North Star Country explores country stores and county fairs, labor unions and dusty roads traveled by peddlers and truck drivers, and farms where families toil. Written in 1945 by acclaimed activist and writer Meridel Le Sueur, this unconventional history shines an uncommon light on the lives of ordinary people in the Upper Midwest.

In the tradition of James Agee and John Dos Passos, Le Sueur creates a mosaic from the fabric of everyday life, including newspapers clippings, private letters, diaries, and lyrics from popular songs. Each quotation and brief vignette opens a window to an entire...