Author Mary Elise Antoine brings a little-known, strategic, corner of the War of 1812's history to life. She details the story of a years'-long fight for control of the Northern Mississippi and the "western country," a struggle that culminated in a three-day siege of the area's lynchpin fur trade center in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in July of 1814.

A case study of one of America's many multi-ethnic border communities, Great Lakes Creoles builds upon recent research on gender, race, ethnicity, and politics as it examines the ways that the old fur trade families experienced and responded to the colonialism of United States expansion. Lucy Eldersveld Murphy examines Indian history with attention to the pluralistic nature of American communities and the ways that power, gender, race, and ethnicity were contested and negotiated in them. She explores the role of women as mediators shaping key social, economic, and political systems, as well as the creation of civil political institutions and the ways that men of many backgrounds participated in and influenced them. Ultimately, Great Lakes Creoles takes a careful look at Native people and their complex families as active members of an American community in the Great Lakes region.

Inspired by August Derleth’s seminal book The Wisconsin, Richard D. Cornell traveled the Chippewa River from its two sources south of Ashland to where it joins the Mississippi. Over several decades he returned time and again in his red canoe to immerse himself in the stories of the Chippewa River and document its valley, from the Ojibwe and early fur traders and lumbermen to the varied and hopeful communities of today. Cornell shares tales of such historical figures as legendary Ojibwe leader Chief Buffalo, world famous wrestler Charlie Fisher, and supercomputer innovator Seymour Cray, along with the lesser-known stories of local luminaries such as Dr. John "Little Bird" Anderson. Cornell gathered firsthand stories from diners and dives, local museums and landmarks, quaint small-town newspaper offices, and the homes of old-timers and local historians. Through his conversations with ordinary people, he gets at the heart of the Chippewa and shares a history of the river that is both one of a kind and deeply personal.

"Steeped in the history of the French-Canadian voyageur journeys in the early 1800s in North America, Waters Like the Sky is a story of a well-educated teen boy who despises his fancy schooling and longs for a more adventurous life. Andrae's fate changes when a letter with a royal seal arrives. He discovers he has French noble blood. He is part of a family in France, has a brother he's never met, and an enemy who wants him dead. Determined to locate his brother and set things right, Andrae sets out to search for Denis in the only way open to him--becoming a voyageur. Unaccustomed to the hard voyageur life, Andrae uses his only advantage--his education. He fights to earn the respect of his fellow voyageurs and gains many life lessons on his quest to track down his brother. Will he be able to reach Denis before the evil one the natives call the windigo finds him first?"--Page 4 of cover.

In Every Root an Anchor, writer and arborist R. Bruce Allison celebrates Wisconsin's most significant, unusual, and historic trees. More than one hundred tales introduce us to trees across the state, some remarkable for their size or age, others for their intriguing histories. From magnificent elms to beloved pines to Frank Lloyd Wright's oaks, these trees are woven into our history, contributing to our sense of place. They are anchors for time-honored customs, manifestations of our ideals, and reminders of our lives' most significant events. For this updated edition, Allison revisits the trees' histories and tells us which of these unique landmarks are still standing. He sets forth an environmental message as well, reminding us to recognize our connectedness to trees and to manage our tree resources wisely. As early Wisconsin conservationist Increase Lapham said, "Tree histories increase our love of home and improve our hearts. They deserve to be told and remembered."