What do you think?
Rate this book
Powerline: The First Battle of America’s Energy War
Welston's second book, the story of a planned powerline from the coal fields of North Dakota to the Twin Cities and the protests it brought out.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1981
About the author
Paul Wellstone
7 books9 followersPaul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College. Wellstone was a liberal and a leading spokesman for the liberal wing of the national Democratic Party. He served in the Senate from 1991 until his death in a plane crash on 25 October 2002, 11 days before the US senate election in which he was running for a third term. His wife, Sheila, and daughter, Marcia, also died in the crash. They had two other grown children, David and Mark, who now co-chair the Wellstone Action nonprofit group.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 1, 2024
Definitely a very informative bit of writing. Highly in-depth retelling of an important point in US power and Minnesota history. Rural citizens fight for a say in what happens on their property, up against not only the government but also the governments priority of large/wealthy corporations insights over that of the majority. The author’s writing was professional and conversational which I applaud. The journalistic side of me loved this book for its interviews and thorough research. However, I did get tired of the continued repetitive introductions of events, people, and laws that had already been introduced in prior chapters. Made an already dense read more difficult to lock in on.
February 22, 2020
This account of a deeply-rooted protest against a high voltage transmission line shows the complex nature of what we will need to grapple with when building a new world, and the long histories of where our movements have come from (and I appreciate the book’s mix of technical detail, oral history, and historical narrative to accomplish that).
“Well, I think there are some people who are gonna quit fighting, but I don’t think they should quit fighting, because there isn’t gonna be no farmland if you let these big corporations take over.”
“Well, I think there are some people who are gonna quit fighting, but I don’t think they should quit fighting, because there isn’t gonna be no farmland if you let these big corporations take over.”
December 26, 2023
An incredibly insightful story which, despite taking place almost 50 years ago, contains valuable lessons for the energy nerds of the 2020s about the relationship between infrastructure development and rural America. Wellstone is a great writer, who gets really useful insights and anecdotes out of the people he interviews.
A must-read.
A must-read.
December 31, 2019
didn't technically read all of the utility details mumbo-jumbo but I love the in-depth documentation of this pretty unknown chapter of MN history and protest.
January 30, 2010
Great book. I lived on a dairy farm in the heart of the power struggle and the book is very accurate and insightful.
June 13, 2014
Wellstone being Wellstone, always brilliant, and a primer on fighting the good fight, losing, and fighting some more.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews