Taconite Dreams: The Struggle to Sustain Mining on Minnesota’s Iron Range, 1915-2000
By Jeffery T. Manuel
University of Minnesota Press, $27.95
Iron mining is deeply woven into the economic and cultural fabric of northeastern Minnesota. This book offers a fresh look into the region’s mining history, with its booms and busts, as well as the efforts to sustain the industry in America’s post-industrial age. This is a dry topic, but the author’s engaging writing style carries the story forward. Controversies, such as the Reserve Mining lawsuit, are handled objectively. The conclusion of the book touches on the present copper mining debate as well.—Shawn Perich
