Michigan Books

You will absolutely love this book! Ross is both insightful and humorous as he writes about: Michigan football (why their offense is really neither "conservative" or "too predictable"), Michigan basketball and the player who averaged 15 fouls per game (I remember him), Big Ten basketball officiating (he says it is getting better; I'm not sure), Tommy Amaker (he should have asked him who did kill JFK), why UCLA was so good for so long (it actually has less to do with John Wooden than you've been led to believe), and who was the greatest Michigan quarterback ever (read it to find out; Tom Brady is #3). More than anything else, this book reminded me that college sports are supposed to be FUN, no matter who wins. Ross' final chapter in this book is a classic by itself. Buy this book and savor every chapter. The best sports book I've read since "Ball Four" (yes, it's THAT good).

I join my fellow alum Mr. Heston in giving high praise to Obscene Diaries. At college I became quite interested in football, and particularly enjoyed Northwestern's successful skirmishes against the University of Michigan. Mr. Ross successfully reveals football as a particularly American blend of theatre and sport, personal drama and statistical analysis, quarterback thrill and coach agonistes.

This wild comic rant about sports is also startlingly original. For hard core sports fans, the book is packed with the kind of fresh insightful analysis of football strategy that is so completely missing from the work of the paid media pundits. (College coaches are already taking this book very seriously, because it shows why they should go for it on 4th down way more than they do.) But for non sports fans, this is also a great book, because Craig Ross really talks more about life than he does about sports -- and he's a fabulously witty writer.

As packed as it is with painstakingly researched sports statistics and wild, wonderful analyses, this book is a humorous and delightful read. Attorney Ross argues the facts, argues the law, AND attacks the opposition, entertaining us all the way.

As an alum of Northwestern, a school whose original nickname was The Fighting Methodists, I can appreciate the quasi-religious fervor of Wolverine fans. Craig Ross joins the ranks of Voltaire and Jonathan Swift in effectively (and humorously)skewering this (large) slice of American culture.

I must say that even though Frank Turner fell from grace I had no idea that he was so addicted to drugs that he had to have a "transition team" just to get by in the Detroit market. It was inspirational to learn that he is healed body and soul. It reminded me of my own encounter with God. We can all relate to what he wrote. It took guts to reveal himself in such a profound way. I admire him for being able to to that. The book is well worth reading.

"Raised from the Dead" by Frank Turner, is the personal testimony of America's First Evangelical Anchorman. Ironically, the first book that I read in one day, "Hope for the Flowers", had the same wonderful message for me. March 11, 1971 is when my life changed forever. The other book was about crawling catapillers, that God changed to beautiful butterflies, as only He can do.

This is one man's story about abandonment and sexual abuse as a child, in addition to smoking pure cocaine. It's about his marriage to the daughter of Louis Farrakhan. It is also about drug use and trafficking. It is about salvation, deliverance, healing and restoration. But if you are seeking for truth in your own life, I promise you this book will show you the miracle that happens when you reach out and ask God to change your heart, change your mind and turn you into that beautiful person that He intended you to be. (Remember the butterfly?)

I'm the mother of five children and a grandmother of eleven. I've never had Frank Turner's horrendous experiences in life, but I could relate to him just because I was a lost, self-righteous soul headed for hell until that awesome day, March 11, 1971, when God called my name and changed my eternal destination. "Old things passed away, He made all things new."

Thank God I was forever changed just as you will be after you read what God did in Frank Turner's life and what God wants to do in each of His children's lives.

Thank you for sharing your story and I'm praying that you enjoy His miracles that are "new every day".

Gratefully Yours,
Boots Barlow

Rarely has a Christian biography like RAISED FROM THE DEAD by Frank Turner, grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go from the first page to the very last. Seldom have I read one with the really "hard" issues in it. This is Reality at its worst and its very Best.

The thoughts, experiences, and word images are so artfully written that they seem burned into my memory. I was disappointed when the book ended. RAISED FROM THE DEAD is captivating, riveting, challenging and with a bit of humor thrown in. The way this author has with words, makes the reader stop to marvel and meditate at the depth of his thoughts and the beauty of language.

