Michigan Books

Those readers looking for both a thorough history of Jerusalem will also get an informative review of the political and religious aspects of the Near East. Many endnotes and a very useful bibliography.

My God indeed!
What a time line story!!! It is without equal, and tells us just where this present day middle east crises is going.
Pulling out the stops here, i want to say this book should be required reading for all people from all cultures.
I have just finished my third reading and keep it next to my reading chair like a Bible.
Only problem; none.

Eric Cline has written a vast range of books and articles for both specialized publications and general audiences. His latest book, "Jerusalem Besieged", is written in the same vein as his previous book "Battles of Armageddon" and yet in many ways this new book must have been difficult to write. While Megiddo is in ruins, Jerusalem is still the religious center of three major world faiths and is held sacred by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. It is almost impossible to write a book on Jerusalem without offending someone, but Cline has managed to write one of the most tactful books possible. Nowhere does he slide into polemic, nor has he made any religious claims in lieu of evidence. He has tried his best to write an even-handed account of Jerusalem's military past. He has spent a great deal of time in that city and his love of the subject comes through loud and clear. He writes as an archaeologist not as a political commentator, and yet there is much journalistic material he has read and incorporated into the text. Cline writes in beautifully lucid prose. General readers will find the material accessible and yet Cline's research is available in the footnotes and the extensive bibliography. Readers are given a framework within which to think about the repercussions of several millenia of strife in Jerusalem. Cline documents 118 separate conflicts during which Jerusalem has been destroyed completely twice, besieged 23 times and attacked an additional 52 times. It has been captured and re-captured 44 times and this does not even include the 20 revolts and innumerable riots. Cline manages to cover them in less than 500 pages while covering each incident, and giving judicious opinions in places where controversy occurs. This is a must purchase for military historians and general readers alike.

This was a very informative book, well researched and most importantly it was easy to read without falling asleep. Highly recommended.

This is a book that really needed to be written.

When I lived briefly in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, I was told that in ancient times, Tabuk had been known as "the most evil place in the world." Frankly at the time, I doubted that any geographical locality could have a karma of its own. After reading Eric H. Cline's book, Jerusalem Besieged, I think I'm going to have to reconsider the issue.

What I found most intriguing about the author's discussion was his concept of the origin of the site's importance. Most archaeologists tend to point to the advantage of a location as the inspiration for settlement and development in the area. Often things like access to a sheltered harbor, a fishing resource, mineral wealth such as flint, obsidian, ceramic clay, iron, gold or silver, or water availability and so on are reasons that a city grows and flourishes through time. As one realtor has said, "there are three things to remember in selecting real estate: location, location, location."

Jerusalem however seems to defy that premise. According to the author, it is neither exceptional for its geologic nor for its geographic gifts. The agricultural value of the surrounding land is marginal, water supply is iffy, there are no large stands of timber to be harvested and few if any valuable mineral riches to be mined. Geographically it seems to have been an isolated site, in the back of beyond. It lies well inland of the coast and is not the hub of intersecting trade routes. In fact, although it is mentioned in the Egyptian Armarna texts, it seems to have held little political value until David took it forcibly from the Jebusites, its previous owners, and made it the center of his new monarchy. It would appear that even he chose the site primarily because it had not been a power base for any of his own people. Its foreign citizenry owed no one but him any loyalty, so it would not entangle him in the petty internal feuds that seemed to be the bane of the Israelite political world. Yet over the past 3000 years, more blood has been shed over the city of Jerusalem than practically any other site on earth.

So what makes this rock in the middle of nowhere such a magnet for passion and violence? Why does the City of Peace seem to drive sensible people crazy? According to Professor Cline it would appear to be the city's emotional wealth. So many have made Jerusalem the center of spiritual and emotional importance that the site is invested with staggering human significance. That investment in Jerusalem over the past 3000 years almost ensures continuous strife over its possession. No one seems immune to the insanity either. People from as distant as the Far East have taken a part in the madness. Everyone from the Romans to the British and the US have entered the melee. Embarrassingly-for a nominal Christian at least-the worst of the violence seems to have been perpetrated by the Crusaders.

