The many difficulties and occasional rewards of early travel and transportation in Minnesota are highlighted in this book, along with the state's relations with what became western Canada and insights into the development of business in Minnesota. The meeting of Indian and European cultures is vividly manifested by the mixed-blood Metis who became the mainstay of the Red River trade.

The Story of Minnesota's Past embraces the broad sweep of change over this land now called Minnesota from glacial ages to the 1980s. This richly illustrated book was first published as a textbook for Minnesota middle-school students. A paperback edition was produced to serve as a readable and authoritative history for newcomers, old-timers, and all those in the general reading audience who want to know more about the state's past.

"This book . . . strives to represent fairly the men, women, and children of all groups and cultures who have been part of Minnesota's past. And I hope...

When the senatorial election of 2008 between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman stretched on for a contentious six months, people throughout the country wondered about Minnesota's offbeat politics. But Minnesota has been and is now a seedbed for cultural and political movements that have changed the country, and its history weaves a pattern of wide opposition between left and right.

In this broad and readable narrative, eminent Minnesota historian Rhoda R . Gilman covers the major protest movements of the last 150 years: the abolitionist Republican party, Grangers,...