Viewing Book Reviews Category (25) found:Thomas L. Olson, "Sex Ring: Revisiting the Jordan, Minnesota Child Abuse Cases of 1983-84" and a review of Richard Beck, "We Believe the Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980.In 1983-1984 a criminal investigation into a sordid case of child abuse in Jordan, a small town in south central Minnesota, burgeoned from an indictment of one perpetrator to prosecutions of over twenty local residents in what was billed as the "biggest sex ring in state history." The child-vict... Book Review of Oscar F. G. Day, "A Crown of Shame" (1893).A review of Oscar Fayette Gaines Day's novel, "A Crown of Shame," exposing the "evils" of the jury system, is posted here. It was published in the "Minneapolis Sunday Tribune" on May 7, 1893. The complete text of the novel is posted in the "Literature" category of this website. ... Gary Weissman: Book Review of Gene Andereck, "Trial at Grand Marais" (1997).When a judge in Cook County, Minnesota, issues an order granting temporary custody of a divorcing couple's two young daughters to the father, the mother and the girls flee, in a canoe on the Granite River, toward Canada. In response, the father and the paternal grandparents petition the court to co... Judge Michael A. Wolff: Book Review of Roberta Walburn, "Miles Lord: The Maverick Judge Who Brought Corporate America to Justice" (2017).Miles Lord served as Attorney General of Minnesota, United States Attorney in Minnesota, and United States District Court Judge from 1966 to 1985. He died in 2016, at age 97.
Robert M. Smith: Book Review of Neil S. Boardman, "The Wine of Violence" (1964)."The Wine of Violence" by Neil S. Boardman is a well written novel from 1964 about a murder mystery in a fictional small town in Minnesota. The author takes an actual murder case from southern Austria in 1886 and produces a story that captures Minnesota values and parochial customs. Boardman was b... Luther Granquist: Book Review of Roberta Walburn, "Miles Lord: The Maverick Judge Who Brought Corporate America to Justice" (2017).Miles Lord served as Attorney General of Minnesota, United States Attorney in Minnesota, and United States District Court Judge from 1966 to 1985. He died in 2016, at age 97.
Dr. Zabelle Stodola, A Review and Reconsideration of Edward Eggleston, "The Mystery of Metropolisville" (1873).Readers of the Minnesota Legal History Project may be forgiven if they have never heard of the nineteenth-century fiction writer, social historian, and Methodist minister Edward Eggleston (1837-1902), let alone his obscure novel "The Mystery of Metropolisville" (1873). Although neither Eggleston nor... Dr. Zabelle Stodola: A Reconsideration of Margaret Culkin Banning, "The Iron Will" (1936).Margaret Culkin Banning (1891-1982) was a well-known Midwestern writer in her time but is little known in ours. The author of forty books and several hundred essays and short stories, she is a prime candidate for literary recovery for her writing skills and for her shrewd social commentary on such c... The Noble Experiment in Minnesota. Thomas L. Olson: Book Review of Elaine Davis, "Minnesota 13: Stearns CountyAlcohol prohibition in the United States, as proscribed by the Constitution's 18th Amendment, lasted just 13 years and failed utterly. Yet it is the subject of countless books and articles--both popular and scholarly. It has also been the stuff of endless fiction and motion pictures. And it... Thomas L. Olson: Book Review of Sabine N. Meyer, "We Are What We Drink: The Temperance Battle in Minnesota" (2018).In "We Are What We Drink: The Temperance Battle in Minnesota," Sabine Meyer, a Professor of American Studies at the University of Osnabrück, Germany, offers an indispensable history to help us understand the longest socio-legal reform movement in America.
