Lost Twin Cities

Rating:
Summary: A great look back at how the Twin Cities once was
Review: I have a newer version of this book, and I just wanted to say that it is a very, very interesting book. Even if you arn't originally from the Twin Cities this book is still very interesting to look at to see how things have changed over the years such as the cars, the billboards/advertisements, and the way people dressed. I think that this is definetly worth every cent, and I look forward for another edition to come out with different photos of streets in the Twin Cities.

Rating:
Summary: Old family photos, described lovingly
Review: Reading Lost Twin Cities feels like you've found that great uncle or aunt who can explain all the black and white family photos. This is a great example of the historian's art, a real case in which an author, by choosing a particular way to frame a set of information, calls a past world back to vivid life. It's a bittersweet pleasure to relive the life span of each historical building. Millet's approach is anecdotal, like that old relative's conversational voice.

Indirectly, this book also raises some natural questions about our country's urban development. The demise of the Twin Cities' streetcar system is particularly well described, for example. I could see a creative professor, teaching a lower level course on urban development, assigning this book as a text. (The same professor would also have students view "Chinatown.")

The book was also adapted for television by the local (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) public station. The program is quite entertaining, and catches the tone of the book pretty well.

Larry Millet has written a few Sherlock Holmes mysteries, largely as an excuse to present much of this same historical information in a livelier way. If you're considering which approach to take, stick to this. The mysteries are awful, extremely flat-footed and despiriting for an Arthur Conan Doyle fan; this is a wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Find!
Review: So far the best architectural book I've read, especially since I'm from the area of the subjects.