Category Archives: Books

Custer’s Trials by T. J. Stiles (2015. ISBN 978-307-59264-4) My  senior paper to attain my BA in history from the University of Minnesota-Duluth was an examination of the public reputation and iconization of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. In preparation … Continue reading →

Facing the Music by Clay Eals (2006. ECW. ISBN 976-1-55022-732-1) I want you to close your eyes. It’s 1977. You’re in a college ballroom on the campus of a medium-sized public university. The house lights are low. You are sitting … Continue reading →

The Koran Interpreted (translated by A. J. Arberry) (1996. Touchstone. ISBN 9780684825076) As with my reading of The Book of Mormon, this is a review of the literary merit of one of mankind’s most beloved scriptural texts, The Koran. It … Continue reading →

Listener in the Snow by Tim Jollymore (2013. Finns Way Books. 978-0-9914763-0-5) Readers who enjoy Louise Erdich’s or Linda LeGarde Grover’s or Sherman Alexey’s brand of native mysticism wrapped within a fictional tale will enjoy this new novel by Cloquet, … Continue reading →

Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry (2012. Vintage Anchor (Canada). ISBN978-0-7710-5704-5) I was in Thunder Bay, Ontario this summer for a Finnish festival. I was riding around with my host, Ron Harpel, and stopped in at Chapter’s, the Canadian … Continue reading →

The Sky Watched by Linda LeGarde Grover (2015. Red Mountain Press. ISBN9780990804772) Speak English. Forget the language of your grandparents. It is dead. Forget their teachings. They are ignorant and unGodly. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Indians are not clean. … Continue reading →

Dalva by Jim Harrison (1988. Washington Square Press. ISBN 978-0-671-74067-2 “Jim Harrison’s Dalva is the story of a remarkable modern woman’s search for her son…” That’s the cover blurb that grabbed my attention and compelled me to buy this novel … Continue reading →

Mannerheim: President, Soldier, Spy by Jonathan Clements (2009. Haus. ISBN 978-907822-57-5) As a non-Finn interested in Finns, I’m always looking to learn more about the history and culture of this fascinating people. When I was working on my second historical … Continue reading →

We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen (2012. Mariner. ISBN 9780547737362) Heralded by many as an “instant classic” when it was released in its original Danish, We, the Drowned is a worthwhile read. But. And here’s the caveat I would assert: … Continue reading →

Beyond the Hundreth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and Second Opening of the West by Wallace Stegner (1992. Penguin. ISBN 9780140159943) William Gilpin, a 19th century promoter of the settlement of the American West, is cast early on in this biography … Continue reading →