Fields of Fortune

A gripping history of one Norwegian immigrant family’s experience in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to World War II.

In the spring of 1853, a family of eight drove their wagon to the wharf in Bergen, Norway. They unloaded their belongings alongside the other stacks labeled, AMERICA, MINNESOTA, ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, NEW YORK CITY, CHICAGO and boarded the crowded ship.

Hopeful, nervous Norwegians—giving up everything for a place they knew of only through second-hand tales of freedom and opportunity—watched as the shoreline retreated, knowing they would never see their homeland again. Their trip ahead would be spent in cramped conditions for two or three months until they reached Ellis Island. The United States, where they were immigrating to, was facing many problems including tensions over slavery and the subsequent beginning of the Civil War.

The family moved west to farm the free land that was offered to them but were met with resistance, as it was land that had been cultivated by Native Americans for thousands of years before. The family was nearly eliminated during these times, often referred to as the American Indian Wars.

Future generations carried on to the Dakotas and Alberta with difficulties. These Norwegians persisted. Through ardent research and narrative biography, Robert Dodge reflects on the immigrant experience of one Norwegian family from the mid-nineteenth century through World War II in Fields of Fortune: ‘Viking’ Farmers in America.

Praise for Fields of Fortune

“A thriller, a family adventure, a Viking heritage story that kept me turning the pages and asking for more.” —Alice C. Schelling, author of Hiding Alinka

“A riveting tale . . . featuring strong women who carried their families forward even when their men failed them.” —Carolyn Bradley Bursack, author of Minding Our Elders

“Award–winning author Robert Doge doesn’t just write history, he paints it in true story-telling style.” —Jodi Bowersox, president of the Colorado Authors League