Read MN 2023: Nonfiction and Memoir

New and classic books in memoir and nonfiction, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow, Trauma Sponges, and The Palace of the Snow Queen.

READ MINNESOTA 2023: 30% OFF BOOKS FROM UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS

DOWNLOAD CATALOG PDF // VIEW ON ISSUU

All books included are 30% off with code MN90520, good through Jan. 15, 2024.

Note: Please order early and allow three weeks for delivery.

BROWSE BOOKS:

NATURAL HISTORY // ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE WRITING // FICTION

NONFICTION AND MEMOIR // MINNESOTA HISTORY // MUSIC & ARTS

CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS AND MIDDLE-GRADE FICTION

NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE AND HISTORY // SCANDINAVIA

RACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE // MYSTERY AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION

COOKBOOKS // GARDENING // SPORTS AND FISHING // ARCHITECTURE

TRAVEL STORIES // TRAVEL GUIDES // RAILROADS // SHIPWRECKS

WINTER // FOLKLORE

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F. Scott Fitzgerald A Composite Biography Niklas Salmose and David Rennie, Editors 2023 Fall: A comprehensive study of the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, related in two-year chapters by twenty-three leading writers on the Jazz Age author
A Private Wilderness The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson Sigurd F. Olson 2024 Spring: The personal diaries of one of America’s best-loved naturalists, revealing his difficult and inspiring path to finding his voice and becoming a writer—now available in paperback
This Contested Land The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments McKenzie Long 2024 Spring: One woman’s enlightening trek through the natural histories, cultural stories, and present perils of thirteen national monuments, from Maine to Hawaii—now available in paperback
The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi Elin Anna Labba 2023 Fall: The deep and personal story—told through history, poetry, and images—of the forced displacement of the Sámi people from their homeland in northern Norway and Sweden and its reverberations today
Gunflint Falling Blowdown in the Boundary Waters Cary J. Griffith 2023 Fall: Stories from survivors of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness’s epochal weather disaster
Impermanence Life and Loss on Superior’s South Shore Sue Leaf 2023 Fall: A personal journey through the ever-changing natural and cultural history of Lake Superior’s South Shore
Never Trust a Thin Cook and Other Lessons from Italy’s Culinary Capital Eric Dregni 2024 Spring: The food-obsessed chronicle of an American’s three years in Italy—now available in paperback
A Wild Path Douglas Wood 2023 Fall: A soul-satisfying journey through the wilderness that uncovers hope, healing, and the abiding grace of wild things
The King of Skid Row John Bacich and the Twilight Years of Old Minneapolis James Eli Shiffer 2023 Fall: The story of a much different Minneapolis, through the words and photographs of one of its most colorful characters—now in paperback
The Last Bookseller A Life in the Rare Book Trade Gary Goodman 2023 Fall: A wry, unvarnished chronicle of a career in the rare book trade—now in paperback
The Palace of the Snow Queen Winter Travels in Lapland and Sápmi Barbara Sjoholm 2023 Fall: An exploration of the winter wonders and entangled histories of Scandinavia’s northernmost landscapes—now back in print with a new afterword by the author
The Last Supper Club A Waiter’s Requiem Matthew Batt 2023 Fall: A witty and humble tribute to the sometimes profane, sometimes profound world of waiting tables
Trauma Sponges Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response Jeremy Norton 2023 Spring: Beyond an adrenaline ride or a chronicle of bravura heroics, this unflinching view of a Minneapolis firefighter reveals the significant toll of emergency response
For the Love of Cod A Father and Son’s Search for Norwegian Happiness Eric Dregni 2023 Spring: What makes Norwegians so damn happy—and does it translate?
In the Company of Grace A Veterinarian's Memoir of Trauma and Healing Jody Lulich 2022 Fall: The son of a Black mother and white father overcomes family trauma to find the courage of compassion in veterinary practice
