Michigan Books

This book is an encyclopedia listing some of the earliest African-American graduates from a large public university, namely the University of Michigan. Many readers would be surprised to learn that Black students were on the medical campus
in the 1880's, years before Brown versus the Board of Education.
Dr. Johnson conducted exhaustive research to pull together the details of the physicians included in this volume. Especially moving is the author's own tale of struggle and ultimately success after graduating from South Haven High School, attending Western Michigan University, then attending the University of Michigan Medical School after completing just 3 years of undergraduate study. Dr. Johnson and the other physicians described within the book are role models for current and further medical students of all races and backgrounds.

A MUST-HAVE for anyone interested in Black History or for people studying the history of minorities in the health care field.

This book gives an interesting and excellent account of not only the history of Cass County, MI, but also gives an insightful look at the beginings and funtions of the Underground Railroad, in which Cass County played a major role. It is estimated that 1 out of every 4 fugitive slaves passed through Cass County. Founded by Quakers, scorned in the south for their beliefs in the equality of men and opposition to slavery, Cass County became a rare, thriving, integrated community in the 1800's.

D.L. Moody once said: "Salvation is free, as free as the air we breath...". While it is true that the gospel is simple and that salvation is a free gift. Many proffesing Christians are mere proffesors, that is to say that their concept of salvation relies on the fact that they have "prayed" and "ask Jesus into their hearts", well meaning? hopefully yes, but at best it is not relying on Christ alone. This is an example of faith in faith, i.e. existensialism. What people need is faith in Christ, and in Him alone, void of any efforts, empty of self; through repentance from sin and faith in Christ, any sinner can have salvation. This book provides a good deal of ideas for evangelizing the lost, without the heresy of instant prayerism.

In this true story of a Mississippi sharecroppers' daughter who struggled to survive and overcome a less than adequate education, Blossom deserves the "never say never" award. Clearly, a less determined person would have fallen by the wayside. She shares the sorrow and rejection she experienced when her mother died, and well-meaning relatives identify all of the children they want to take in, except her. She shows pride, when her father flatly rejects all of their offers, letting them know "take all or none." It's amazing that this single parent household existed and thrived, long before the term "single-parent household" was popular. Blossom's father, withstanding harsh criticism, faced danger of losing his children to the state, no one can argue that this African American Man did an excellent job in raising his children. This remarkable young lady, referred to as "not being apt" goes on to finish high school, graduate from college and medical school, but not without overcoming seemingly unsurmountable odds. It's a great success story!

Author Fritz Stansell writes with a warmth, humanity, and humor that makes his memoir of the early years of Michigan's Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp a fascinating read. His tales of fire departments at cross purposes, a naked girl at his front door, his children making a movie of their "Crummy House," a maestro inching through the camp in the back seat of a cab and later being pushed aside by a food service worker whose office he had just used as a dressing room, were a few of the stories that made me laugh out loud. And the characters come alive: Gretchen, his wife, can do anything from washing a year's worth of dishes in a bathtub and raising a family to teaching teenagers to play string, brass, and woodwind instruments and running a world renown international program; Fr. Merek, a real life angel, never lets the camp down, even in its darkest hour when the dream was nearly lost; Ludolph Arens, Stansell's grandfather, an aristocratic, visionary, and somewhat eccentric leader of an early midwestern music colony, serves as the author's inspiration. You can't miss the themes of tenacity, love, courage, education (primarily the Stansells')-- and the book is also a how-to for anyone hoping to successfully run a non-profit.

Now THIS is what poetry can do! It's a bold move, writing a book of poetry about historical events (e.g., the Civil war, the Mexican war) that most of us encounter only through the deadening lens of battered high school textbooks -- and yet Francis offers one of the most human and immediate collections of poetry I've encountered in quite a while. She manages, through her keen eye and her empathy for her characters and her understanding of their voices, to make these long-dead, remote people (mostly the folks who never appear in the textbooks) fully alive, urgent, now. Even the famous people -- Lincoln, Taylor -- become more human in her hands. I was shattered by "A singular dispersion," horrified by "Linsey-Woolsey," wounded by the Detroit riots poems, stirred by "Walt Whitman reads to the limbless," moved by "The White Immensities," and on and on. These are great poems individually, and such a strong, strong collection altogether!

An interesting book which tells not only the story of a Michigan landmark, but also what can happen when an unscrupulous real estate investor tries to trample on a homeowner.

...sometimes, the homeowner wins!

Pick this up.

This is a very interesting book that explores the concept of diabled persons in performing roles in the theater, dance, art, music, and sports. Of these sports, in the form of special olympics has probably generated the most attention. But plays have been written that feature disabled people.

The late Christopher Reeve raised the bar, so to speak, with his public appearances where his speech was delivered with the help of artificial breathing apparatus.

The book is a serie of articles written by, I guess you would call them experimenters, working in these fields. Most of the writers are connected with universities but vary widely in their areas of study including: theater, sociology, women's studies, social anthropology, medicine, communications, English, and dance. Other writers are practicing musicians, playwrights, or poets.

This is a book that is breaking new ground in the area of disability studies.

Written by former teacher Virginia Law Burns especially for young adults, Bold Women in Michigan History collects the true stories of courageous women who helped make Michigan the proud state it is today. From fur traders and poets to soldiers and senators, each woman's unique contribution is recounted in a brief biography, with black-and-white illustrations or photographs. Individuals profiled include Cora Brown, the first black woman in the state senate; artist Marguerite de Angeli; Genevieve Gillette, champion of Michigan parks; and many more. An upbeat, well-researched and enthralling introduction to the role great women have played in Michigan state history.

This is an inspired book of poetry, rich in language and experience. Erickson speaks to the heart in a way that anyone can understand and appreciate. The subjects are familiar to us all--parents and children, love and loss--but her insights are fresh and let us renew our relations with the world around us.