Almost all of the illustrations of the city in the book are from its outside and from a fair distance. I think the artist had a good idea. Personally by the end of the book I felt that everyone should be forbidden to live on the site for their own good; it's far too dangerous. It should be walled off for the health of the world, and the faithful and the curious can look at it through the fence from a safe distance. Having read the author's book The Battles of Armageddon, I would have to say that if the end of days does occur, it won't be at Megiddo; it'll be at Jerusalem!

As I said above, this is a book that really needed to be written. It's not that there is anything particularly new in it; it's just that it's all particularly focused. I think that it should be required reading for all politicians, both regional and national, and certainly for any of those involved in attempts to bring about peace in the area. For the general reader it will make the issues in the Middle East far clearer and reveal why a lasting peace in the area is unlikely to occur any time soon. It will also make the Arab countries' horror over the US activities in the region more understandable. Certainly the author's final statement, quoting O'Neill, is vividly evocative of the entire message of the book, "For now, however, in Jerusalem, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, `There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again...(p. 310).'"

My dad, like many others, does the lighthouse thing with an emphasis on Michigan lighthouses. I wouldn't even think of getting him another book of lighthouse photos but I saw this in my doctor's waiting room and instantly knew I had to get it for him. The pictures are beautiful and the text interesting. Highly recommended.

I've known Ed for a few years and have come to respect and enjoy his images. He finds images that we as non-photographers can only dream about. Nice Work Ed and congrats on yet another super book!

Dan McGuire, Roichester, NY

Aficionados of lighthouses take note! Ed Wargin has photographed the lighthouses of Michigan and his work is impressive. His talent is evident as he is able to breathe life into his subject matter.

Legends of Light contains lighthouses photographed from the inside and outside and various prospective of the surrounding area, including the environment. Wargin gives us a bonus because he lists all of the Michigan lighthouses and provides a map of their location in the back of the book. That added immensely to my enjoyment.

Gull Rock on Lake Superior was established in 1867. The view from above of the lighthouse perched on its own tiny island is dramatic. You're alternately drawn to its beauty and repelled by the confinement.

The internal photograph of Lake Michigan's St. Helena Island lighthouse is warm, cozy and ever so inviting. I wanted to snuggle up with a book by the stove and read while drinking a cup of hot tea.

The stark reality of winter in a northland lighthouse is evident in Wargin's photograph of Cheboygan Crib Light on Lake Huron. As I gazed on the winter white, I found myself becoming chilled. It is extraordinary for a photographer to ellicit such strong feelings and emotions from a viewer.

The interior of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior is a room that could be found in any home, yet it is in a lighthouse.

The burial site near Rock Harbor is fascinating and evokes all sorts of questions like who, when, how?

South Manitou Island lighthouse on Lake Michigan has my heart. Actually, I found myself studying the picture and returning to it repeatedly. I'd love to live there.

Wargin has captured the flavor and the majesty of lighthouses with his wonderful images. My heart now belongs to the lighthouses and the Great Lakes region. I want to visit so many of them it looks like a road trip is in our future.

Armchair Interviews says: Legends of Light is a book to savor and to live in the dream of the beauty of our northern Great Lakes Region. This is a wonderful gift book for someone who loves lighthouses. And maybe that's you.

This is a gorgeous book, and the text nicely balances the photographs, tying in the meaning of the photographs with the stories of the lighthouse, and with Ed Wargin's endeavors to reach the lighthouses just to photograph them. Truly worth having.

Legends Of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio is a stunning, full-color photographic showcase of Michigan's lighthouses, inside and out. A brief introduction embellishes the compilation of full-page and some two-page spread photographs. From simple, cozy lighthouse interiors to panoramic scenes of the ocean shore at sunset, Legends Of Light is a very special tribute which is hallmarked by visual splendor and is a superb giftbook selection -- especially for lighthouse aficionados.