Making the Carry The Lives of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater Timothy Cochrane 2022 Fall: An extraordinary illustrated biography of a Métis man and Anishinaabe woman navigating great changes in their homeland along the U.S.–Canada border in the early twentieth century
The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself Racial Myths and Our American Narratives David Mura 2022 Fall: Uncovering the pernicious narratives white people create to justify white supremacy and sustain racist oppression
Take My Word for It A Dictionary of English Idioms Anatoly Liberman 2022 Fall: Three centuries of English idioms—their unusual origins and unexpected interpretations
Break Point Two Minnesota Athletes and the Road to Title IX Sheri Brenden 2022 Fall: How two teenage girls in Minnesota jump-started a revolution in high school athletics
Not the Camilla We Knew One Woman’s Path from Small-town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army Rachael Hanel 2022 Fall: The mystery of how an ordinary Minnesota girl came to be, briefly, one of the most wanted domestic terrorists in the United States
The Sky Watched Poems of Ojibwe Lives Linda LeGarde Grover 2022 Fall: A collective memoir in poetry of an Ojibwe family and tribal community, from creation myth to this day, updated with new poems
Opioid Reckoning Love, Loss, and Redemption in the Rehab State Amy C. Sullivan 2022 Fall: Examines the complexity and the humanity of the opioid epidemic
Finding Turtle Farm My Twenty-Acre Adventure in Community-Supported Agriculture Angela Tedesco 2022 Spring: The story of starting and running an organic farm—told by the woman who owned one of the first Community Supported Agriculture operations in the Upper Midwest
Seven Aunts Staci Lola Drouillard 2022 Spring: Part memoir, part cultural history, these memories of seven aunts holding home and family together tell a crucial, often overlooked story of women of the twentieth century
My Life in the Purple Kingdom BrownMark 2022 Spring: From the young Black teenager who built a bass guitar in woodshop to the musician building a solo career with Motown Records—Prince’s bassist BrownMark on growing up in Minneapolis, joining Prince and The Revolution, and his life in the purple kingdom
The Cyclist and His Shadow A Memoir Olivier Haralambon 2022 Spring: A philosopher and former racing cyclist examines how competitive riders lose their sense of self as they pursue perfect motion and mastery over pain
The Dylan Tapes Friends, Players, and Lovers Talkin’ Early Bob Dylan Anthony Scaduto 2021 Fall: The raw material and interviews behind Anthony Scaduto’s iconic biography of Bob Dylan draw an intimate and multifaceted portrait of the singer-songwriter who defined his era
Hudson Bay Bound Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic Natalie Warren 2022 Spring: The remarkable eighty-five-day journey of the first two women to canoe the 2,000-mile route from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay
After Effects A Memoir of Complicated Grief Andrea Gilats 2021 Fall: An intensely moving and revelatory memoir of enduring and emerging from exceptional grief
We Are Meant to Rise Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World Carolyn Holbrook and David Mura, Editors 2021 Fall: A brilliant and rich gathering of voices on the American experience of this past year and beyond, from Indigenous writers and writers of color from Minnesota
Gichigami Hearts Stories and Histories from Misaabekong Linda LeGarde Grover 2021 Fall: Award-winning author Linda LeGarde Grover interweaves family and Ojibwe history with stories from Misaabekong (the place of the giants) on Lake Superior
A Love Affair with Birds The Life of Thomas Sadler Roberts Sue Leaf 2021 Fall: The father of Minnesota ornithology, whose life story opens a window on a lost world of nature and conservation in the state’s early days
Days Like Smoke A Minnesota Boyhood Jon Hassler 2021 Fall: The memoir of a small-town childhood by one of Minnesota’s favorite writers, now published for the first time
