Michigan Books

Sarajevo: A Biography is the history of a proud city that persevered under terrible strife. Haven of learning in the Ottoman era; site of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, causing World War I; host to the Winter Olympics in 1984; multicultural center under Tito; and by 1992 subject to the longest urban siege of the modern era, Sarajevo's story is a complex and tumultuous one. Sarajevo: A Biography spares no detail in Sarajevo's history, up to and including the aftermath of the 1992-5 siege and the citizens' efforts to rebuild and preserve a valued way of life. Highly recommended especially for world history and library reference shelves.

Dr. Robert Donia has written the best book in any language on the recent history of Sarajevo-- one of the most complex, fascinating, and misunderstood cities in the world. Dr. Donia, who has given extensive testimony as an expert consultant to the Hague Tribunal on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, has known Sarajevo intimately since the 1970s, and understands the richness, and the sometimes tragic complexity of its multi-cultural heritage. (Donia's first book, on Bosnia's Muslims under Austro-Hungarian rule, remains the defintive work on the subject.)

"Sarajevo: a Biography" is informed by a profound historical understanding and a broad human sympathy. It is mercifully free from ethno-religious bias or political partisanship, although, precisely for that reason, it will no doubt be attacked by bigots and and chauvinists of several persuasions.

For anyone hoping to undersand the tragedy of Bosnia in the 1990s, this is the second book to read. The first is "Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Tradition Betrayed", co-authored by Donia and his Ph.D. thesis advisor, Professor John Fine of the University of Michigan. (John Fine's books are also essential to an understanding of the region's history.) If Richard Holbrook had read Donia and Fine before negotiating at Dayton, Bosnia might be in much better shape today than it is.

Prof. William Hunt, Department of History, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York 13617

This is a kid- and parent-friendly book that will make elementary science more fun for everyone.
Science is Golden is a fun introduction to scientific thinking and problem solving. If you like children, science, logic, problem-solving, sledding, throwing rocks or the TV remote, this book is for you! Science is Golden will also help you design a killer science project with your kids.
This book describes the philosophy of science applied to children's science experiments. Scientists have a formal approach to problem-solving though the scientific method. Science is Golden describes how to implement this powerful mode of thinking to solve experimental problems that arise from children's questions about science. In many ways, teaching children science through the scientific method is an easier and more powerful approach than teaching many disembodied scientific factoids--the current, unfortunate school model.

What is your answer when your kids keep asking you "Why" this and "Why" that? Curiosity is a great gift we have (especially kids!), and this book is a wonderful guide in how to feed that curiosity. The "problem-solving approach to science" this author describes and uses to answer kid's questions, from how many germs can be found on coins to how a remote control works, is not only a joy to read about, but also teaches kids AND parents how to investigate any question in a systematic and creative way. I highly recommend this book to all parents regardless of their background in science -- there is something in here to learn whether you are a kid, a college student (like myself), a Ph.D.-level research scientist, or several years removed from your last science course. Keep the "Why"s coming and learn with your kids!

The sweetest poem in the book is "The Absent Father." Hew Ainslie describes how he misses his wife and children after he came to America and they were still in Scotland, planning to join him later.

His poems are written in the Scottish dialect.

As a decendant of Hew Ainslie be it known that he is entombed at Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville,Ky and that the poem Ingleside is engraved on his tombstone. I have found that the poetry of my Great-great Grandfather written in Scottish brouge to be very inspiring.

As a Chinese American, I have found this book very interesting to read and very helpful to use. Culture is the most difficult thing to be truly understood unless you are into it. Movies are one of the best ways to learn about a new culture because they bring people into that culture. This book "Seeing the Big Picture" by Summerfield and Lee provides the reader with movies that are representative to the study cultures. Rich background infomation is given and strategies to promote the understanding are introduced, to name just a few features of this book. I used this book at several teacher training/train-the-trainer workshops on munticultural education (provided by U of I Extension) and the participants were facinated! I highly recommend this book to educators for their efforts in teaching cultural understanding in the USA or simply in learning about different cultures themselves!

I love this book! Film is such a great way to teach adults and older youth about the cultural differences among us. Summerfield and Lee have given us the tools to easily teach others about specific cultural differences. Not only do they suggest popular films that we can use and how to use them, but they also give us the historical context of the specific cultural group and several exercises to help students go deeper in their understanding and appreciation of differences. Anybody who picks up this book will find themselves drawn into the wonderful insights that are inside.

I wouldn't think of diving in the Straits of Mackinac without taking this book along. It makes a great read by the fireplace too, but it's an even better reference guide to keep on the dive boat. Chuck & Geri Feltner are the recognized experts on the shipwrecks of the Straits area and this book is a must for any serious Great Lakes wreck diver.

