2009 Reading #56: James J. Hill
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
51. Devil In a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley.
52. A Red Death by Walter Mosley.
53. White Butterfly by Walter Mosley.
54. Flora's Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa From a Shaky Doom by Ysabeau Wilce.
55. The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip.
56. James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest by Albro Martin. An extensive account of the life and fortunes of St. Paul's very own railroad magnate, from his beginnings in Canada to his international role in extending wartime (WWI) loans to England and France. As I've mentioned, this book was a bit of a slog, with occasional moments of awesome. Martin was apparently a professor of business at Harvard, and while it would be silly to assume that a biography of Hill wouldn't talk about the particulars of his various dealings, for me he went a bit overboard. I was more interested in the domestic details of Hill's home and family life, and ended up skimming much of the rest after a while. Not the sort of biography I'd read for pleasure, certainly, but this was for research and I got some valuable insights out of it. In particular, the book drives home the oft-heard point about the way the railroads guided the settlement of the country; a hundred years ago my Mom's hometown, now a tiny farming community north of Alexandria, was an important hub on the St. Paul and Manitoba.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
51. Devil In a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley.
52. A Red Death by Walter Mosley.
53. White Butterfly by Walter Mosley.
54. Flora's Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa From a Shaky Doom by Ysabeau Wilce.
55. The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip.
56. James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest by Albro Martin. An extensive account of the life and fortunes of St. Paul's very own railroad magnate, from his beginnings in Canada to his international role in extending wartime (WWI) loans to England and France. As I've mentioned, this book was a bit of a slog, with occasional moments of awesome. Martin was apparently a professor of business at Harvard, and while it would be silly to assume that a biography of Hill wouldn't talk about the particulars of his various dealings, for me he went a bit overboard. I was more interested in the domestic details of Hill's home and family life, and ended up skimming much of the rest after a while. Not the sort of biography I'd read for pleasure, certainly, but this was for research and I got some valuable insights out of it. In particular, the book drives home the oft-heard point about the way the railroads guided the settlement of the country; a hundred years ago my Mom's hometown, now a tiny farming community north of Alexandria, was an important hub on the St. Paul and Manitoba.