Thomas L. Olson: Book Review of Elizabeth Dorsey Hatle, "The Ku Klux Klan in Minnesota" (2013).Ku Klux Klan recruitment materials were distributed in early 2018 in several over 90% white Minnesota Iron Range cities. In November, 2016, rural Minnesotans voted heavily in favor of a presidential candidate who was openly racist, anti-immigrant, and patriotically pledged to "Make America Great A... Lindsay Grier Arthur: Book Review of Paul Kilgore, "The Broken Key" (2017).In addition to practicing law in Duluth, Minnesota, Paul Kilgore writes fiction. His collection of short stories, "Losing Camille," was published in 2010. The central figure of his first novel, "The Broken Key," is Tom Johnson, a young man who attempts several vocations before finding solace and sa... Charles T. Hvass, Jr.: Book Review of Paul Sevareid, "The Peoples Lawyer, The Life of Eugene A. Rerat" (1963)."The Peoples Lawyer" is the biography of Eugene "Gene" Rerat, one of the pre-eminent Minnesota trial lawyers of the mid-twentieth century. It summarizes his life in the courtroom through a series of criminal and civil cases. It also covers the attempts by corporate America to silence him through fra... Douglas A. Hedin: Book Review of "Briggs and Morgan, P.A.: The First 125 Years" by Dave Kenney (2009)To commemorate the 125th anniversary of its founding in 1882, Briggs and Morgan, one of Minnesota's elite law firms, commissioned Dave Kenney to write its history. It was privately published by the firm in 2008. This is a review of that book. ... Douglas A. Hedin: Book Review of "Liars Dice" by Robert Gust (2006).In 2005, Minneapolis attorney, Robert Gust published a legal thriller, "Liars Dice." This review of that novel appeared first in the October 2006 issue of "The Hennepin Lawyer." ... Douglas A. Hedin: Book Review of "Anonymous Source: At War Against the Media, A True Story" by Dan Cohen. (2006).In 2005, Dan Cohen published a memoir of a lawsuit he brought against the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers for breaching promises of confidentiality their reporters made to him during the 1982 gubernatorial election. The case took many unexpected turns and ended in a famous victory for Cohen. Co... Douglas A. Hedin: Book Review of "The Litigators" by Lindsay Arthur, Jr. (2005).In 2005, Minneapolis attorney Lindsay G. Arthur, Jr., published "The Litigators," a critique in fiction-form of civil trial lawyers. This review of that novel appeared first under the title "Our World According to Arthur" in the October 2005 issue of "The Hennepin Lawyer." ... Douglas A. Hedin: Book review of "O'Banion's Gift" by Michael O'Rourke (2004).In 2003, Michael O'Rourke, a Minneapolis lawyer and former judge, published a novel, "O'Banion's Gift," which was reviewed under the title "O'Rourke Returns" in the May/June, 2004 issue of "The Hennepin Lawyer." ... Douglas A. Hedin: Book Review of "A Lake Superior Lawyer: A Biography of Chester Adgate Congdon" by Roy O. Hoover (2002)Chester A. Congdon (1853-1916) was a lawyer, mining executive and civic leader in Duluth from the 1890s to his death in 1916 at the age of 63. Professor Roy O. Hoover's "A Lake Superior Lawyer: A Biography of Chester Adgate Congdon" was published in 1997. This book review appeared first in "The Hen... John Isch: Book Review of "And Justice For None" by Evelyn Fesenmaier with Greta Bishop (2009)In 1921, two brothers, both Black, were convicted of felonies in Redwood County. Both served long sentences in Stillwater Prison. In 2002, a novel about their cases was published. It was written primarily by Evelyn Fesenmaier Wallace whose father closely observed the criminal trials decades earlie... David J. Meyers: Book Review of Donald R. Durbin Jr., "The Bigger They Are...." (2000).Sometimes the best advice that a good lawyer can give the client is that the client has no case. This is as true today as it was over 100 years ago when William Burfening first came to a lawyer about a real estate claim.
Elena Neuzil: Book Review of Erik Rivenes, "Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal That Shook Minneapolis" (2018).Dramatic party switches, payoffs from brothel madams, criminals on the police force -- the political career of Albert Alonzo "Doc" Ames was chock-full of proof that he wanted to be mayor of Minneapolis to serve himself. The citizens of the city were a mere afterthought.
Robert M. Smith: Book Review of Roger Stelljes, "The St. Paul Conspiracy" (2006)."The St. Paul Conspiracy" by Minneapolis lawyer Roger Stelljes is a fast-paced, easy to read mystery/police procedural. The action is set in St. Paul, and many familiar locations set the backdrop for the story. This is a first novel by the author, and it introduces St. Paul Homicide Detective Michae... Robert M. Smith: Book Review of Gerald Anderson, "The Uffda Trial" (1994)."The Uffda Trial" by Gerald Anderson is a fictional account of what life was like in rural Northwestern Minnesota in 1926. It not only describes the lifestyle and mindset of the Scandinavian farmers in the area but also puts the events of the day into political and historical context. Much of the ... Gary A. Weissman: Book Review of Lindsay G. Arthur, Jr., "How to Write a Truly Great Novel" (2018).Suppose that you have long harbored the unfulfilled desire to write a novel -- no footnotes, no citations, no stare decisis -- just your unfettered spinning of a superb story. How do you get started?
|