Shipwrecks of the Straits of Mackinac set a new standard for authors wishing to create regional directories of shipwrecks. I own nearly 500 books on the topic of Great Lakes shipwrecks and diving, and this one is by far the best written and best researched. The authors personally discovered many of the shipwrecks in and around the Straits of Mackinac but were also accomplished researchers and writers. This background enabled them to create a groundbreaking book that has yet to be equaled by others of its kind. Shipwrecks of the Straits of Mackinac gives remarkably detailed accounts of the wrecks in the area drawn from primary archival sources. The authors have also included many fascinating side stories and bits of local history to tie the wreck incidents together and to show their place in the larger arena of Great Lakes commerce and history. Exceptional dive information is included along with many underwater photos and site maps. Both discovered and undiscovered wrecks are detailed and presented in a very accessible table format. Even the bibliography of the book is fascinating due the many obscure and interesting references the authors were able to dig up. If you own only one book on Great Lakes shipwrecks, this should be the one.

A Simpler Time is one of the best books I have read about a youngster's experiences growing up during the distant past. Author Youngquist does a great job of creating his world for the reader. His writing is clear and concise, and he helps me live his experiences along with him. I'm anxious to read what he has written about his life in the Foreign Service!

I read this book (advertised as excellent for young boys) as a young girl of probably 12 to 13, around 1948 or 1950. This series as well as the Civil War series by the same author were invitingly dusty volumes with old-fashioned type that spoke to me somehow of forgotten knowledge and great adventure. The protagonist, Henry Ware, was a character that could be described as a young Indiana Jones, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone. The books described the great and vanished Indian tribes of the old Northwest Territory, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan. I have held these stories of brave young men, frontier settlers,and indigenous Indian tribes in my mind for nearly 50 years and hold them in great respect and esteem.

Simply Brilliant. The two detail-oriented authors paint an accurate picture of middle America in the 1980's. They describe the lengths Battle Creek goes to, to bring a large employer into the city. A great study that should be read by all business majors.

This book chronicles how a progressive, forward thinking community (Battle Creek, Michigan) went about attracting one of Japan's largest automotive suppliers, Nippondenso. It outlines the community's economic and political history and all the forces that went into landing this economic entitiy.

A must for soaring and gliding fans. Many outstanding photos of never before seen pics.

By far, my favorite book by Sandman.

This is one of Arcadia's images of Aviation series. It is an amazing collection of some 200 pictures dating from 1929 to 2006. The subject is sail planes at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Area.

This area on the shore of Lake Michigan has almost ideal terrain for soaring. The wind blows in from the lake and hits a series of bluffs that forces the win to go upward. This creates a static situation where sail planes can soar for hours. This fact was recognized early and still exists today. Because of fear of privitization of all of the Lake Shore, the land was set aside and protected.

The photographs show the development of gliders from the warliest days of the gliding sport, through the modern hand gliders and ultra lights.

It's hard to put the works of Morrill into words, but since I've already used fifteen at this point (seventeen if you count contractions, more if you count these words, or the words after fifteen) you can see I am going to try. When I look at some of the people to come out of Iowa, Tom Arnold most notably, it makes me happy that there's at least one person, Don Morrill, who (whom?) I can point to and say "I'm from the same place as that guy..." Morrill is the Iowan author you should be reading.

Ah, the man hast done it again.*

Dionysos is the god of wine, inebriation, and creative ecstasy.
Donald Morrill is the god of fine, intoxicating creative texts. I learned of him through his poetry (At the Bottom of the Sky) and learned to love him through his prose. He is a writer of astounding talent. Like a character in "Sounding for Cool" says, "[Don] would make a great father. Most dads would send their kid to Florida, he'd send him to China." With this book, Morrill sends the reader on a spirtual journey, possibly to China, possibly to the heart of his/her soul. Immeadiately after reading this book I wanted to run out to a Transitional Living Program and do my part to help, do my part to encourage my brothers, and of course write a brilliant non-fiction piece about my experiences. Alas, I couldn't, so I just reread "Sounding for Cool". A wonderfully moving memoir from one of Florida's greatest writers.

* To fully appreciate my first sentence, "again" should rhyme with "wane".

I agree with another Amazon reviewer that the reading can be a tad 'dry' at times, quite uncustomary for the author.

However, it still has that "Thurner style" fast, pleasing pace that precludes excess verbiage and allows for the covering of a rather-broad topic in a single, readable volume. Furthermore, the author is a native to the area, which doesn't hurt his case.

For 'complete' coverage of the Copper Country, look no further than Mr. Thurner's three such books.

I purchased this book after a vacation to the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula where I toured one of the copper mines mentioned in the book.

To enjoy this book it helps if one has a curiosity about the region's history it's industry and the melting pot of people that made up it's workforce.

Although a dry history at times, I believe this book to be one of if not the best on the topic. An important contribution to Michigan History. It is my hope that upon reading it people will recognize this book as the labor of love it truly is.