Michigan Books

A definite must read! Patricia did her research on this one. Interesting history on lighthouses, the equipment, and how shipwrecked victims were saved. I couldn't put it down! Could use a sequel-Nat and Faith???

After a weekend excursion to the area, including the Shipwreck Museum, the book truly brought the area to life. Very enjoyable book for all ages!

Keeper of the Light is a well-written, well-researched, and dramatic story of a young woman in the 1870s who tries to carry on as keeper of a lighthouse on Lake Superior after her father's death. Despite conflicts with her mother, who wishes to moves to town, and the prevailing attitude of most male characters that she is unable to fulfill these duties, Faith Sutton, the young protagonist, remains committed to her mission and, in an exciting climax to the book's action, becomes a heroine. I found the book to be dramatic and well-written, especially the descriptive passages about nature and the duties of lighthouse-keeping. The minor characters, especially Faith's younger brother, Willy, and her best friend, Cassie, are well-depicted. The book held my attention throughout and I would highly recommend it to young readers or adults interested in children's literature.

I'm always amazed when I read Delp's work because of the way he makes seemingly uninteresting topics move, the way he makes me completely jealous and the way he reminds me of why I love words.

Oh dear,
I meant to say that Delp's book was indeed Stupendorific, but I unfortunatly wrote stupedorific which doesn't begin to cover the stupendorifancy of Delp's book. So allow me to make the correction to this unfortunate understatment.

The old delpster never fails to come through. While all of his books are swell, he shows the ever increasing focus and honing culmanating in each new publication. He is a poetic force to be reckoned with, from Over The Graves Of Horses right through the present. Heck, even his unpublished works like the deadman poems beat most modern writers. His works are full of compelling images and sincere emotions. If you're looking for top-notch/non-pretentious/utterly beautiful poems and insightful/intelligent prose and essays, then grab The Last Good Water, and his other three books while you're at it. Go on, do it.

After Pete had asked a friend & I to join his Bangor team for the Kalamazoo tourney in the summer of 1991, I really got to understand & appreciate the love that he had for Carter & youth sports. His book was truly touching, especially after he asked me to be a small part of one of those summers. I will always cherish the opportunity he gave me, as well as the autographed copy of this book. A must read for all baseball fans & parents.

I cannot believe this book is out of print. I gave my copy to my brother several years ago, and went looking for a new copy today after the hated New York Yankees swept my beloved Boston Red Sox by scoring a whopping 6 runs in three games.
Why? Because Peter Gent's book - which is a wonderful tale about a father and his son getting to know one another - is also a prequel to the very public and successful career of Derek Jeter. You see, Derek Jeter starred on the Connie Mack team that Gent's son Carter played against for the Michigan state championship, and even back then, he was being viewed as a big-time up-and-coming baseball phenom.
And while some of the scenes between Gent and his son will tear your heart out, Jeter is front-and-center in the best sports scene in the book. That occurs when Mike Wyshowski(sp?), the farm-boy pitcher for Carter's team, whiffs Derek Jeter swinging with runners in scoring position late in the very close Championship Game, thereby sealing the win for the underdogs (and permanently endearing himself to me).
This is a wonderful novel. I read North Dallas Forty when I was just a kid, and thought it was a great, funny book. I thought this book, which I read after I'd gotten old enough to get married and have kids of my own, was much, much better. I'm assuming the fact that it's out of print means it didn't sell well. That's a shame, because it's every bit the story NDF was, and then some.

Although the divorce is pivotal in this story, it is not necessarily the key to the book's essence. Any parent who has reached the point of letting go can relate to the emotions the author so wonderfully describes. If a reader is an avid baseball fan, especially Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth, etc., the story jumps out at you and transports you to that "magic" only summer youth baseball can take you. As the mother of three children, two who are finished with youth baseball and softball, and one still keeping me in the "magic" at the age of 13, I loved the book. Mr. Gent deals with emotions like unconditional love, fear, apprehension,regret and wins during that Last Magic Summer.

