Minneapolis

Insiders' Guide to the Twin Cities, 6th (Insiders' Guide Series)
$18.95
This is almost exactly a repeat of the previous edition of this book, so if you have the the last edition of the Insiders Guide, don't bother buying this one.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Then and Now
$18.95
Unfortunately, this book was done on the cheap from someone who apparently doesn't know the cities (or at least Minneapolis) very well.

The reason it feels cheap is that all of the Minneapolis "then" pictures are available on the website of the Minneapolis Public library. While there's nothing wrong with the library as a source, I suspect that the research for this book took all of an afternoon. I'd hope for something more interesting than what I could easily find myself, some unique -- or at least not easily accessible -- knowledge of the city. This book provides neither.

It's also riddled with inaccurate "now" pictures; there are at least three instances in Minneapolis where the "now" picture was taken at least a block from the original picture -- and from a completely different angle.

I'd recommend Larry Millet's "Twin Cities Then and Now" as a much better alternative.

Moon Minneapolis and St. Paul (Moon Handbooks)
$17.95
This is a fine addition to the fine Moon line. It is also the most recent Twin Cities guide, and thoroughly covers the cities and a bit of the outlying region. Very accessible and navigable and likely useful both for the visitor and the resident looking to expand their knowledge of their hometown.

Minneapolis & St. Paul: Hotter than You Think (Great City Guides Travel Series)
$19.99
I bought this DVD from the James J. Hill house in St. Paul, and I wish I would have purchased it before I had gone. The DVD shows you all of the important highlights of the city and it goes in to detail. It also has special chapters for families, history, and shopping to name a few. The DVD-rom features are nice also, some are maps, coupons, and pictures. The website featured with the DVD also put all of the important links on one page. I did okay planning my trip without the DVD, but this would have saved me a lot of time. It also makes a nice souvenir.