Biography/Regional The beloved former governor's personal story of a life in service and of triumph over adversity.
Elmer L. Andersen has been described as Minnesota's leading citizen. A leader in many fields, he built a small adhesives company, H. B. Fuller Company, into a world leader, and created a publishing empire from one weekly newspaper. As a Minnesota state senator, he pioneered progressive legislative measures in the areas of civil rights, special education and welfare, mental health care, and metropolitan governance. His years as Minnesota's governor in the early 1960s were marked by his role in the founding of Southwest State University and several state parks; the latter, in addition to the important part he later played in the creation of Voyageurs National Park, gained him a reputation as one of the region's leading environmentalists.
In A Man's Reach, Governor Andersen recounts his years of service with a keen truthfulness, but also with the generous spirit that has guided his life and career. For the first time he tells the story of his 1962 political defeat as he ran for his second term as governor in a contentious race followed by a four-month-long vote recount, one of the most memorable and heartbreaking elections in Minnesota's history. Here, also, is a true insider's account of President Kennedy's masterful handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story of how Charles Lindbergh taught him to fly, as well as candid recollections of fellow Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller, and Harold Stassen, and political rival Hubert Humphrey.
Now in his ninety-first year, the former governor continues to inspire through this story of a man who was an impoverished teenage orphan but became one of the leading lights in business, politics, and public service in his state. Told with humor and humility, A Man's Reach is sure to encourage anyone who ever wondered if one person can make a difference.
Governor Elmer L. Andersen is one of Minnesota's leading political, business, and cultural figures. He lives in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
Lori Sturdevant is an editorial writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Translation Inquiries: University of Minnesota Press