The best part of course, is how Frank Turner brings you right into the experiences with him--from the deepest pit of addiction to the heights of his love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his Nicky. This author doesn't cop out and whitewash his "before" story so as not to offend Christians' sensibilities. While tastefully written, he is refreshingly honest, open, and vulnerable, which makes him someone the reader can relate to.

I don't usually use the word "anointed" about anything these days, but I believe it applies to this book. I believe the Lord will use it to reach many for salvation in Jesus Christ, and to give all believers renewed hope and looking forward to living a life totally dedicated to Him and anxiously awaiting His soon return.

Raised From the Dead Frank Turner's book is a sure breath of hope to any who have felt hopelessly alone and/ or have or are battling addictions. This book is just not for those in the categories described above; it is a true work of hope. Frank keeps you on the edge of your chair from defeat to glory. A must read for all who could use some inspiration in their life.

Bob Kirby-Incarceratedyouthministries-RETOOL

Just when you thought you knew what a "crack head" would talk, walk and look like...you were wrong. Frank Turner was a high-profile news anchor on ABC Detroit but had real "issues." Like a lot of us, he had ghosts from the past that haunted him - but he let those ghosts torture him - almost to the point of destruction! Thank God for HIS GRACE. This book shows you the amazing grace of God and how much His love for us is not beyond anyone's reach. Great, fast read. Better than chocolate!

Pam Perry
Chocolate Pages Reviews
www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com

Loren Estleman is one of the grand old men of mystery writing, right up alongside Lawrence Block these days. Estleman, as far as I know, rarely makes the bestseller lists (Block's finally broken through) but among detective novel fans he's one of the best-known writers of his generation, turning out novel after novel in a series that is one of the best and longest-running in the genre. Amos Walker is a wonderful creation, a tough guy who's physically not that imposing, a wisecracking detective who's not above bending a law or two, an investigator who's pretty quick on the uptake but not quite as smart as he should be.

In the current entry (the 17th) Walker's hired by an elderly woman who used to run one of Detroit's whorehouses. She's dying, and she wants her only son to have her ashes when she's cremated. She duly passes, and Walker finds the son hiding in Canada to avoid prosecution for indiscretions he committed when a young man in the 60s, that involved bombs and the deaths of his two co-conspirators. When Walker delivers the ashes, the son decides to hire him to find out who killed the son's father, a flashy black boxer from the late '40s, and soon after is killed by someone under circumstances that lead everyone to believe it's somehow connected to the death of dear old dad.

From there the plot goes on, with mobsters, a moll, an upright cop and a decent and polite Canadian private eye, a bitter old mother, and an aging newspaper reporter. Estleman keeps the plot skimming along wonderfully, and the solution, while logical, isn't obvious (at least it wasn't to me) regardless of what anyone else says. I enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it to most anyone: it's a very good murder mystery.

I'm a huge Loren Estleman fan and particularly love the Amos Walker series. While I'm tempted to give this lower than 4 stars, I can't because in spite of its flaws it's still a good read. Walker is probably one of the most enjoyable hardboiled PI characters there have been and Estleman is a great writer. The major flaw with this book is that the "whodunit" isn't a mystery. It's fairly clear early on, the only mystery is the why, and that's not terribly fascinating. I recommend reading any of the other Walker mysteries first. You should be invested in the series before picking this one up.

I've become a fan of Loren Estleman. Whether he's writing of the Old West or contmporary Detroit, the man is simply an extraordinary storyteller.

Amos Walker, former homicide detective and now struggling private investigator is asked to locate the long-ago runaway son of a local madam, so he can deliver her ashes to him.

What begins as an oddball assignment turns into something far more when the son is murdered in his hotel room near the Detroit airport. Walker becomes a prime suspect.

From that point on, Walker walks through past and present on a quest to find the real murderer - and solve a murder from decades past.