Artfully written by Erin Anderson, Look About You: A Magical Childhood In Michigan's Wild Places is a very special picture book meant to be read by parents to their children, and which commemorates and celebrates the joy of seeing Michigan's wilderness through a child's eyes. Soft color illustrations by Mary Fuscaldo enhance Anderson's narrative text. Filled from cover to cover with joy and reverence, Look About You provides a unique and highly enjoyable experience young readers, young listeners, and their parents.

As an artist, I first purchased this book for myself because of the beautiful illustrations by artist Mary Fuscaldo. When I read the text by Erin Anderson, I realized what a treasure it would be for the young (and not so young) people who love the out of doors and the special places we all know and keep in our hearts.

Carol Struthers

This is a children's book...but it is more than that! This beautifully written and illustrated book has universal appeal, with messages for any age. When I read it, I thought at once of my grand children and how much I wanted this book to share with them. In addition, I felt I really wanted to share it with friends who, like me, appreciate true beauty in nature, the written word, and in fine art. As a former teacher, I recognize that "Look About You" is a special book that has the qualities we continually seek in a "good" book. You will want to own this book and savor visiting the "wild places" with someone you care about!

How could a ship still in the dock lead to one of the worst maritime disasters in history, with nearly 850 lives lost? And what fate befell such ships as the Davy Crockett, Hippocampus, Protection, and City of Chicago? In this well researched and delightfully readable volume, Robert Myers attempts to relate-through historical detail, factual narrative, and photographs-a comprehensive account of the historical shipwrecks of southeastern Lake Michigan. His suspenseful narratives bring to life that which was lost, introducing readers to vessels wrecked and to the people who survived or died on Lake Michigan.

Roberty Myers has filled a void the body of knowledge concerning Lake Michigan shipwrecks with this Lost on the Lakes, Shipwrecks of Berrien County. The area around St. Joseph, Michigan saw large-scale commercial traffic extremely early in Lake Michigan's history and consequently, hosted many wrecks. Myers is the first to give us a comprehensive and accurate picture of the many marine disasters the area has hosted. His research is impressive, uncovering several previously unknown losses and adding detail to several others. The book is also an entertaining read and includes many interesting side stories and relevant historical details. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Lake Michigan maritime history.

Robert C. Myers has once again captured the essence of an era that has long been forgotten in Southwestern Michigan. The age of the passenger vessels travelling to Chicago, Michigan City, etc. now has a chance to be relived through the words of Robert C. Myers and the photo's of many generous institutions and private individuals. For those who have ancestry in the shipping industry, this is an excellent source. I am proud to live where so much history has taken place and I have such a tremendous amount of respect for those who lost their lives and those who made St. Joseph/Benton Harbor the way it is today. This book will give history buffs plenty of shipwreck lore and genealogists will savor the well-researched data. It goes without saying that I highly recommend this book!!!!

I am becoming more and more enamored of Steve Tekeila's work. I have the mammal guide (as well as the wildflower guide) and find it very informative and useful. The small size allows it to be carried in the field. The picutures are of good quality and the information is presented in an easily readable format. But my favorite part of this guide, as well as the wildflower one, is the "Stan's notes' section after each entry that tells something about the entry: where it came from originally if it is an introduced species, the meanings of the scientific name, how to distinguish it from other similar appearing critters, more about its life cycle, and any other interesting tidbits of information Stan has come across. If you work with Scouts or other youth groups and nature, Stan's books are the ones to have to build your knowledge base and make nature walks much more interesting and informative.

I am an amateur bird-watcher and have many birding field guides. This is my first mammals field guide (since my Golden Guide as a kid). This was a worthy investment and helped me ID a Northern Short-Tailed Shrew living under my patio that I was very afraid was the harbinger of a house mouse infestation (I returned the mouse-traps & have NOT had an infestation!).

Mr. Tekiela includes enough details for the scientist in me but a bullet-type format that streamlines the learning process, so: I learn a lot & am not bored by either superficial information or exhaustive detail! Intersting bedtime reading as well as useful. Each animal has detailed description plus lists distinguishing features, eg, Northen Short Tailed Shrew larger than Masked Shrew (which has a longer tail) and more common than Least Shrew. Also provides habitat/nesting/food information which helps in ID & lifespan.

