Finalist, Minnesota Book Awards. The spirit of Minnesota lives in many things. It is a radiant dawn breaking through the pines of the North Woods. It is the unceasing pounding of waves on the rocky North Shore of Lake Superior. It is the delicate fragrance of prickly wild roses in the Heartland. It is the timeless flow of the Mississippi River carving its way through the Bluff Country. It is the wind through the tall grasses of the Prairie region. This is the spirit of the land that is Minnesota. Minnesota: The Spirit of the Land is the first collaboration between Douglas Wood, author of the ward-winning Old Turtle, and photographer Greg Ryan. It is a tribute to the state’s enduring heritage a look at the soul of the state’s wilderness and what that spirit means to its people.