Fred Johnson, author of The Big Water

Fred Johnson will be in the store on Sunday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m. to talk about his new book on Lake Minnetonka, Big Water! This is sure to be a great event for local history buffs. 

Magnificent Minnetonka, a gem in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, is arguably Minnesota's greatest lake outside Superior. Its history is a story worth telling, and Frederick L. Johnson has done that in the lively, entertaining and well-researched The Big Water: Lake Minnetonka and its Place in Minnesota History. 

Johnson's sweeping narrative usese the words of the lake's history makers--their business records, diaries, personal papers and letters, public documents and contemporaneous news accounts--to assemble a wide-ranging look at events and historical trends that shaped the Lake Minnetonka story. The lake's lasting reputation as a place of beauty for relaxation and fun is presented. Legendary hotels, summer villas of the wealthy and modest cabins of cottagers, exclusive country clubs, status as a fishing retreat, the role of the lake in American yacht racing history, Big Island Park and Excelsior Amusment Park all receive deserved attention.