There's a marvelous grittiness to Estleman's writing. His characters feel real, the plot twists and turns with not a few sub-plots to keep you guessing. And the ending leaves you wanting more Estleman. He's that good.

Jerry

A simple assignment--delivering a dead madam's ashes to her adoptive son--turns out complicated and dangerous as private investigator Amos Walker investigates. The son, a Viet Nam era fugitive, is surprisingly easy to track down, especially when Walker calls on a retired FBI former client. But, ashes delivered, the son has an idea that he'd like to hire Amos to track down his father's killer--a murder that happened decades earlier, in an era when black fighters were definitely not supposed to date white entertainers.

When Walker's new client is killed in an airport hotel--a hotel behind all of the screening devices of modern anti-terrorism, Amos knows that the past has re-emerged. Especially since Walker was set up as a suspect.

Walker mixes with a tough county police Captain, his retired FBI buddy, a couple of gangsters in town for what looks like a setup, the gangster's beautiful girlfriend who looks to Walker for help escaping, and the aging witnesses to the long-ago shooting. Whether in style, gangsters, or murder, everything old is new again--and Walker has to move quickly to stay alive himself.

Author Loren D. Estleman delivers an exciting hard-boiled mystery. Walker, with his stuborn commitment to finding the truth no matter who gets in his way, is a classic retro figure himself. Interesting dialogue, fascinating introspection, Walker's cynical but true observations on life, and high suspense and danger, along with Estleman's compelling writing, make RETRO a fast-paced and hard-to-put-down novel. If you like hard-boiled private detective thrillers, RETRO is definitely one you should check out.

How appropriate to have a thriller based in Detroit read by a Detroiter! Veteran voice performer Mel Foster can summon many voices yet in this reading he returns to his roots. He sounds just like a Michigander, and a tough one at that.

Estleman's creation, Detroit detective Amos Walker, can handle almost any situation. He's seen a lot in that city pierced by Belle Isle and rimmed by the upscale Grosse Pointes. Yet, he's not at all prepared for what's in store for him following the death of Beryl Garnet.

Beryl was really something before she went to the great beyond. She was a madam who would make the contemporary Heidis seem inept. She enjoyed a lengthy tenure in the Motor City and made a small fortune.

However, the lady has one last wish: she wants Walker to deliver her ashes to the son she hasn't seen in a number of years. Her plea is that she wants her son to know that he's always been in her heart.

Well, Walker does have a soft side, so he goes in search of Beryl's offspring. The young man is soon located in Canada; he's a draft dodger. He need dodge no longer because shortly after Walker finds him Beryl's son joins his mom in the heavenly kingdom.

Of course, Walker is a prime suspect in this murder. Obviously, Walker has to find the real killer in order to clear himself. For this smart Detroit detective that doesn't sound like much of a challenge - until he discovers one more killing. This time the victim is the father of Beryl's son. Now, mother, father, and son are perhaps traipsing about the clouds. But, it's not at all heavenly for Walker here on Earth.

- Gail Cooke

Rebecca Stowe is a wow of a writer and very funny. Her chief character, born at the end of the baby boom, is approaching middle age, the time when gray overcomes women.

Ginger Moore was required to call her mother by her first name, Virginia. She has no children and likes the dead better than the living since they are complete. She is a biographer. She finds women who for some reason cannot act, do, Freud's hysterics and Dostoyevsky's screamers.

The unproductive women who want their lives written about by Ginger are her neighbor, her friend, and her mother--all alcoholics. It is a sort of chicken and egg problem. Ginger's friend Michael call her a necrophiliac, feeding off the dead. He is a comic. She call her lawyer father, Poppy. Her brother decided to be a bum, she thinks, rather than a lawyer. He also seems stuck at age thirteen.

The book has the form of semi-autobiography. It is a saga of an unhappy family, mother, father, son age forty one, and daughter age thirty eight, with alcoholism playing a large part. It is well-done and filled with humor. The family is trying to enact Christmas. There is a tradition family members follow of watching PSYCHO on Christmas Eve.

