Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains

Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains by Eleanor Arnason On an alternate Earth, the mammoth lived into historical times, abiding with the bison and the Native Americans.   But then Lewis and Clark saw their first mammoth, and reported on it to President Jefferson and the teeming masses of the East.   This is the story of… Continue reading Book Review: Mammoths of the Great Plains

Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon

Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon by Dick Guindon During my teen years, one of the delights of reading the newspaper was the cartoons of Richard “Dick” Guindon.  Born in Minnesota, he had returned to the Twin Cities in the 1970s to draw his satirical cartoons. Mind you, it was pretty mild satire, but folks… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Cartoons by Guindon

Book Review: Wolf

Book Review: Wolf by Kelly Oliver Disclaimer:  I received a download of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. When philosophy professor and cad Wolfgang “Wolf” Schumtzig is found dead in his office bathroom of an apparent heroin overdose, it causes difficulties… Continue reading Book Review: Wolf

Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings

Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the sixteenth president of the United States, shepherding the nation through the dark days of the American Civil War.  Though mostly self-educated, he had a gift for the English language, making memorable speeches and writing interest letters.  Because of his… Continue reading Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings

Book Review: The Inkblots

Book Review: The Inkblots by Damion Searls “What do you see?” Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) was a German-speaking Swiss psychiatrist who developed an interesting experiment involving inkblots.  The son of an artist and himself artistically trained, Rorschach was fascinated by visual perception and hoped to use the things people saw when they looked at his inkblots to… Continue reading Book Review: The Inkblots

Book Review: Herb Kent West Point Cadet

Book Review: Herb Kent West Point Cadet by Graham M. Dean The United States Military Academy in West Point, New York was established in 1802 as a training ground for United States military (primarily Army) officers.   It’s known for its high academic standards, strong Code of Honor, oh, and its students’ athletic achievements. The last… Continue reading Book Review: Herb Kent West Point Cadet

Book Review: The Minneapolis Riverfront

Book Review: The Minneapolis Riverfront by Iric Nathanson The city of Minneapolis grew up around the Mississippi River, and in particular, Saint Anthony Falls, which provided hydropower for the many flour mills that at one time made Minneapolis the flour milling capital of America.  This book, part of the “Images of America” series, tells the… Continue reading Book Review: The Minneapolis Riverfront

Book Review: A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman and the Birth of Modern China, 1949

Book Review: A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman and the Birth of Modern China, 1949 by Kevin Peraino In 1949, Chen Yong was an idealistic boy in his teens, his military uniform too large for him, cheering in Beijing as Mao Zedong declared that the People’s Republic of China was born.  Now, he is an… Continue reading Book Review: A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman and the Birth of Modern China, 1949

Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen

Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley When Beth Dooley first moved to Minneapolis from New Jersey in 1979, she was dismayed by the poor selection of fresh food in the commercial supermarket.  She’d heard that Minnesota was a farm state, yet the wilted vegetables and sallow fruit seemed to come from somewhere else… Continue reading Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws by Barbara Seuling Laws have a purpose.  It is not always a good purpose, but track them to their passage and you will usually see the reasoning behind them.  With the passage of time, that purpose is obscured, and many laws passed to… Continue reading Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws