Michigan Books

I was so grateful to have stumbled on this book the night before we left on our trip to the Upper Pennensula of Michigan. We saw things and went to quaint little out-of-the-way places we never would have found without the book. If you like to get off the main roads and have an adventure, this book is for you. Made me fall in love with my state of Michigan all over again!

This pocket guide is full of great and concise info about the critters of Michigan, broken down into easy to find categories as well as beautiful photos to accompany the facts. A native Michigander, I found new facts that I didn't know about the creatures that surround me. A delightful book..and a must for every Michgan traveller's pocket.

Crossing The Ladder Of Sun is a compendium of Laura Apol's refreshing, sensually vivid free-verse poetry, descriptive of the joy of life and cherished impressions. At times both celebratory and wistful, the poetry's dramatic elegance makes for a lush and enjoyable tour-de-force. Blueberries: All right, I will say it then: / I would not have fallen in love again / if it had not been for the blueberried - / acres of them, ripe for the picking. / And the gulls. And the miles of sand. / I could have grown old alone.

Stafford was a great poet; he also writes about writing like a great teacher. I heartily endorse this book to anyone who has read "Writing the Austrialian Crawl." If you haven't read that book, read it first, and then read this one. This book is a posthumous collection of magazine articles, interviews, and other scattered writings. While it is delight to me, and anyone else who loved Stafford, it is not as effective at demonstrating Stafford's approach to writing. That said, Stafford's generosity and humanity shine in this collection. It is worth reading, even if you are not a writer.

Though perhaps not as exciting as... as... well, its not really very exciting at all. Professor Tilly rips to shreds nineteenth century notions of how populations organize to form dissent. His findings are often shocking. To summarize, he has discovered that most often populations organize in somewhat of a star shaped pattern when organizing to resist oppressive regimes, whereas they organize in a more free-flowing pattern (somewhat suggestive of radio waves when advocating Marxist revolution.

Cogent criticism of major American thinkers, Susan Sontag, Richard Rorty, Bloom and others. A wise and often witty book which illuminates some of the major cultural criticism of recent years.

I have submitted a more formal review elsewhere, but wanted to encourage readers who study modernist poetry to consult this book. You do not have to be a specialist in the poetry of Mina Loy, Marianne Moore, or Else Lasker-Schüler in order to find this book useful. Whereas we have heard something about Moore and Loy, learning about Else Lasker-Schüler's alternate identity, the Jewish, male Prince Jussuf, was really entertaining, and an example of how travestism is not necessarily based on sexuality. Miller has done a great job of blending cultural studies with poetic analysis. I especially appreciated her comments on the cultural settings particular to women in New York and Berlin. The three main chapters deal with the naming acts of the poets, the ways in which they construct their poetic bodies, and how Judaic traditions have had an influence on the poetry of all three. This volume can be read cover to cover, or in isolated sections. Miller has taken examples from numerous unpublished manuscripts, so Cultures of Modernism is a find for those working specifically on these poets as well. Happy reading!

It took me under 24 hours to read the whole thing, and I'm half-way through it AGAIN! I simply could NOT put it down! The author doesn't plug up the book with clever dialogue and overly slick writing, but instead concentrates on telling one HECK of a story. The ending blew me away. These are characters you really care for...I know I did. It's easy to read and you'll forget about everything else while you're reading. What more can you ask from a book? It goes HIGHLY recommended by me and my husband. He'll be reading it next. Just thought I'd put my two-cents in! :)

Debra Spark's essays on writing will appeal to beginners and veterans alike. Her voice is so true, so loving, so intelligent -- I found these essays enthralling. They reminded me why I love to write, and also why I love to read. This book will stay on my shelf for solace and inspiration on those dark days when words won't come.

Take it from a lifetime(formerly gang-affiliated)Detroiter:this book hits the nail on the head,in its' accounts on the "who,what,when,why and WHERE"(with its'handy gang-activity MAP)of the Motor Citys'underworld actvities..The author knew a lot of things,that only,deep research(or actual,gang-affiliation)could've revealed!!Such as,the ORIGINAL name of 8 Mile Roads' notorious(and MASSIVE)"E.M.S"gang(Eight Mile Sconi)which started out as the "Coney-Oneys" and then morphed into the"Sconi-oneys"(because,it was rumored,that the gangs founder,either mispronounced the name "Corleone" from the"Godfather"movies,in his attempt,to give he gang,the most,INTIMIDATING name possible)before it was eventually,shortened to its' current name of "Sconis"(pronounced:sco-nees)or"E.M.S"..And here I thought,I was the only one,who knew of this lil'tidbit!!So when I saw the name"Coney-Oney"mentioned:I KNEW the author,knew a LOT about Detroits' gang history!!I could've only been more impressed,with his gang-knowledge,if the author had somehow included this particular gangs'infamous,clever(and DREADED)"battle-cry":"Straight from Eight!!!" The rest of the info,compiled in this book,only CEMENTED,my presumption,about the authors'credibility!!VERY,interesting,informative and accurate book!!The eye-opening chapter:"Gangs Speak"will SHOCK,the casual reader with its' revealing,interviews,with young gang members and their ultra-cavalier attitudes toward every aspect of life!!! I myself,was no longer surprised at these attitudes(having heard them firsthand for years)but I was impressed,with the authors ability,to actually acquire(and include)these tragic,self-defeating,"thought-trains"in this excellent book..While these kids"thinking"will seem extremely stupid to(and APPALL)most readers....One has to come to the(sad)realization,that to these uneducated,underprivilaged,street-hardened and scarred individuals...it is(apparently)"JUSTIFIABLE"reasoning for their behavior!!Keep this lil' "rhyme" in mind,when reading the interviews with these youths:"They're from the ghettos' of Detroit:HOME,of the kids,who PUT,the"ploy"in(the word)"Exploit" Also when I shared this book,with select individuals(who used to be DEEP,in the citys'criminal circles)this books accuracy really raised their eyebrows,as they asked:"WHO wrote that book"Ant"?!?I(highly)recommend this book,to anyone who appreciates NON-fictional,"no holds barred" accounts,of the ROOTS,of urban crime problems...