The heroine ponders that the hallmark of a coward is regret and she wonders why women are so afraid. At another instance she thinks that perhaps people get stuck at that point in their lives where they think they are at their best. She believes the personalities of her mother and brother died at the same time, a period when a third child choked on a lego piece.

Ginger discovers her friend Melanie has been on the wagon for ten months and is married to her ex-husband. She is a bagger at the supermarket, an ego-smashing undertaking. Ginger learns something from her brother that seems to make his life make sense. Almost too late she discerns some of the features of her mother's life, too. This is a wonderful book.

- - -

This is the story of a young intellectual woman's return home from her happy, productive - if low key - life as an academic and biographer in New York City, to her colorfully dysfunctional family in a small town on the Canadian border, for Christmas holidays. The strength of the book is the author's unfailing ability to observe and report even the smallest of events, with an honesty and insight which is clarity itself.

By turns laugh-out-loud funny, touching, and often thought provoking, it is an exploration of family, especially of the relationship between mothers and daughters; of establishing oneself in the world, and the ghosts we do - and do not - leave behind at home, to do it; of being a woman, succeeding at it, and perceiving oneself to be succeeding at it.

This would be an excellent gift for the daughter of an alcoholic mother, or anyone who has dealt with family alcoholism. It's not a lighthearted read, but worth the time for the insights, and for the well turned phrases. One of the very few books I've finished and then immediately re-read.

- - -

As the book jacket says, 'closely observed.'

This is the story of a young intellectual woman's return home from her happy, productive - if low key - life as an academic and biographer in New York City, to her colorfully dysfunctional family in a small town on the Canadian border, for Christmas holidays. The strength of the book is the author's unfailing ability to observe and report even the smallest of events, with an honesty and insight which is clarity itself.

By turns laugh-out-loud funny, touching, and often thought provoking, it is an exploration of family, especially of the relationship between mothers and daughters; of establishing oneself in the world, and the ghosts we do - and do not - leave behind at home, to do it; of being a woman, succeeding at it, and perceiving oneself to be succeeding at it.

This would be an excellent gift ............ It's not a lighthearted read, but worth the time for the insights, and for the well turned phrases. One of the very few books I've finished and then immediately re-read.

This is a wry and understated book whose emotional power sneaks up on you. Stowe's prose is clean as a whistle, with not one false note. I love her sense of humor -- bone-dry, slightly twisted, wicked but never mean. She feels for her characters and makes you care just as much as she makes you laugh. If your family drives you insane (and whose doesn't?) this book is for you.

I'm really hoping to recommend this book to my Women's Book Group. Upon reading the synopsis, one might infer that this is just another dysfunctional family novel. The actual story-line is somewhat sparse and the "family mystery" unfolds slowly. I was _most_ impressed by Ms. Stowe's use of language...her descriptions and the carefully crafted introspections of the narrator make this book a very enjoyable and thoughtful read.

Well seeing as this book was written about my father, Grandad and Grandma, I totally know how factually it is. Still I read it cover to cover when he wrote the first draft and it was wonderful in its infants stages. These were truly remarkable people, hardworking, honest to a fault, and helping always when they could. I have many homeschooling moms wanting to read this to their kids and the kids beg for more. We are very proud of this piece of my history and was so glad Uncle Rex got it done. I hope you have many hours of happy reading. Sandra Southwell Harold's daughter)

Tall Trees, Tall People by Rex Southwell is a deftly written novel that takes place in northern Michigan and tells the story of one family's struggle against a background of cutting virgin timber, clearing land, and making a life in the far north woods. Set in the early twentieth century, it tells of a young man made a ward of the state, and placed with a farmer who won't let him stop working long enough to go to school. When the young man turns eighteen, his father returns, only to find his son consumed with bitterness. The road to forgiveness is a long and rocky one, amid financial pressures, the perils of an untamed wilderness, and bonds of family love that at times stretch tenuously thin. Highly recommended.

For someone who grew up in Northern Michigan, this book certainly grabbed my interest. However, it turned out to be more than just a historical account of the early mid-west.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in a touching story about a boy and his struggle to be a man. It covers his efforts to build a family and mature as a person through the years before and during the great depression.