Sound familiar? Does what goes around -- come around
again? Are the malls the 21st century version of
the Roman baths? Are the Nascar racetracks the 21st
century version of the chariot races? Are our
football stadiums the 21st century version of the
Colosseum? This book does not present its themes
in these terms, but one cannot help but think about
these things as one reads it -- in tandem with reading
the Roman writers who satirized or caught in verse the
goings-on in their own times: Catullus, Martial,
Petronius, Juvenal.
Besides the "Introduction" by David S. Porter, there
are 3 large Parts to the division of the book. Part
I is titled: "Social Structures and Demography". Within
this section are informative and highly interesting essays
on "The Roman Family," "Elite Male Identity in the Roman
Empire," and "Roman Demography." Part II is titled:
"Religion." There is only one essay in this Part --
"Roman Religion: Ideas and Action." Part III is titled:
"Bread and Circuses" [the famous phrase used to describe
how the rulers and the "elite" kept the masses under their
control -- by giving them doles of food or by providing
them with mass entertainments to keep their minds off
the fact of their gruelling lives and that they did
not lead the "good life" that the "elites" were leading --
sound familiar?]. In this Part are the essays: "Feeding
the City: The Organization, Operation,and Scale of the
Supply System for Rome," "Amusing the Masses: Buildings
for Entertainment and Leisure in the Roman World," and
"Entertainers in the Roman World." Since our modern
era also seems to be so much into shallow entertainment
and pleasures, perhaps the titles of the subsections of
this last chapter will be intriguing: Actors and Athletes.
Chariot Racing.[the factions and their fans sound like
ancient Roman predecessors to the WWF and Nascar
fanatics...] Gladiators, Beast Hunts, and Executions.
[well, we haven't "progressed" in our tastes and
"sophistication" that far yet...but, who knows? ...]
All in all, this is a very interesting, insightful,
intriguing -- as well as provoking book. The
section that interested me the most was the one
on the Roman emphasis and hang-up on male identity -
what was considered manly, and what was not. It isn't,
as if that is one of the main obsessions in our own
times in the U.S. of A. , of course. And what are
all the "manly" types contributing to the betterment,
stability, and nobility of our present society and culture?
It gives one pause, for reflection.

First off, this book is a collection of seven very long essays by different experts. The essays deal with the minutest details of Roman life, ranging from religious practice to construction to gladiatorial combat and criminal execution. Not all essays are created equal, and there are two in here that I found rather dry, but perhaps that is because I couldn't care less about the specifics of amphitheater construction. The others were phenomenal, and even the "boring" ones contain excellent and useful information.

I read L,D,&E (as I have begun to call it) for an undergraduate class in Roman History and had to write a critical review-type paper about it. I have to say I actually enjoyed the assignment. The book was, overall, excellent. It features real-life "snapshots" of different aspects of Roman life, and unlike many books about Ancient Rome, it doesn't focus solely on the upper classes. It also doesn't spend any time discussing politics or history or "great men" of the times, so if you're looking for that, go elsewhere. This book is NOT an introduction to imperial Rome -- you'll need to have one of those under your belt already -- but it IS the most wonderful, complete, and readable supplementary material available. It really fills in the gaps and answers questions you didn't know you had, giving you a vastly more complete picture of Rome under the Emperors.

This book discusses aspects of Roman life that are frequently difficult to research... such as the kinds of toys Roman children enjoyed or the types of birth control that were popular. It covers such subjects as "feeding the city" and "entertaining the populace" as well as religion and other expected items. The work comprises a sweeping approach to "real life stuff" in a framework that is scholarly (with plenty of documentation) but highly entertaining. It's the kind of book I've been wanting to own for years.

Nothing further to add, but wanted to point out that this work is not as slanted politically correct as Encolp in his review above make it seem. The book is much more objective, all the pseudo-intellectual babbling is purely the reviewer's preferred conlcusions using the data in the book as a springboard. I just can't help wonder why he is so disturbed by so-called "manly types" (or what he means by that).

This is an interesting, well-written book that would be a good edition to the library of any student of Roman history as well as being a good resource for writers of historical fiction.