I also really recommend his book Birds of Michigan & accompanying CD as well as the Reptiles & Amphibians Field Guide & accompanying audio CD/field guide.

I am using this book for Science Olympiad for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Pictures are great, info is interesting and the kids really enjoy it. A good reference book for anyone interested in Michigan's mammals.

I ended up reading the book, Manchurian Legacy, in one sitting even though I had a lot of other things to do. That is rare for me. The story mesmerized me as I felt like I was learning something about my roots, my mother.

My Japanese mother, to get away from the merciless firebombing of her city, at the age of 19 volunteered as a member of a repatriation team assigned to travel to Manchuria and to help in the repatriation of Japanese colonials there. After training for about a month, she flew to a city in the center of Manchuria on what happened to be the same day that the Russians invaded. She had quite an adventure hiding, being captured, incarcerated, starving, transported by rail in box cars and then force marched thru Korea, to be saved ironically by the enemy American soldiers that she was trying to escape. I am amazed at what she had to go through to get back to Japan.

Not only did this book gave me an insight to what life was like in Manchuria for the Japanese during the end of World War II, it also gave me a glimpse of post-war Japan where both my father and father-in-law were stationed as part of the occupation forces. The stories about the period during the Russian invasion and how they and the local Chinese treated the Japanese colonials was very revealing. Even though Mrs. Kuramoto's experience was not so harrowing as my mother's adventure, the description of the area and the everyday life of the colonials helped me to understand this period of history in this part of the world.

Even though the second part of the book about post-war Japan did not relate to my mother since she had a support system in place when she returned to Japan, the description of Mrs. Kuramoto's experiences with members of the American occupation force helped me to understand the situation that my father lived through during his term of duty in Japan.

Enough of how the book impacted me. Here is a synopsis of the book: The Manchurian Legacy is a story about the life of a young woman born in Manchuria to Japanese parents living there during World War II. Her father is a minor Japanese government official which gave the family trappings of luxury which were not enjoyed by the local occupied Chinese residents. Kazuko was a patriotic 17 year old and to her parent's dismay, volunteered to join the Red Cross to aid in the war effort against the corrupt capitalists and communists. When Japan surrendered, the Russians invaded and the Chinese revolted, sending the Japanese colonialists into hiding. How the colonialists fared over the next year is a testament to their entrepreneurship and tenacious desire to survive in a culture hostile to their former oppressors. The post-war portion of the book focused on how Kazuko coped in Japan after being shipped there on U.S. transport ship and after being rejected by other relatives. This is also a story of her relationship with soldiers and contractors with the American occupation forces, and her struggles in a country not so accepting of the returning colonialists.

A great read and highly recommended.

Recently I was given this book to read by a friend who is preparing to teach a university course on Japanese culture and women's narrative. I am voraciously reading the books that she is considering for her course and giving her feedback. I couldn't put this book down and cried at the end. What more can one say? I sit here now as a foreigner living in Japan and find this book offers me a window into Japanese history, culture and the voice of women that is not normally acknowledged. Everyone should read this book.

Manchurian Legacy is the book,I wished that I could have read when I was in the sixth grade.Readers of that age group could easily identify with the character of Kazuko as a young woman. It is rare to find a book that can appeal to both young and old readers. The author, Kazuko Kuramoto apologizes for her writing, as English is her third language. I believe, this is what makes the book so readable. She does not bog the reader down with flowery language. What Kazuko does give the reader is a feeling of what it was like to have lived in Manchuria as a colonialist before and doing WW II.The real charm of the book is that it does not assume the reader has any knowledge of the historical events that shaped the narrative.A brief explanation that doesn't bog down the story gives you a context to understand and enjoy her memoir. The immense popularity of a book, "Angela's Ashes" shows that readers have a desire for personal stories of the ordinary man. Kazuko's story deserves to be read by as wide a audience as "Angela's Ashes"

This book is written in a very structured format.
The repetitive structure of the lessons is classic and becomes easy to read after a couple of chapters.
It includes interesting sidebars on people in not just marketing-related careers, but a wide range of product-related occupations, including enterpreneurs and business owners. It breaks up the lessons nicely.

