audiobook Connecticut Yankees at Gettysburg by Charles P. Hamblen in History

Description

Winner of the Minnesota Book Award for NonfictionNear the end of her life; Mina Anderson penned a lively memoir that helped Swedish novelist Vilhelm Moberg create "Kristina;" the central female character of his beloved emigrant novels; a woman who constantly yearns for her homeland. But Mina's story was quite different.Showcasing her previously untranslated memoir; I Go To America traces Mina's trip across the Atlantic to Wisconsin and then the Twin Cities; where she worked as a domestic servant; and her move to rural Mille Lacs County; where she and her husband worked a farm; raised seven children; and contributed to rural Swedish community life.Mina herself writes about how grateful she was for the opportunity to be in America; where the pay was better; class differences were unconfining; and children—girls included—had the chance for a good education. In her own words; "I have never regretted that I left Sweden. I have had it better here."Author Joy Lintelman greatly expands upon Mina's memoir; detailing the social; cultural; and economic realities experienced by countless Swedish women of her station. Lintelman offers readers both an intimate portrait of Mina Anderson and a window into the lives of the nearly 250;000 young; single Swedish women who immigrated to America from 1881 to 1920 and whose courage; hard work; and pragmatism embody the American dream.