I purchased SEVERAL other books. However, I really ONLY NEEDED THIS ONE. It is BY FAR the best of the other books on Lake Michigan I got.
DON'T purchase any others YOU WON'T NEED THEM and will save money on getting JUST THIS ONE.
It has COLOR PHOTOS OF ALL THE LIGHTS, HISTORY, LOCATION MAPS AND WRITTEN DETAILS DIRECTIONS on how to get to each light. It also has a list on the ones with: museum's, hauntings, Tower access, catwalks and MORE!
WHAT A BOOK, WHAT AN AUTHOR.
Please, please please do write more of these books ON ALL THE LIGHTS OF THE USA!

I own almost every book ever written about Great Lakes lighthouses and this is the best one yet. It has a brief history of all the present Lake Michigan lighthouses, along with color pictures and directions to get there. In addition, many lighthouses are shown in historical pictures from the National Archives, US Coast Guard files, or the authors own postcard collection. Long-gone lighthouse are also remembered and pictured when possible. I hope this is a first in series covering all the Great Lakes. If you have this book, you don't need any other about Lake Michigan lighthouses.

I thought the author did a wonderful job on this book. I hope he someday does the rest of the great lakes of Michigan the same way. It has been a pleasure to read. Plus it makes a great gift.

This book is fantastic. It gives you great information about the history of each of the lighthouses around Lake Michigan and reasons why some may have changed over the years. The pictures are great! It is also one of the few books that I have come across that is so complete. I also like how he included the status of each light and how to access it. I hope the author does another book like this about Lake Superior.

There has never been a more complete, well written, accurate
and better illustrated book on Lake Michigan lighthouses.

Pictures of existing and long-gone lighthouses are beautiful,
and frankly my wife and I can't put it down.

This is a must have.

I suppose I was always going to say that, having already been converted myself to Louie Louie as "the only rock and roll song you'll ever need" (collected 60+ versions to date). It's just a fascinating journey with so many unexpected twists and turns but the ever present "duh duh duh". And still amazingly relevant today. And funny!

A new preface by the author graces the pages of Louie Louie: The History & Mythology Of The World's Most Famous Rock N Roll Song. While it's hard to see how any song, however famous, could earn an entire book discussion, once you delve into Dave Marsh's Louie Louie, with its intrigue, high drama, and twists and turns, it's hard to see what took so long for the full tale to come to light - and yes, it earns its own book. This new edition provides a new preface by Marsh as it covers the complexities of a song which involved even the FBI.

Okay--truth be told, I bought this book as a joke. This book is no joke. Dave Marsh, an excellent writer, put together a real page-turner. (...)

By following the fate of one song Marsh gives us an excellent feel for how culture operates at a middle scale, somewhere between the micro-scale of individual performances and listenings and the macroscale of decades-long changes in musical styles. If you're interested in "memetics" but tired of empty bloviation about mind viruses and such, read this book and follow one musical meme on its tour of the memesphere.

Half way through this book I knew more about this rock song then I had ever wanted to know and then it kicked in to the history of Paul Revere and the Raiders. I keep on and she what other obscure trivia is to be revealed.

I almost didn't buy this book because the cover looked kind of cheesey. I'm glad I did. Tons of information about how to get there and where to stay and what to do once you're there. I'll be taking this book with me when we visit the island in September.

What I liked most about Mackinac Connection was the feeling that the author was sharing her personal favorites about the island - where to go, what to do, how much it would cost, etc. Mackinac Island came to life and made me want to go right away. The book is full of practical information and is an easy read. I read it in a few hours. And then started making plans to go there and visit.

I've been to THE island twice now and am preparing for my third trip. But I wish I'd read this book before the first trip, for I'd have had a better time.

The book is short, yet chock-full of interesting and useful information concerning almost everything and anything a person would want to know about the magical place called Mackinac Island.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough! Keep up the good work in future editions, Ms. McVeigh.

