entail more research. The Mighty Mississippi begins in Minnesota and we are going to follow is down to the Gulf of Mexico, so our next stop on the tour is going to be Iowa, the Hawkeye State.

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Put kids on the road to discovery with the series that brings the United States to life, state by exciting state. It's all here - the history and geography, the people and culture, plus colorful photos, entertaining extras, easy recipes, and so much more. For an armchair tour of the U.S., from sea to shining sea, nothing beats these marvelous books - except maybe a tour guide!

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