Swedes in Minnesota - (People of Minnesota) by Anne Gillespie Lewis (Paperback)

About the Book

A concise history of Swedes in Minnesota and the enormous influence that they have had on our state's politics, history, and culture.

Book Synopsis

A concise history of Swedes in Minnesota and the enormous influence that they have had on our state's politics, history, and culture.

No ethnic group is so identified with a single state as the Swedes are with Minnesota. Anne Gillespie Lewis explores how this came to be and what impact Swedes have had on the state they would make their own. She discusses churches, lodges, Swedish language newspapers, and entertainment, and she profiles individuals and groups of immigrants and their descendants. Through anecdotes, letters, and interviews from the immigrants themselves and from their grandchildren, she tells the story of the great Swedish migration. For the many Minnesotans of Swedish ancestry, Lewis provides a remarkably concise portrait of an ethnic group striving to become American while struggling to maintain its ties to tradition.

Review Quotes

"Swedes in Minnesota is a refreshing primer on this state's Swedish American community, past and present. Woven among stories of those who helped give shape to this state are unexpected delights: the short-lived colony of Minnesota Swedes in Cuba; excerpts of a young Swedish woman's memoirs from the early 1900s; and even two families' treasured recipes for Swedish meatballs. This book was clearly a labor of love for the author; in it, we find a piece of our heritage."
--Bruce Karstadt, Executive Director, American Swedish Institute

About the Author

Anne Gillespie Lewis is a freelance writer and author of five books including So Far Away in the World: Stories from the Swedish Twin Cities and The Minnesota Guide.