Great Lakes (3 of 6)

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Continuing my Midwest series of book lists, I'm sharing a list of my Great Lakes Books. For more you can see my post on my Great Lakes books in 2013. You can see here.  
Top Row (Left to Right)
 

1. Great Lakes Country – Russell McKee
My favorite historical overview of the Great Lakes region, covering its exploration, commerce, industries, and cultural development. McKee blends maps, drawings, and photographs to show how the lakes shaped Midwestern identity. Bought this in a used bookstore in Northport, MI
 

2. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas – Jerry Dennis
Part travelogue and part natural history, Dennis recounts a voyage through the Great Lakes while exploring their geology, ecology, and environmental challenges. It’s both a personal narrative and a reflection on what makes the Lakes a singular freshwater ecosystem. The most poignant section is on his visit to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior on the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  
 

3. Summer on the Lakes – Margaret Fuller
Remarkable as one of the first travelogues about the Great Lakes, it was originally published in 1844. Also unusual for it is written by a young woman recording her journey through what is still America's frontier.  
 

4. The Great Lakes Reader – Walter Havighurst
The storyteller of the inland seas, Havighurst compiled an anthology of historical writings, personal accounts, and stories about the Great Lakes region from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario. The stories include early exploration, shipwrecks, frontier settlement, and regional folklore.
 

Bottom Row (Left to Right)
 

5. Lake Erie Fishermen: Work, Tradition, and Identity – Timothy C. Lloyd & Patrick B. Mullen. A folkloric and oral-history study of commercial fishing communities along Lake Erie. The authors focus on traditions, labor, and the cultural identity of multi-generational fishing families. The best perch on the Great Lakes comes from western Lake Erie. 
 

6. The Lake Erie Shore: Images of Nature – Connie Smith Girard
A photographic exploration of the Lake Erie shoreline capturing its beaches, weather, wildlife, and seasonal landscapes. The book highlights both the beauty and environmental fragility of the lake. As an American, you'll learn some new facts from the authors, a Canadian husband and wife, who present a perspective from the north shore of the lake. 
 

7. Distant Shores: Photographs from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan – Richard Olsenius
A collection of haunting photographs depicting the dramatic coastlines and natural moods of the two northern Great Lakes. Olsenius emphasizes solitude, light, and the rugged spirit of the region.

 

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