Brave Enough Jessie Diggins 2021 Fall: Travel with Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins on her compelling journey from America’s heartland to international sports history, navigating challenges and triumphs with rugged grit and a splash of glitter
Lemon Jail On the Road with the Replacements Bill Sullivan 2021 Fall: A tour diary of life on the road with one of Minnesota’s greatest bands—with nearly 100 never-before-seen photographs
Skiing into the Bright Open My Solo Journey to the South Pole Liv Arnesen 2021 Spring: The first woman to ski solo to the South Pole tells the story of what it took to get there
Letters from Tove Tove Jansson 2021 Fall: A virtual memoir in letters by the beloved creator of the Moomins
Got to Be Something Here The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound Andrea Swensson 2021 Spring: The story, from start to superstardom, of the musicians who shaped the Minneapolis Sound
Watershed Attending to Body and Earth in Distress Ranae Lenor Hanson 2021 Spring: A personal health crisis, stories from environmental refugees, and our climate in danger prompt a meditation on intimate connections between the health of the body and the health of the ecosystem
Nellie Francis Fighting for Racial Justice and Women’s Equality in Minnesota William D. Green 2020 Fall: The life and work of an African American suffragist and activist devoted to equality and freedom
Fear and Loving in South Minneapolis Jim Walsh 2020 Fall: A veteran Twin Cities journalist and raconteur summons the life of the city after reporting and recording its stories for more than thirty years
Wolf Island Discovering the Secrets of a Mythic Animal L. David Mech 2020 Fall: The world’s leading wolf expert describes the first years of a major study that transformed our understanding of one of nature’s most iconic creatures
The Wedding Heard ’Round the World America’s First Gay Marriage Michael McConnell 2020 Fall: Forty-four years after two men married in a legal ceremony in Minnesota, the Supreme Court has decided the question first raised by these gay pioneers
Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify Essays Carolyn Holbrook 2020 Spring: The compassionate and redemptive story of a prominent Black woman in the Twin Cities literary community
Minnesota’s Geologist The Life of Newton Horace Winchell Sue Leaf 2020 Spring: The story of the scientist who first mapped Minnesota’s geology, set against the backdrop of early scientific inquiry in the state
Professor Berman The Last Lecture of Minnesota’s Greatest Public Historian Hy Berman 2019 Fall: Behind the scenes of Minnesota history, by way of the engaging life story of the state’s best-known and beloved political observer
What God Is Honored Here? Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss by and for Native Women and Women of Color Shannon Gibney and Kao Kalia Yang, Editors 2019 Fall: Native women and women of color poignantly share their pain, revelations, and hope after experiencing the traumas of miscarriage and infant loss
Gunflint Burning Fire in the Boundary Waters Cary J. Griffith 2019 Spring: The story of the Ham Lake fire, at the time the most destructive wildfire in modern Minnesota history—the blaze, the firefighters’ battle, the human toll
No Horizon Is So Far Two Women and Their Historic Journey across Antarctica Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft 2019 Spring: The extraordinary story of the first two women to cross Antarctica
Homemade Finnish Rye, Feed Sack Fashion, and Other Simple Ingredients from My Life in Food Beatrice Ojakangas 2018 Spring: A celebrated cook’s recipes and reflections on growing up in a big Finnish family in northern Minnesota
Fawn Island Douglas Wood 2018 Spring: Join the beloved author of Old Turtle as he embarks on journeys large and small
The Great Lakes at Ten Miles an Hour One Cyclist’s Journey along the Shores of the Inland Seas Thomas Shevory 2017 Fall: A chronicle of travels by bicycle around the Great Lakes, combining personal observations with reflections on the geology, ecology, history, and culture of the region
Onigamiising Seasons of an Ojibwe Year Linda LeGarde Grover 2017 Fall: Fifty short essays evoke the four seasons of the year, and of life, for the Ojibwe in northeastern Minnesota
We Know How This Ends Living while Dying Bruce H. Kramer 2017 Fall: Surprising lessons in finding joy and personal growth in the last months of life