I worked on Mackinac Island for two summers- it is such a special place and a must to visit! This book is excellent-it gives you all the info you need on how to get there, what do do, where to stay, and all the little details you need to know ahead of time. For instance, she lists prices of all the places to stay, bike rental costs, ferry costs, ect. I havent been back to Mackinac Island in 6 years and Im so glad I got this book to help me plan my trip. I cant beleive I stayed away so long!

I've been to Mackinac Island many many times before purchasing this book. I'd always felt as if I was missing so much of the Island - I WAS RIGHT! After I purchased this book - I was amazed at how much the Island has to offer that'd I'd been missing!

I must admit that I bought this book as a Spartan fan expecting pictures and statistics. To my pleasant surprise, there were incredible stories about a history that is richer than I ever imagined. This book is a must have for Spartan Fans and Basketball Fans alike!

If you like Michigan State or college basketball, this book is a must read. The stories and photos are fabulous. I laughed and cried. Every Spartan should have a copy. So should every Wolverine.

If you like Michigan State or college basketball, this book is a must read. The stories and photos are fabulous. I laughed and cried. Every Spartan should have a copy. So should every Wolverine.

This is a great book! It's as simple as that. Great stories, interesting pictures, this book has it all. A great book for any Spartan fan as well as any fan of college basketball.

This is a great book for any Spartan fan. The writers do a wonderful job. The book tells about the best players, games, and seasons in Spartan basketball history.

In honest, unpretentious and clean prose leavened with dry humor, Smith tells an engrossing and upbeat story. With tantalizing recipes and charming photographs Mendel's Children has something of the character of a family scrapbook.

Its depth comes from Smith's formidable ability to breathe life into the time worn stories and people that preceeded her. In this her book shares the light story-telling charms of her fellow prairie author, Garrison Keillor. But in the serious and poignant moments that balance the humor, Smith's touch could be compared to Gay Talese in Unto the Sons.

Cherie Smith investigates the past with freshness, insight, and humor, but entirely without pretense. Saints and sinners, Mendel's Children have one thing in common: they are folks you would have enjoyed meeting.

No historian or general reader will doubt the authenticity of her portrayal of life in small Canadian towns or regret coming across such a work

Written with such storytelling skill, with such honest and compassionate clarity, that the reader turns page after page with growing fascination.

This is the first book about perennials in Michigan that I pickee up and was immediately thrilled: great pictures, nice size book, helpful charts, not too thick, lightweight, just right, I love it!

Can't say enough about how helpfull this book is. It aides in plant shopping and knowing what to look for. This is a resource to make gardening easier, and a space worth gazing at.

I don't believe I've ever seen a gardening book where the information was as well-organized as it is in "Perennials for Michigan." Often books of regional interest are thrown together and published on the cheap, but this book is tightly-bound, full of color illustrations, and above all, well written. And it's really about Michigan climate and Michigan soils. Someone didn't just go through and change, say 'Iowa' to 'Michigan' with a word processor, then rename the book.

The authors make a point of informing the reader which perennials are native to Michigan--another bonus. The best varieties for a particular garden are also described, e.g. the 'Gardenview Scarlet' variety of Bergamot resists powdery mildew more effectively than some of its relatives.

The book begins with a pictorial guide called "The Flowers at a Glance" where photographs of the perennials are listed in alphabetical order, by common name. There is a no-nonsense introduction to suitable perennials for the Michigan climate and its USDA hardiness zones. The zone map is more detailed than usual, which is useful for me because I've lived in my new location for less than a year, and the map tells me I need to select perennials that will survive at -20 F. In my former location, temperatures rarely dropped below -5 F.

The next few sections explain how to start, maintain, and propagate a perennial garden. The authors detail which plants can be started from stem, root, and basal cuttings and which can be started from rhizomes. There is the obligatory chapter on 'Problems & Pests' before we plunge into the heart of this book: the alphabetically-arranged sections on each of the 681 selected perennials.

