It has been a good year.

I helped a small Minnesota community save an important historic building. In early April, Kenton Spading called me about the threatened demolition of its 1918 school. Inspired by the hard work of the Kasson Alliance for Restoration, I wrote the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. Just last week, word came from the Department of the Interior that the Kasson Public School is now listed. But the battle to save the school is not over.

In May, I worked with the dedicated Alumni Association of the Mounds-Midway School of Nursing to mark the centennial of its founding with a fine history book and a wonderful celebration. The research and oral history interviews enriched my life as I had the opportunity to listen to the stories of dozens of remarkable women (and a few men!).

In June, Edinborough Press released the biography, Grace Flandrau: Voice Interrupted, at a special event hosted by Garrison Keillor. It was rewarding to honor the hard work that author Georgia Ray put into the book. And it is a pleasure to step back, by way of the written word, into the literary world of the 1920s and 1930s and recognize the talent of Grace Flandrau. The critical praise has been overwhelming.

History builds community. By sharing stories, we gain an understanding of other lives and lay the groundwork for trust. History also encourages us to make better decisions about the present because it provides us with a perspective outside our own times.

I look forward to the publication of four outstanding books in 2008 --- Charles Webster's ground-breaking Entrepot: Government Imports into the Confederate States; James Schmidt's fascinating Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War ; Robert Mitchell's landmark biography, Skirmisher: The Life, Times, and Political Career of James B. Weaver; and Kathryn Adams Doty's much-anticipated memoir, Becoming the Mother of Me.

Please feel free to write and tell me what you think of our books and share information about your own research and writing at: publisher@edinborough.com.