Author Events

Inside these pages a story unfolds of a young woman's journey to find six keys to unlock a self-made prison of hell. Though God would try to warn her, Tammy would refuse to listen, causing her to lose not just her heart, her mind, and her soul, but her children as well. Then after being told a hundred times to "Just go away! We don't want to hear it!" a stranger reaches out to her and hands her a book and says, "Read It!" When Tammy does, God sends her a dozen more angels to help her find the six keys which will rebuild her self-worth so she can once again fight for the custody of her children from the man who destroyed her and was now destroying her children.

The book provides a pictorial and written history with the aid of more than 900 photographs that tell the story of important events and heroic war stories of man Minot and area heroes and other interesting people. Events and institutions covered in the book are: World War I, "Great Depression," "Dirty Thirties," Minot's Japanese Community, World War II, National Guard, Minot State Teachers College V-5 and V-12 Programs, Korean War, Cold War, Minot Ground Observational Corps, Vietnam War, 1990 Gulf War, Global War on Terror, Minot Air Force Radar Station, Minot Air Force Base, Minot Air Force Base 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base UFO incidents, Minot's incredible 11 Generals and Admirals, North Dakota Medal of Honor recipients and much more.

 Let's welcome Merry Helm for a book talk . . . which means it would be great to show up on time so we can sit, eat cookies, get a cup of coffee and listen to someone who has something to say about our ancestors, our history, and a particular time period on the prairie that will never (ever) happen again.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Prairie Boys at War: Korea is the compelling and fast-paced account of men from the northern prairies who received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross and/or Navy Cross for heroism in the Korean War. Through their actions, as well as the experiences of other combat veterans, the history of this three-year war is presented as it was experienced by men from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana.

They were husky farm kids, inner-city paperboys, small-town football players and Boy Scouts. Some were high school dropouts, while others were chosen for Military Academies and went on to become outstanding commanders.

Many were sharp shooters, because they couldn’t waste bullets on anything except what would land on the dinner table. Others were teenaged iron miners, guitar players, sheep herders, baseball players, grape growers or rodeo stars. A surprising number were orphans or runaways, while others were privileged sons of lawyers. At least two were freshly graduated physicians who thought they were going to spend a pleasant 90-day rotation in Japan but ended up on the front lines of Korea instead.

These prairie boys had one thing in common: they grew up during the great depression, and they knew what it took to survive. Whether they were paratroopers, jeep drivers, jet aces, radio operators, frogmen, prisoners of war, engineers or infantry sergeants, each man in the Prairie Boy series was also unique, and their stories represent the experience of the Korean War for what it really was: a brutal, costly war in which tens of thousands were killed, captured and/or missing – and from which the survivors returned to an indifferent nation

Volume 1: June – October 1950 covers the deadly delaying actions of the war’s first four months. Future volumes will cover the terrible winter of 1950-51 during which hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers abruptly came to the aid of North Korea, followed by the little known “outpost wars” of 1952-53.

There’s no other book like it.

Join us as we welcome Lisa Peters to Main Street Books for a book talk about something that affects everyone in North Dakota: Oil.

What does an environmentalist do when she realizes she will inherit mineral rights and royalties on fracked oil wells in North Dakota? How does she decide between financial security and living as a committed conservationist who wants to leave her grandchildren a healthy world? After her father's death, Lisa Westberg Peters investigates the stories behind the leases her mother now holds. She learns how her grandfather's land purchases near Williston in the 1940s reflect four generations of creative risk-taking in her father's Swedish immigrant family. She explores the ties between frac sand mining on the St. Croix River and the halting, difficult development of North Dakota's oil, locked in shale two miles down and pursued since the 1920s. And then there are the surprising and immediate connections between the development of North Dakota oil and Peters's own life in Minneapolis. Catapulted into a world of complicated legal jargon, spectacular feats of engineering, and rich history, Peters travels to the oil patch and sees both the wealth and the challenges brought by the boom. She interviews workers and farmers, geologists and lawyers, those who welcome and those who reject the development, and she finds herself able to see shades of gray in what had previously seemed black and white.

An event for all us health nuts, put on by Heather Addington. "Let's talk about simple ways to get more whole foods into our families, more water, rest, and exercise. Let's talk about minimizing processed foods, fad diets, and sedentary lifestyles. Let's talk, and let's make real changes."

Kids' chapter book author, Tom Watson, is coming to Main Street Books on October 6th at 5:15 PM. He will show kids how to draw his characters, and how to just be awesome!
We will also be serving free pizza at 4:30 PM, so be sure to get here early!  

Hey writiers! Isn't it about time that Main Street Books had their very own writer's group? I think so. In fact, if you can find all they typos and misspelled words in this message maybe you should belong to this writer's group? Maybe you could even run the writer's group? Maybe, but you can't because it's too late because we already have a writer's group runner and that would be me. This is my first time at this and so we are going to have a meeting to get some details all ironed out. IF YOU WANT TO WRITE be here and we will do everything in our power to encourage you to work hard at your craft and to produce the best writing of your life. YES YES YES.

We will see you here!

Come on in and meet author Emmanuel Culman for an exciting author event featuring his book "Dreamers: On Becoming Authentic." 

Who is Emanuel Culman? Emanuel Culman, at age 26, arrived in North America from England where he was a rock n roll singer/musician, photographer and Arts Lab Director. He has written on theater, travel and politics for national newspapers and co-art directed a feature film. While owning an art gallery, he took two of his artists as Artistas Convidads (invited artists) to the ’86 Sao Paulo Bienal. He hosted and co-produced a television series, Changes, and currently owns a movie theater. Emanuel lives with his wife in North Dakota.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Estranged and confused NYC bag-lady, Judith Fargoe, conjures up The Trinity to rescue her, thus initiating her extraordinary transformation. Judith’s ensuing road trip across America includes a life-changing exposure to Taquinta’s wisdom circle where women influence women of influence. Judith’s spiritual core is opened on a native American reservation and Judith embodies her authentic self in rural Corazon. While rallying the townsfolk in defense of the local aquifer, Judith is selected to address U.S. Senators, and, in so doing, becomes brightly conscious of the impact of her power.

The first half of this epic adventure reads like an “every woman’s tale” as Judith thrusts herself on a trajectory out of a fog of confusion. As her clarity intensifies, Judith’s life steadily builds momentum like Maurice Ravel’s, Bolero. Readers who are metaphysically attuned will appreciate the story’s references as Judith lifts the veil to consciousness, while those who are seeking a joyous ride will find that here.

In July 2012, John Bayer left Los Angeles and moved to North Dakota. He moved there with a dream in his heart--the dream was to not live in Los Angeles anymore. John quickly discovered that North Dakota is the most "not Los Angeles" place in the world. Fifteen Months of Winter: My Year in North Dakota contains John's reflections and musing about living in the Dakota that doesn't have Mount Rushmore. Many of the essays in this book come directly from his award winning O! Pioneer newspaper column (ND Newspaper Association 2012 First Place Humor column  weeklies 2000+ circulation). Also contained in this book are all of the random thoughts, notes and writings that just simply weren't good enough to be put into print. Until now!