In this entertaining series of driving tours, John Toren takes us from the Boundary Waters to the Mississippi Valley, from the Mesabi Iron Range to Pipestone, with plenty of insights into the state√s geography, history and culture. If you're planning a road trip, here's a book that will make your trip worth the gas: The Seven States of Minnesota is a guidebook offering an interesting collection of driving expeditions, complete with maps and photos. Author John Toren has packed this book with interesting bits of information covering history, culture, and geography--with a bonus addition of sidebars, providing insights to a particular area. These mini-essays vary from descriptions of a trip Thoreau took up the Minnesota River to explanations of the origin of the pottery culture of the St. Croix valley. You'll also discover the best bakeries in Faribault, the location of Inspiration Peak, and the ghost towns of Crow Wing and Beaver.This entertaining guidebook belongs in your glove compartment or backpack, for it's sure to enhance your travels. --Minnesota History Magazine With its startling sunsets over the harvestland, its blizzards and history, its dramatic waterways and the ethnic jumble of its five million people, Minnesota invites the exploring biographer. Few writers will tell its stories with the clarity and relaxed candor of John Toren, who knows it better than most. He is an escort, a citizen, and a little bit of Huckleberry Finn. - Jim Klobuchar Used Book in Good Condition