|
|
|
Book Review
| Norwegians on the Prairie: Ethnicity and Development of the Country Town. By Odd S. Lovoll. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2006. xvii + 321 pp. Illustrations, maps, chart, tables, notes, index. $32.95.)
|
|
This book, by Odd S. Lovoll, is an innovative study of the three country towns of Benson, Madison, and Starbuck in Swift, Lac qui Parle, and Pope counties in west central Minnesota, an area heavily populated by Norwegian Americans. Lovoll, professor emeritus of history at St. Olaf College and a native of Norway, is known for two earlier studies on Norwegian American immigration and ethnic identity. In this work, he points out that "family stability and inmarrriage," reinforced by the Lutheran Church, sustained the Norwegian language and customs for an extended period (p. 11). Thus, Lovoll examines the historical, economic, cultural, religious, and political history of the area from the 1860s until the present. |
. . . |
There are about 341 more words in this article.
Please log in (or, if you are not yet an
authorized user, please go to the
User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
|