Deep Woods, Wild Waters A Memoir Douglas Wood 2017 Spring: The author of Old Turtle and a longtime wilderness guide charts a journey through the wilds of nature and the twists and turns of daily life
It Won’t Be Easy An Exceedingly Honest (and Slightly Unprofessional) Love Letter to Teaching Tom Rademacher 2017 Spring: A frank and funny behind-the-scenes look at teaching from a hard-working and highly entertaining Teacher of the Year
Flying Funny My Life without a Net Dudley Riggs 2017 Spring: The fun of storytelling with the wry insights and observations of growing up in show business
The War Came Home with Him A Daughter’s Memoir Catherine Madison 2016 Fall: A poignant look at the suppressed grief and thwarted love that forever alter a family when a soldier brings his war home
The Senator Next Door A Memoir from the Heartland Amy Klobuchar 2017 Spring: "The Senator Next Door is both a desperately needed wake-up call to our politicians and a delightful memoir that will inspire everyone. Buy one for yourself and give one to an elected official."—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin
Portage A Family, a Canoe, and the Search for the Good Life Sue Leaf 2015 Fall: North American waterways by canoe: a memoir of family and nature, history and culture, along the rivers
The Meaning of Wilderness Essential Articles and Speeches Sigurd F. Olson David Backes, Editor 2015 Fall: An indispensable collection of Olson’s rarest writings—at last in paperback
Water and What We Know Following the Roots of a Northern Life Karen Babine 2015 Spring: Personal essays exploring the link between natural history and memory, landscape and identity, place and meaning
No Saints around Here A Caregiver’s Days Susan Allen Toth 2014 Spring: A moment-by-moment memoir of the difficulty and dedication of caregiving
The Thoughtbook of F. Scott Fitzgerald A Secret Boyhood Diary F. Scott Fitzgerald 2013 Fall: Brings to light F. Scott Fitzgerald’s boyhood St. Paul diary
Turn Here Sweet Corn Organic Farming Works Atina Diffley 2013 Fall: A master class in organic farming, a lesson in entrepreneurship, a love story, and a legal thriller
We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter Rachael Hanel 2013 Spring: Growing up among cemeteries and finding faith and resilience amid sorrowful loss
Thirty Rooms to Hide In Insanity, Addiction, and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic Luke Longstreet Sullivan 2014 Spring: The remarkable story of six brothers growing up in the ’50s and ’60s as their father—a highly respected Mayo Clinic surgeon—slowly goes insane
In Cod We Trust Living the Norwegian Dream Eric Dregni 2011 Fall: A vivid portrayal of modern Norway through the eyes of a fourth-generation Norwegian American from Minnesota
Memory of Trees A Daughter’s Story of a Family Farm Gayla Marty 2013 Spring: An evocative memoir of life on a dairy farm in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley
Carew Rod Carew and Ira Berkow 2010 Spring: The candid and compelling memoir of Rod Carew, one of baseball’s greatest players
Island Folk The People of Isle Royale Peter Oikarinen 2008 Spring: Experience the arresting beauty and charm of Isle Royale
Staying the Course A Runner’s Toughest Race Dick Beardsley and Maureen Anderson 2005 Spring: The gripping memoir of a record-holding marathoner
Spirit of the North The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson Sigurd F. Olson David Backes, Editor 2004 Spring: An accessible and inspiring collection of Olson’s most enlightening words
Root Beer Lady The Story of Dorothy Molter Bob Cary 2002 Spring: An ice-cold glass of root beer and a warm welcome greeted thousands of weary paddlers who stopped at the Isle of Pines to meet Dorothy Molter, the courageous, independent woman who became a North Woods legend. Bob Cary, Dorothy’s longtime friend, captures her life and spirit in Root Beer Lady.
A Wilderness Within The Life of Sigurd F. Olson David Backes 1999 Fall: The critically acclaimed biography of this venerable naturalist and writer.
Of Time and Place Sigurd F. Olson 1998 Fall: Olson’s final work, available in paperback for the first time.
Listening Point Sigurd F. Olson 1997 Fall: Poetic meditations about Olson’s cabin and his life there.