Michigan's rich history comes alive in this engaging tribute to the state. From the contributions of the Native Americans and the strange tale of Michigan's quest to achieve statehood; to the exploration of the state's early industries such as farming, lumbering, and mining, and, ultimately automobiles that made Michigan famous; this is a compelling account of the Great Lakes State. The book is fully indexed and also includes an illustrated timeline of the state's most relevant events Eastern Michigan University history professor and Ann Arbor resident, JoEllen Vinyard is the author of The Irish on the Urban Frontier: Nineteenth Century Detroit and Michigan, The World Around Us. Dr. George S. May devoted most of his career to teaching, studying, and writing about the state's history. He authored several Michigan related history books.

New York Times Bestseller Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award "Nimbly splices together history, science, reporting and personal experiences into a taut and cautiously hopeful narrative.… Egan’s book is bursting with life (and yes, death)." —Robert Moor, New York Times Book Review The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work, and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

The geologic story of the Great Lakes region is one of the most remarkable of any place on Earth. Great Lakes Rocks takes readers on this fascinating journey through geologic history, beginning with an investigation of the surface features—the hills and valleys, waterfalls and caves, and the Great Lakes themselves—that we encounter on a daily basis. From there the book digs deeper into the past, and readers learn about the amazing techniques geologists have used to reconstruct the events that shaped this region millions and even billions of years before humans set foot on Earth. Throughout, the book gives special attention to the link between the region’s geology and its modern history, including the impacts of geology on settlement patterns as well as the development of industries and the present-day economy. Other discussed topics include natural hazards that are geologic in nature, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and coastal erosion, as well as information on rocks, minerals, and ancient life seen in fossils. Written for nonspecialist readers, this book provides a detailed but easy-to-follow introduction to the geology of the Great Lakes region, and it is an ideal fit for introductory geology courses, including those aimed at nonscience majors.

A comprehensive, illustrated encyclopedic guide to more than 650 Great Lakes lighthouses; US and Canada, current and historic. For each there is a description that includes history and construction details, and if open to the public how to access it.

Argh! Go on sailing adventures and explore the true stories of real Great Lakes pirates that pillaged, robed, murdered, and found treasure. Rob the French fur trade during the French & Indian War. Discover the legend of a real pirate king. Raid Great Lakes areas with confederates and wave the stars & bars. This 65 page book details the tales of over 10 pirate legends on the Great Lakes. Equiped with graphics, maps of their voyages, portraits and historical stories.

Since the beginning of commerce on the Great Lakes there has been a desire to build larger and more efficient ships. Beginning in the nineteenth century shipbuilders began to increase the size of their creations as new materials and construction techniques became available. This process of innovation would continue throughout the twentieth century as improvements to the shipping channels on the Great Lakes opened up new possibilities in ship design. These efforts culminated in 1972 with the commissioning of the first thousand-foot vessel to sail on the inland seas, the STEWART J. CORT. This ship set a new benchmark in the hauling of raw materials and would be followed by twelve more ships of her class which collectively revolutionized the US flagged shipping industry on the Great Lakes. These ships represent such a significant step forward in the evolution of the Great Lakes freighter that even today, nearly forty years after they began to enter service, they remain unsurpassed in size and carrying capacity. The story of this class of ships includes the earliest of the thousand-footers, the STEWART J. CORT and the PRESQUE ISLE, two unique vessels built incorporating highly innovative features many of which were not carried on in subsequent designs. This tale also includes vessels such as the JAMES R. BARKER and the BELLE RIVER which became patterns for the ships that followed them. In this volume, each of the thirteen thousand-foot ships is described to relate each of their unique operational histories along with the purposes for which they were built. Included are numerous never before published photographs, portraying these ships in both their previous and current operations.

Describes the grand era of shipping on the Great Lakes. Over 300 black and white historic and current photographs of the ships that opened the interiors of America and Canada to the world. A comprehensive look at the great ships includes the smallest tugs, the barges, the passenger and work boats to the gigantic ore boats. Also included are ships relegated to the boneyard and others that have been resurrected as museums, fishing boats and passenger boats.