Ancient Life of the Great Lakes Basin: Precambrian to Pleistocene
By J. Alan Holman
University of Michigan Press, 1995, 295 pages
$24.95 paperback

Huge mastodons and mammoths roamed through southern Michigan only 12,000 year ago. Whales, walruses, and giant rodents swam in the lakes, and shaggy musk oxen grazed in the woodlands. Holman’s book begins with a brief review of biological and geological principles, then offers a framework for the study of the fossils found in the Great Lakes region.

Among the most interesting illustrations in the book are Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen’s conceptions of what the fossilized creatures may have looked like when they were alive. Van Frankenhuyzen’s color illustrations depict spectacular scenes of ancient life in the Great Lakes area. Detailed illustrations help identify many of the fossilized organisms that can be found today. Methods of collection, preservation and maintenance of fossils are also presented.

Ancient Life is written for the layperson as well as the professional with biological or geological interest in the Great Lakes region. Holman is curator of vertebrate paleontology in the Michigan State University Museum, and professor of geological sciences at MSU.

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Great Lake Shipwrecks (DVD)
Studio: Discovery Channel, 2007
$19.95 for DVD

Thunder Bay, in Lake Huron, is nicknamed “Shipwreck Alley.” It is home to more than 100 shipwrecks, some in waters as shallow as 15 feet. The wrecks include everything from wooden schooners to sidewheel steamers and modern freighters. Scientists wonder why this body of water is so dangerous. This one-hour special follows a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association deep-water expedition to shed light on the forces in Thunder Bay that are the catalysts for the wrecks.

Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals
By William Ratigan
Eerdmans Publishing, 1960, 384 pages
$12.24 paperback

A look at some of the most spectacular shipwrecks and most incredible survivals in history. Ratigan recreates scenes of high courage and panic as he describes the three greatest killer storms in modern times, among others.

White Hurricane: A Great Lakes November Gale and America’s Deadliest Maritime Disaster
By David G. Brown
International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2004, 256 pages
$17.95 paperback

“A riveting, well researched account of the worst Great Lakes storm on record” (Inland Seas, the journal of the Great Lakes Historical Society). On November 7, 1913, after four days of winds up to 90 mph, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountainous seas, 19 ships had been lost on the Great Lakes, and 238 sailors were dead. Cleveland confronted the worst natural disaster in its history. David G. Brown combines narrative intensity with factual depth to create a vast epic ranging over Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.

Mysteries and Histories: Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes
By Wes Oleszewski
Avery Color Studios, 1997, 295 pages
$16.95 paperback

Not reviewed. Be the first to write a review of this book: contact Dave Freedman.

America’s Inland Coast: Journey Along the Great Lakes (DVD)
Director: Richard Olsenius
Bluestem Productions, 2008
$19.95 (Runtime 55 min.)

“America’s Inland Coast” is a scenic and memorable portrait of life on Lakes Superior and Michigan. First released on PBS television in 1989, this remastered video explores the unique coastal regions through four people whose lives have been shaped by these inland seas. It features the work of National Geographic contract photographer Richard Olsenius. (Click on the DVD image for product details.)

Great Lakes Shipping Ports & Cargoes
Patrick D. Lapinski
Iconografix 2009, 160 pages
$26.56 paperback

On average, over 163 million net tons of cargo are moved each year on the Great Lakes in the holds of a vast fleet of steel ships. From the western end of Lake Superior to the shallow, emerald-colored waters of Lake Erie, ships arrive and depart at all hours amid a landscape of dirt-laden mill buildings, smoke streaked skies, and vast fields of coal and iron ore pellets. These images, contemporary and historic, take you to all of the primary loading and unloading ports from Lake Superior to Lake Erie. [Click on the image for details.]

Great Lakes Ore Docks and Ore Cars
Patrick C. Dorin
Iconografix 2007, 128 pages
$19.97 paperback

The iron mining industry was quite extensive throughout the Lake Superior Iron Ore District, which included Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other prominent iron mining regions to the northeast and east of Lake Superior in Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador. All of the iron ore was transported by rail to lake ports on Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron. This book lists all of the ore docks constructed on the Great Lakes. Each chapter includes the types of ore docks once or currently operated as well as a roster of ore cars from the 1940s to the present time, and includes photos of the ore docks and ore cars, ore car schematics and pertinent data. [Click on the image for details or to purchase.]

The Great Lakes Water Wars
By Peter Annin
Island Press 2009, 320 pages
$14.36 paperback, $17.37 hardcover

The five Great Lakes of North America hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. More than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in the Great Lakes Basin (GLB). There is intense economic pressure on the bordering states and provinces to share this resource with other regions, and pressure grows as fresh water becomes scarcer and dirtier. We don’t want the GLB to end up like Central Asia’s Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 percent of its volume since 1960, due to diversion and climate change. How can we prevent that kind of scenario? How long can the Great Lakes Commission uphold the non-diversion pact under such intense pressure to divert?

Annin tries to answer these questions, first giving a valuable historical background, and then a balanced look at conflicts and potential conflicts that afflict the GLB’s resources. Annin is associate director of the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources (IJNR), and a former Newsweek reporter. [Click on the book image for details.]

The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region
By Wayne Grady
Greystone 2007, 320 pages, $28.35 hardcover

The Great Lakes Basin is home to 40 million residents, a hub of industry, a resting spot for billions of migrating birds, an increasingly valuable resource (with 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water as well as vast forests) and a dumping ground for toxic wastes. The author, a science and nature writer, explores this complex, changing ecosystem, including the area’s geological formation, its role in human history, its diverse plant, bird, and animal species; and its significant climatic features. Grady also wrote The Bone Museum: Travels in the Lost Worlds of Dinosaurs and Birds (2003). [Click on the book image to see more details, or to purchase.]

The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas
By Jerry Dennis
St. Martin’s Griffin 2004, 320 pages, $10.17 paperback

Thoroughly entertaining, educational, and awe-inspiring. In 2000 the author crewed on a tall schooner from Grand Traverse Bay (Michigan) to Maine, via Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie; the Erie Canal; and the Atlantic Ocean. He weaves fascinating history, ecology, and folklore into the adventurous (sometimes exciting) travelogue—plus the author’s previous voyages through Lake Superior. Dennis is an outdoor adventure and nature writer. [Click on the book image to see more details, or to purchase.]