Lois Farese is quite simply one of the greatest entrepreneurial educators I have ever had the privilege of studying under. Mrs. Farese introduced me to `Marketing Essentials' when I took her Marketing I & II high school classes, and she inspired the slacker in me to become a DECA (http://www.deca.org) state finalist. Learning from this book gave me a tremendous advantage when I continued studying business at Babson College, and the lessons I learned from it have been applied countless times in several years of entrepreneurial practice since!

Lois Farese, is not only an excellent educator but also a great writer. This book not only teaches students the basics of Marketing but I'll bet that even Marketing big wigs could learn a thing or two from the book....try it I think that you'll like it. Oh by the way I want to say "Hi" to Mrs. Farese and thank her for assigning this book when I took her class

I highly recommend this book to anyone in Michigan with a Bird Feeder in their yard. This book is very informative and is easy to use. The birds in this book are definately the types you will see in your yard and on local waterways. We are thrilled with this product!

I was one of the participants in the second edition of "The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Michigan" and counted a total of 44 birds on my assigned patch of territory. This book features 100 of the 'most commonly encountered birds' that can be spotted in Michigan (not all of them breed here). Most, but not all of the birds appear in color photographs (one notable absence is the red-breasted nuthatch).

Before the listings for the individual birds begin, "Michigan Bird Watching" lays out the state's ecoregions, followed by very useful information on bird watching by season.

There are all sorts of useful lists in this book. "Michigan's Ten Best Bird Watching Spots," a page of "Resources for Michigan Bird Watchers," and "Ten Tips for Beginning Bird Watchers" are some examples.

There is a chapter on feeding and housing birds, plus other tips for attracting birds to your property. In the "Nest Box Tips for Landlords," I was surprised to learn that perches by the entry into the nesting box are unnecessary, and may even attract predators.

Instructions on how to use this book precede the hundred bird listings. Each full-page listing includes a color photograph, and sections labeled, "All about," "Habitat and Range," "Feeding," "Nesting," and "Backyard and Beyond."

I've only seen ONE of the birds in this book's "Michigan's Ten Must-See Birds" so I've got a long way to go.

If I could have requested just a few more items in this book, they would have been: male/female and or summer/winter color differences within a species; and photographs of the species' nests and eggs. Otherwise this is an excellent, fact-filled introduction to Michigan birds.

THIS BOOK WAS IMMEDIATELY HELPFUL IN IDENTIFICATION OF SEVERAL BIRDS IN OUR BACK YARD. I WILL USE THIS BOOK FOR THE YEAR ROUND MIGRATION ID.

The University of Michigan Law Quadrangle is an architectural wonder of American Universities - it is perhaps one of the most outstanding group of buildings in the entire United States. This book illustrates this viewpoint by providing wonderful photographs of the law quad along with fascinating text telling the history of the buidlings. For anyone who has ever visited the Law Quadrangle, this book will reinforce the feeling of awe you get while being within it's walls.

The University of Michigan Law Quadrangle is an architecturalwonder of American Universities - it is perhaps one of the mostoutstanding group of buildings in the entire United States. This book illustrates this viewpoint by providing wonderful photographs of the law quad along with fascinating text telling the history of the buidlings. For anyone who has ever visited the Law Quadrangle, this book will reinforce the feeling of awe you get while being within it's walls.

The University of Michigan Law Quadrangle is an architectural wonder of American Universities - it is perhaps one of the most outstanding group of buildings in the entire United States. This book illustrates this viewpoint by providing wonderful photographs of the law quad along with fascinating text telling the history of the buidlings. For anyone who has ever visited the Law Quadrangle, this book will reinforce the feeling of awe you get while being within it's walls.