River cities, transportation hub, agricultural heartland, center of commerce for a vast area collected by the upper Mississippi, the Twin Cities are the last great urban area along the north line of the country before the west. Somehow it is hard to understand how these beautiful and vigorous cities ever earned the nickname "the prairie cities," when their orientation is so completely high-tech and modern today, and their stetting is so lush and sprinkled with lakes. This text by a respected newsman-columnist is thorough and entertaining, much more than a glossy photo book. He provides an overview to these intriguing Twins, from Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall, pioneering city-center pedestrian mall, to St. Paul's elegant old mansions on Summit Avenue and from the suburbs to "Nordeast," where eastern European languages still are spoken. The emphasis here is on what makes these towns different, interesting. Each city's history and economy - linked but different - are explained and Minneapolis and St. Paul's unique contribution to politics through Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale - even Andrew Volstead - is highlighted. Captured in film are the peoples of the cities, hard-working, well-educated, and rigorous as a Minnesota winter, which it seems they constantly try to defy in one winter festival or sport after another. Author Robert T. Smith has lived in and written about Minneapolis and St. Paul for 35 years (in and around stints as an international correspondent). Steve Schneider has focused on the cities throughout his nine-year commercial photography career. - Back cover. Robert T. Smith is a Minnesota author and Steve Schneider is a Minnesota photographer.