Each species is described, including origin and bloom time, and whether (thank you! thank you!) deer find it hard to digest. Each has subsections on 'Planting' (how and when to start your plants), 'Growing,' 'Tips,' 'Recommended' varieties, and 'Problems and Pests.' Colored photographs, usually labeled by variety, accompany the descriptions of each perennial.

Lone Pine Publishing, you've put together an excellent, well-organized book for Michigan gardeners (even if you are located in Edmonton, Canada). I'm going to order copies for my sister and all my friends who garden in this state. Highly recommended!

This is an absolutely invaluable reference guide for the Michigan gardener. It gives lots of suggestions of the different perennials that thrive in Michigan and has LOTS of pictures to show you what type of plant you're looking at. I use it very frequently.

This book is the perfect reference guide for the Michigan gardener. I am redesigning my home's extensive perennial gardens and this handy book is invaluable. Thank you authors Nancy Szerlag and Alison Beck!

Four or five anecdotes save Gwen Raverat's "Period Piece" from being so sweet it gives you tummy ache. It is no surprise that this charming memoir has remained in print for nearly 60 years. It has the "Upstairs" cachet, relieved by the Whiggery of Raverat's family -- she was the daughter of Charles Darwin -- which fits comfortably with both American and English tastes now.

Raverat was born in 1885 and her childhood ended about the same time the Boer War did, so there are plenty of horses, tea parties, country house theatricals and such to appeal to the romantics. Socially, the Darwins were middle class except for the snobbery and religion. Gwen's mother excepted, who was the type of ignorant American puritan who made H.L. Mencken's fortune.

Thus, the aunts went in for prudishness (especially in front of the servants) and silly dress codes, which Raverat can play against, giving the important sense of superiority that appeals to secret snobs.

In his memoirs of English society, a generation later, Peter Medawar alleged that Americans were wrong to imagine that P.G. Wodehouse country life really existed. But it did. There are no Georgian silver cow creamers in "Period Piece," but Raverat's aunts were every bit as dotty as Bertie Wooster's.

For me the most memorable episode, because like the book as a whole it captures the confusion of childhood so well, was Raverat's understanding of J.M.W. Turner's "The Fighting Temeraire." She and her cousins thought the little black tugboat was the Temeraire.

Raverat led a sheltered childhood and young ladyhood, but on occasion the grim features of the Victorian/Wilhelminian era intruded. It is these -- brutality to a peasant servant in Hamburg, animal torture in Cambridge, the lower depths of drunkenness in the alleys around the Slade School -- that raise "Period Piece" from idle gossip to seriousness.

The book is illustrated with Raverat's line drawings, very much in the style of the slighter travel books of her time. They are not charming.

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Wood-cut artist Gwen Raverat was associated with the Bloomsbury group, and grew up with the Keynes children in nineteenth-century Cambridge. Here, she tells the story of growing up amid the fads and fetishes not only of academic and Victorian England, but of her extremely individual family, children and grandchildren of Charles Darwin. Raverat's wood-cut illustrations are as illuminating and funny as her text.

Darwin fanatics and Jane Austen fans will gobble up this delicious dessert. Written by Darwin's grandaughter (Raverat was George's daughter born too late to know her illustrious grandfather personally)PERIOD PIECE contains both a wealth of Family Stories that helps humanize the usual image of the Great Victorian Sage and some real (although often tongue-in-cheek) insights into Late-Victorian/Edwardian Society. As Raverat says in the Preface, the book doesn't really have a beginning or an end, it is easily dipped-in-to at any point & you will have to be totally lacking in a sense of humor not to come away both charmed & informed.

This is a really lovely book, perfect for reading at bedtime or in the garden under the apple tree on a summer's afternoon. Gwen Raverat writes vividly with chapters by theme rather than chronologically and and gives a rounded view of her childhood experiences and the Darwin family of uncles and aunts.

An absolute masterpiece of comic writing. Ms. Raverat drawings mesh perfectly with her loving, but not pious, treatment of her eccentric aunts and uncles. A deft ironist, a great memoir of late 19th century Cambridge. I promise you will force this book on everyone you love and they will thank you for it.