106. Elementary, My Dear Watson

The Sherlock Holmes Collections at the University of Minnesota Library in the Twin Cities, the world’s largest archive devoted to Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, includes some 60,000 items including books, journals, and other “Sherlockania.”

107. Going to Pieces

Kathleen Glasgow earned a UMN Twin Cities M.F.A. degree before writing the New York Times bestselling novel Girl in Pieces.

108. American Indian Themes in YA Lit

Paulette Fairbanks Molin, the first American Indian graduate from UMN Morris, became an educator and writer whose books include American Indian Themes in Young Adult Literature.

109. A Life in Letters

Karim Emami, a UMN Twin Cities alum from Iran, became an influential literary editor, translator, and publisher.

110. Swimming With Sharks

UMN Twin Cities grad Harvey Mackay turned his envelope-company career into the blockbuster book Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, his first of seven New York Times bestsellers. Mackay’s weekly newspaper column gives career and inspirational advice and is featured in syndication.

111. Ancient Cuneiform

UMN Twin Cities Special Collections includes 19 clay artifacts inscribed in cuneiform, the script of ancient Mesopotamia, inside its rare-books holdings.

112. Captain Marvel

C.C. Beck, a UMN Twin Cities alum, cocreated the original Captain Marvel—later widely known as Shazam.

113. Largest Collection of LGBTQ History

The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection at UMN Twin Cities is the largest archival repository of LGBTQ history in the Midwest. The Tretter Collection is home to more than 500 collections of queer and trans archival materials accessible to the public.

114. The Zen Motorcyclist

UMN Twin Cities biochemistry grad Robert M. Pirsig wrote the 1974 classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a philosophical road narrative that sold millions.

115. Into the Wild

Cheryl Strayed earned a UMN Twin Cities degree before writing 2012’s Wild, an international bestseller later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.

116. A Friend to Expatriate Writers

Robert McAlmon, a UMN Twin Cities alum, became a modernist author and publisher whose Contact Editions printed early work by Hemingway and other expatriate writers.

117. The Gift

Lewis Hyde, a UMN Twin Cities graduate, wrote The Gift, a widely influential book on art, imagination, and noncommercial creative exchange.

118. The Betsy-Tacy Friendship

Maud Hart Lovelace, a UMN Twin Cities alum, wrote the Betsy-Tacy books, launching a children’s series rooted in Minnesota life.

119. The Columnist

David Carr, a UMN Twin Cities alum, wrote the memoir The Night of the Gun and was a prominent media columnist at the New York Times. Bob Odenkirk is considering playing him in a TV series.

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