Download or read book Minnesota Rag written by Fred W. Friendly and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Minnesota Rag takes the reader on an exhilarating tour of the seamy underside of a dark period in Minnesota's past, one rife with crooked public officials, vengeful gangsters, and yellow journalists. Featuring notorious characters such as Jay M. Near, racist and antilabor publisher of Minneapolis's Saturday Press, pioneering newsman Fred W. Friendly weaves the tale of a court case that molded our understanding of freedom of the press and set a precedent for the publication of the Pentagon Papers. "Friendly moves us from the ore-dusted brothels of Duluth, Minnesota, to the gothic top of the Chicago Tribune Tower, to the cloistered conference room of the Supreme Court.... Rich and bizarre."