Michigan Books

Jared Smith's Lake Michigan and Other Poems is a marvelous find. These poems have a seriousness and command of language that comes only with deep insight and deep talent. Few things are more exciting than finding a book of poetry so good you wonder why you haven't heard of the poet. I don't read poetry much because I don't like the obscure, doctrinaire, or wonder-of-my-pain stuff that so frequently comes from MFA trained poets.

Mr. Smith is different. He writes about Lake Michigan in the title poem of the collection and writes about it the way Walt Whitman wrote about America--celebrating its force, depth, reality. Jared Smith makes, lets, forces us, to experience the power and mystery and necessity of the lake (and other depths) at the heart of the heart of the country. He understands place. He understands place in the way we need to understand place. Even if that place is rusting and forgotten. He gets at how place is in our gut.

These poems have been thought about. They have been felt. Lived. Talent helps and Mr. Smith has plenty of talent. He can write, "My whole life has been controlled by ghosts," and when we finish the poem of that name, we know how real those ghosts are.

The absolutely remarkable poem, "Driving Small Town America" starts:

what is it to play michaelangelo's adam
and reach out a sistine finger
to BOMB
with a fingertip
when nothing comes back at you?

The poem ends:
In the begining is the word
and it is BOMB

I haven't read better commentary on the Iraq war than that and I read allot.

Other poems deal with solitude, grown children, lost or changed relationships. Smith knows the loneliness and hardness that underlies and surrounds most of life. He does not show it off. Pain and deep-living of life have been transmuted into art.

Lake Michigan and Other Poems is remarkable. I keep it by my bed so I can read and reread. That's the highest compliment I give a book.

Written by expert limnologist and former director of the Center for Great Lakes Studies Clifford Mortimer, Lake Michigan In Motion: Responses Of An Inland Sea To Weather, Earth-Spin, And Human Activities is a detailed, scholarly, and scientific examination of Lake Michigan. Black-and-white photographs, charts, and diagrams illustrate chapters covering the history of scientific inquiry into Lake Michigan's physicality, water levels and flows, seasonal cycles of heating/cooling and layering/mixing, lake currents, categories and models of waves, models in action, and much more. A background in basic calculus and environmental physics is presumed in this scrutiny of how multiple factors fro glaciers, wind, and weather to human public policy and polition have and continue to influence Lake Michigan. A superb resource for college libraries and Great Lakes Region environmental studies shelves.

George Hilton has written another classic transportation book. In his usual fashion he has taken a subject, divided into logical sections and done scholarly research. While he gets deep into the subject, he keeps his eye on "the big picture". In addition it has good pictures, great maps, and a sense of humor. Also it would be wise to have a dictionary at hand because of some of the obscure words he uses. I think this was a work of love as he rode some these boats when he was a child. Great job, George!

The relaxing beaches and the bustle of Chicago's lake front - Lake Michigan has much to offer as a vacation destination. "Lake Michigan Travel Guide" is a complete and comprehensive tourist guide to the area surrounding Lake Michigan, granting readers everything they need to know. Pointing out countless attractions as well as good stops for food and rest, and enhanced with detailed black and white photos throughout, "Lake Michigan Travel Guide" is an essential read for anyone heading into the area and for community library travel collections.

In the early months of World War II, the United States Navy recognized the need for ships to train pilots in carrier take-offs and landings. Realizing that current aircraft carriers already in service could not be used for this task, another approach was taken. Based on the recommendations of Commander R.F. Whitehead, the Navy acquired two Great Lakes pleasure cruisers: the S.S. Seeandbee and the S.S. Greater Buffalo. These ships were coal-fired sidewheelers which passengers rode on pleasure cruises on the Lakes. They were loaded with luxurious staterooms, atriums, and beautiful furniture. But, due to the needs of the war effort, they were purchased, stripped down, and converted into training aircraft carriers for pilots destined to fight in the Pacific War.

The S.S. Seeandbee became known as the USS Wolverine, and the S.S. Greater Buffalo became known as the USS Sable. Each was dratically changed from their previous appearance so as to incorporate a flight deck and "island". The flight decks were approximately 500 feet long, but there was no way to store aircraft belowdecks. So, land bases were incorporated to house the planes and pilots. Training consisted of take-offs and landings. After a pilot successfully completed 14 of these, they were carrier-qualified and ready to face the enemy.

The primary purpose for designing these ships was so that training would not have to have been conducted in either the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, because the risk of submarine or aerial attack was too great. Plus, escorting ships would have been required. By concentrating training on the Great Lakes, there was no need for escorts or armaments on the carriers. Over 17,000 pilots were qualifed for carrier combat during the war, and many of these pilots, including former President George H.W. Bush, trained on the Wolverine and Sable. These carriers served throughout the war.

This is an excellent book and tells the story of two little-known ships of the U.S. Navy. Despite their autonomy, these ships played a vital role in the war effort. The book is packed with vintage photographs and informative text.

I recommend this book very highly. If you're interested in naval aviation, then this book is a must-read.

Zimmermann's book catches the spirit of the Lake Michigan Railroad Car Ferries from the Ann Arbor No. 1 to the Chief Wawatam. The Society for the Preservation of the SS City of Milwaukee agrees that the ship represents the pinnacle of carferry design. The ship is a National Historic Landmark, and Zimmermann's story and photo's describe his Lake Michigan carferry experience in detail. As Zimmermann states in the book, the SS City of Milwaukee is being preserved at Elberta, Michigan.

This book is highly recommended for several reasons. First, many small towns all over America are being swallowed up by urban sprawl or are becoming bedroom communities for nearby cites, wherein their former identities are lost. This book provides a window into the past of Lake Orion, a popular destination for Detroiters ever since the railroad arrived in the early 1870s. Each picture is a treasure in itself. The author captures the names and happenings frozen in time by the cameras lens. The identities of those in the pictures and their histories will be lost with the deaths of those older among us who remember those pictured and remember the events chronicled. The book is a time machine into the past.
For those, like myself, who spent many a wonderful day enjoying this lake, the book will bring back fond memories. For those who may never have been there, it is a passage in time to an earlier and less pressured era, before television and all the depersonalizations that technology has burdened is with.
Lose yourself fin the book and you will find the experience most rewarding.

Stonehouse is a master when it comes to Great Lakes research & storytelling. This book is more research than storytelling, but it is still great. The synopsis of the wrecks are short, sweet & to the point. Awesome book & highly recommended.

A refreshing look at the Mayflower landing takes the shape of the voyage itself from the perspective of a sailor. The author was a sailor and describes the ship, the navigation and the voyage from the first sighting of land to the final anchoring in Massachusetts Bay. The book is very well researched.

This literature book incorporates the tools necessary for comprehension of selected readings, and gives the student a collaborative background for completing written responses as well as essays.

I am very pleased with my course and am happy to be using this text!

I would definitely recommend it!