January 12th, 2008

North Star Rising a Conversation with Author Barry Cassleman

Barry Casselman holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa. He founded and published his first newspaper in Minnesota at age 29. Covering Minnesota and national politics since 1972, Casselman is now a nationally syndicated columnist who contributes regularly to many of the leading public affairs and political analysis publications. He is currently the CEO of the Preludium News Service and resides in Minneapolis.

North Star Rising traces the impact Minnesota's politicians have had on national politics, from its first territorial governor, Alexander Ramsey, to Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale. Filled with colorful, little-known anecdotes and unusual historical connections, North Star Rising is a highly readable, often humorous, frequently surprising account of how the nation came to take notice of this northern Midwestern state. The book concludes with a look at recent Minnesota political figures as well as a peek at some of the rising stars of the DFL, Republican, and Independence parties. It depicts Minnesota's political involvement on the national stage from the state's infancy to its hosting of the Republican National Convention in 2008.