The book started strong and finished great. In the middle of the book there were a couple chapters which seemed to simply record history than tell a story, but otherwise this is an excellent book.

I highly recommend it to anyone.

This has got to be one of the best books describing in detail living in the early 1900's. Mr. Southwell, keeps you so interested and the book is so hard to put down. It is excellent..would advise anyone interested in history, especially in the history of Michigan and the lumber era to read this book and pass it to your children and grandchildren. An excellent excellent book..well done.

Masterfully written, this book takes you through the tragedies and triumphs of everyday life as a family struggles to survive and succeed during the logging days in Northern Michigan. I found this book had the perfect blend of detailed descriptions, humor, and life lessons to leave me feeling as if I knew Grover and Grace personally. This is certainly a must-read, especially if you have any interest in accurate portrayals of life during this era.

This is the second book we've purchased from the author, we wore the first one out. This is incredibly detailed and makes it extremely easy to find these lighthouses. The detailed mapes and the history of each light is enlightening and heightens ones excitement to visit each one.

I am a freelance photographer that travels the State of Michigan. This book is by my side when I plan trips and when on the road. It is organized logically in a trip around the state. Each light has a complete and detailed map and distances are almost always correct

Lots of great information and pictures of each lighthouse. We have used this book to visit many of the lighthouses and to keep track of our visits. I highly recommend it for Michigan lighthouse fans.

If you are planning a trip to visit lighthouses in Michigan and are not familiar with MI do not do it unless you buy this book. I used this book to visit about 50 of the 116 lights. I would have visited more except the rest are out in the water or on islands.
I have the previous edition of this book and it only has a
few color photos. This newer edition may have more. There are several B&W photos in the edition I have.
Laurie Penrose also has these books:
A Traveler's Guide to 100 Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses
A Traveler's Guide to 116 Western Great Lakes Lighthouses

Just this past May (2001), I toured to most of Lower Michigan's lighthouses. Starting in St. Joseph and traveling north to Old Mackinac, then up to Whitefish Point in the UP, then back down in the Lower Peninsula. Once in the Lower Peninsula, we followed Lake Huron south to Marine City and then crossed over into Canada for our trip back to Buffalo. All I can say is...WHAT A GREAT BOOK. The biggest thing that I like about it is it includes directions to each light. What a concept. This book, coupled with my Garmin Streetpilot GPS unit got us everywhere we wanted to go without guessing. All together, we visited about 44 lighthouses and took over 30 rolls of film. ...

Kuo's 100 Edible Mushrooms is a fantastic addition to any mushroomer's library. Fairly new to mushrooms, I found this book to be very easily read and understood; the information is very thorough. The focus points were a great addition to the text.

I like the book; but didn't learn a lot of new stuff from it. I did a PhD in micro; and I've been foraging for mushrooms for over forty years. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good information in this book....for someone who is just getting started. Kuo just doesn't go into enough detail for my tastes.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R22HXMMHK1G5BB This is my book review of 100 Edible Mushrooms, by Michael Kuo.

Kuo is an amazing writer making this book one of my best purchases this year. Thorough and yet and incredibly easy read even for a layman. Recommended for anybody studying mushrooms regardless of experience level.

As an avid schroomer and an educator in collecting and identifying mushrooms most folks I know always ask the question "is it edible?". This book helps to answer that question. The author also put enough caution into his book that a reader would find out that one can never be too careful when consuming wild mushrooms. The pictures and descriptions are excellant. The author also goes into the relationship between certain trees and the mushroom itself. This helps the new schroomer know where to search for a certain species. A great help on this subject!!!!!!

[This review refers to the Dover Thrift verse
edition of the AENEID translated into English
by Charles J. Billson in 1906.]

