{"product_id":"the-rise-of-jonas-olsen-johannes-wist-9780816647507","title":"The Rise of Jonas Olsen: A Norwegian Immigrant's Saga","description":"The road to riches for the hero of this sweeping historical novel ends up being rockier than he initially expects. Norwegian immigrant Jonas Olsen arrives in late nineteenth-century Minneapolis with little money and less English. He quickly learns to reinvent himself--from laboring in sewer construction to building a successful dry goods business, from losing everything in a banking collapse to settling the Red River Valley. While an eminently likable character, Jonas can also be ruthless in his ambition to find success in America. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Rise of Jonas Olsen\u003c\/i\u003e is at once an immigrant novel, business novel, political novel, and a western, offering a rich and panoramic view of Scandinavian immigrant life in the Upper Midwest. Wist combines realism and satire to depict the role Norwegian Americans played in the economic, political, and cultural life of the Upper Midwest. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginally published serially in the Norwegian-language newspaper the \u003ci\u003eDecorah Posten\u003c\/i\u003e in the 1920s, The Rise of Jonas Olsen illustrates an immigrant's struggle to preserve his identity and heritage while striving to become fully accepted as an American. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohannes B. Wist (1864-1923) was a journalist and editor of the \u003ci\u003eDecorah Posten\u003c\/i\u003e from 1900 to 1923. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOrm  verland is professor of American literature at the University of Bergen, Norway, and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Western Home: A Literary History of Norwegian America and Immigrant Minds, American Identities: Making the United States Home, 1870-1930\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTodd W. Nichol is editor of the Norwegian-American Historical Association publication program. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePublished in cooperation with the Norwegian-American Historical Association.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Johannes Wist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 081664750X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780816647507\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Minnesota Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 464\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.56lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.46w x 1.28d","brand":"Johannes Wist","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065184661759,"sku":"9780816647507","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_95f82292-32ba-456f-8896-becc39c8fa0c.jpg?v=1768673551","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-rise-of-jonas-olsen-johannes-wist-9780816647507","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}