"Railroads were the country's first big business providing the nation's vital cardiovascular system, setting the tempo of life everywhere. All of it was reflected locally. . . . Rails to the North Star is a masterful catalog of data, a treasure-house of useful information, offering 'one-stop shopping' in a field central to Minnesota's history. All aboard " --Don L. Hofsommer

In the 1960s, Richard S. Prosser prepared Rails to the North Star, the first work to trace the routes of Minnesota's railways. From the first land grants for the construction of railroads in...