As incredible as it may seem, I prefer this
Billson verse translation over that of Allen
Mandelbaum (which I also have in the Bantam
Classic edition, 1970). What causes one person
to like one translation, and another to prefer
someone else's? It is a matter of taste, but
also of conditioning through aesthetic experience
and expectation. I have read a great many poems
in a great many forms. To my sense and sensibility
there is something about the Mandelbaum translation
of the AENEID which is too confining...too clipped...
it does not seem, to me, to flow freely. And yet
Billson's translation has archaic word choices --
but the flow of his translation seems more interesting
and "freer" than that of Mandelbaum.
Here is a sample of Mandelbaum:

I sing of arms and of a man: his fate
had made him fugitive; he was the first
to journey from the coasts of Troy as far
as Italy and the Lavinian shores.
Across the lands and waters he was battered
beneath the violence of High Ones, for
the savage Juno's unforgetting anger;
and many sufferings were his in war --
[Bantam Classic, 1970.]

And here is Billson in the Dover edition with
the same passage:

Arms and the Man I sing, who first from Troy
A Doom-led exile, on Lavinian shores
Reached Italy; long tossed on sea and land
By Heaven's rude arm, through Juno's brooding
ire,
And war-worn long ere building for his Gods
A Home in Latium: whence [came] the Latin race,
The Lords of Alba, and high-towering Rome.

To my senses, and sensibility, there is something
about Billson's language and flow which seems to
have more august grandeur -- epic style, sound, and
sweep.
Here is an even more telling example -- the famous
scene in which Aeneas plucks the Golden Bough:

[Mandelbaum:] ...just so
the gold leaves seemed against the dark-green
ilex;
so in the gentle wind, the thin gold leaf
was crackling. And at once Aeneas plucks it
and, eager, breaks the hesitating bough
and carries it into the Sibyl's house.

[Billson:] So on that shadowy oak the leafy gold
Glimmered, and tinkled in the rustling air.
Forthwith Aeneas grasped the clinging bough,
And plucked, and bare it toward the Sibyl's
cell.

There seems to me a fineness of poetic sensitivity
there, in Billson, to choose those words just so --
and have the words almost resonate with the sounds
of the objects they are describing.

Roman society was enamoured of Greek culture -- many of the best 'Roman' things were Greek; the major gods were derivative of the Greek pantheon; philosophy, literature, science, political ideals, architecture -- all this was adopted from the Greeks. It makes sense that, at the point of their ascendancy in the world, they would long for an epic history similar to the Homeric legends; the Iliad and the Odyssey, written some 500 years after the actual events they depict, tell of the heroism of the Greeks in their battle against Troy (Ilium). The Aeneid, written by Vergil 700 years after Homer, at the commission of Augustus (himself in the process of consolidating his authority over Rome), turns the heroic victory of the much-admired Greeks on its head by postulating a survivor from Troy, Aeneas, who undergoes as journey akin to the Odyssey, even further afield.

Vergil constructs Aeneas, a very minor character in the Iliad, as the princely survivor and pilgrim from Troy, on a journey through the Mediterranean in search of a new home. According to Fitzgerald, who wrote a brief postscript to the poem, Vergil created a Homeric hero set in a Homeric age, purposefully following the Iliad and Odyssey as if they were formula, in the way that many a Hollywood director follows the formulaic pattern of past successful films. Vergil did not create the Trojan legend of Roman origins, but his poem solidified the notion in popular and scholarly sentiment.

Vergil sets the seeds for future animosity between Carthage and Rome in the Aeneid, too -- the curse of queen Dido on the descendants of Aeneas of never-ending strife played into then-recent recollections of war in the Roman mind. Books I through VI are much more studied than VII through XII, but the whole of the Aeneid is a spectacular tale.

Fitzgerald's modern and accessible translation makes the Aeneid really come to life for modern readers. It is a verse translation, not forced into word-by-word construction nor into false, flowery and stuffy structured verse that would seem formal and distant. This is a language familiar to modern readers, just as Vergil's Latin would have been readily accessible to the listeners and readers of his time.

Vergil died before he could complete the story. He wished it to be burned; fortunately, Augustus had other ideas. Still, there are incomplete lines and thoughts, and occasional conflicts in the storyline that one assumes might have been worked out in the end, had more editing time been available. Despite these, the Aeneid remains a masterpiece, and Fitzgerald's translation will be a standard bearer for some time to come.

What a shame that THIS edition of them all is printed in the worst edition. The paper is brittly, gauzy and somewhat iridescent, the ink is sallow on the paper, the book lacks an introduction, any critical notes (any indication that the last words of the text are in fact the last words, and not a typo or printer's error, seeing as how they end at the bottom of the page and are followed immediately by the plastic cover).

It is perhaps because of the Aeneid that the phrase "les traductions sont comme les femmes: quand elles sont belles, elles ne sont pas fideles; quand elles sont fideles, elles ne sont pas belles." I have spent much of the summer in meticulous scrutiny of four editions of the aeneid: the lind, mandelbaum, humphries, and billson. the process has led me to some resultant nasty and pretentious slants of minds against the first and third of the abovelisted translations, which are in many parts mistaken, lacking in detail, and overall, diluted and generalized. the billson is actually a very difficult text if one is without a firm grounding in the english poetry that flourished a few centuries ago; billson takes delightful ''liberties'' in his word choices, and takes a unique and exhilarating grammar form, that is typically ''classical''.

i do not recommend reading this one, nor reading it in close comparison to all the other available translations. pick up a copy of wheelock's latin instead.

This review is one of the this particular translation and not of Virgil's Aeneid. This translation is outstanding. It is a prose translation undoubtedly made by some nineteenth century British Classicist. That, however, takes nothing away from it. This is the one translation I have found that actually succeeds at keeping the beauty of Virgil's words. It makes for great sounding language and it is not spoiled by modern idioms or expressions. The translator keeps his text very literal and yet somehow manages not to sound redundant or awkward. Indeed, the words simply flow. I do not know who the translator is and oddly enough, the book doesn't tell you either. I highly recommend this translation especially to anyone who is tired of the classics not sounding like classics.

The Roman poet Virgil, normally content with evocations of farming, animal husbandry and rustic scenes, here takes up the task of crafting an epic worthy of Rome's greatness and success as a world power. Taking as his model the Odyssey of Homer, Virgil traces the wanderings of Aeneas, hero of the Trojan Wars, as he wends his way toward Italy and his destiny -- to found Rome. Along the way he falls in love with Queen Dido of Carthage. There are lots of scenes of battles and one-on-one fighting, and they are occasionally more gory than Homer ever was (or perhaps it just seems that way because we know more about the victims' psyches than we did with Homer's characters). Be prepared for a rather abrupt ending, but the good news is you won't have to wade through obsequies and other formalisms in a denouement that could only have been anticlimactic. The prose translation I heard (on the Blackstone unabridged tapes) was undoubtedly accurate but not very noble. Someday I'll try it again with a poetic version.

Let me share a quick anecdote. The last time I was in Detroit was in 1991. What I saw there so depressed me that I wrote the city off as an urban-industrial wasteland, a veritable dystopia. A few years ago I moved to Houston. While Houston certainly isn't a pretty city, I've always told myself, "Well, at least it's not as bad a Detroit."

This guide proved me wrong on both points: Detroit is a treasure-trove of marvelous 19th and early-20th century American urban architecture (albeit, much in disrepair). And while far more prosperous, Houston is, in fact, a very unattractive large American city, save the few remaining structures (perhaps a dozen) by Staub, Watkin, Cram and Finn. Sorry to irritate all my Houstonian friends, but it's true.

Ecclesiasticus! The catalog of beautiful historic churches and cathedrals ALONE is worth the price of the book. Then there are the old skyscrapers and the public buildings (such as the Art Institute). Written in standard AIA format with relatively few (400) exceptionally well-chosen entries, this book will feel familiar to all architecture lovers who've ventured into buying one (or many) of these expensive guides. You're collection is incomplete without this one, if only for the fact that it documents one of the most important and impressive collections of American urban architecture in existence. Many of the most important architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries worked in Detroit, and most of their work remains. One thing to keep in mind is that the book features more public and institutional architecture than residential, but important residential sites are included.

The book format is perfect. The sites are well chosen. The photography is all monochrome, but the views are good and reveal the buildings well. There are even a few interior shots. Simple maps, introductory essays and architect biographies round out this benchmark entry in the AIA-sponsored series. The book includes excursions to Cranbrook and Grosse Pointe.

Detroit is still a poor and dangerous city (thanks to a completely incompetent government), but the building stock is enough to inspire a revival. And it's all still there waiting to be discovered! This guide is valuable for the architectural historian, preservationist, and armchair traveler. It may even inspire you to take a trip to old Motown for a visit!

Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

Excellent!

This book covers virtually every building of note within the city limits, and many in the suburbs as well. Each building is photographed and its history and usage are described. The author is willing to criticize where he sees fit. An excellent read!

This guide it very thorough and well done. I consider it up with the AIA guide to Houston and the guide to New York as the best of these wonderful guides. I appreciated that the author also explored outside of the core city and studied Grosse Pointe and the Cranbrook; wonderful history and well researched. I was surprised that the Dodge mansion Meadowbrook Farm was omitted, but that does not detract from the fact that this is a very comprehensive guide. I have never been to Detroit, and quite frankly it has an notorious reputation, but having explored this guide I would consider a trip and that is high praise indeed.

Thoroughly researched, this book is a must have. Patterned after the W. Hawkins Ferry book I had decades ago as a student, this book updates and adds significant content about the rich architectural history of Detroit.
The writeups are informative from both a building and historical context. I loved the descriptions, such as from the Guardian Building (my favorite), "a lightning bolt of spirited inventiveness".
Take this book with you as you stroll downtown and you'll find new treasures, like the Water Department building.

Excellent!

I found this book to be well written and researched. James Jesse Strang is a unique character (A King no less!) in the history of Michigan. This book inspired me to visit Michigan's Beaver Island. As a compliment to this book I would also suggest reading Guardian of the Great Lakes The U.S. Paddle Frigate Michigan By: Mr. Bradley A. Rodgers.

I'm a relative of his and have recently become interested in learning about him. So please if you know about him tell me.

This work is a fairly standard, straight-forward biography of King Strang. It is very well researched, documented, and foot noted. It would appear that Mr. Van Noord dug deeper into his reseach than most authors dealing with James Strang have in the past. The book enlightened me on several points regarding King Strang that I had previously read and Mr. Van Noord found to be incorrect. If you are interested in learning about a fascinating man and those around him this is the book. However it gives only a sparce and very typical Beaver Island history and does not touch on the legendary (and I believe, mythical) Mormon, Beaver Island treasure at all. If those items are your points of interest, look elsewhere.

Mormonism's second prophet wasn't the famous Brigham Young -- he may have seized control of many of the Church's institutions, but he never claimed to be the "Prophet". That mantle was seized by the insteresting historic figure, James J. Strang, who led his portion of the Mormon Church from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Voree, Wisconsin, and then to Beaver Island, Michigan at the same time that Young was leading his branch to Utah.

Van Noord's book is a great biography of Strang which makes close use of Strang's journals, letters, books, and draws a great deal from the newspapers which Strang's church published. Strang's many successes both on Beaver Island and then also in the Michigan legislature, imply that he was quite a brilliant and eloquent character. The book leads you to wonder what might have happened had he not been assassinated.

The only problems with Van Noord's book are that he does not seem to be an expert in the field of Mormon history generally, and he has relied on informants in the modern Utah church -- the great rival of Strang's church -- for some of his information on Mormonism. Additionally, the biography definitely leaves you wanting a larger history of the Strangite church.

All in all, the book is an excellent read. I picked it up and nearly read it cover to cover uninterrupted, as I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Strang next.

I have done extensive study on the subject of Jas. Strang and his followers. I found this book and several others extremely fair-minded considering the controversies (as well as present day prejudices) surrounding this utopian experiment. I welcome other comments. My great-great grandfather was present at Strang's coronation on Beaver Island, Michigan.