Traverse City Record-Eagle

Life

August 2, 2008

On the Shelf: Tribute to 'Waters of Michigan'

BY AL PARKER

Few states are blessed with the natural beauty of Michigan and several authors have paid homage to the Great Lakes State with recent releases.

"The Waters of Michigan" (Michigan State University Press, 84 pages), with text by Dave Dempsey and photography by David Lubbers, is an oversized coffee-table tribute to the treasured resource that all of us enjoy. Dempsey, who served as environmental adviser to Gov. James Blanchard, heads up Clean Water Action. This beautiful book is a solemn reminder of how precious our water is and how fragile this valuable resource can be.

East Lansing author Michael V. Doyle has teamed with Jack R. Miller and Gary Ritzenthaler to produce "Boxoffice Open: Michigan's Small Town Theatres" (AuthorHouse, 144 pages), a pictorial tribute to those intimate theaters that serve tiny towns across the state. It documents selected theaters during their most successful years, from the 1930s to the 1960s. Using authentic photos that detail the architecture, this publication honors the movie theater as a primary entertainment venue for much of Michigan.

"Driving Michigan: Mile by Mile on 1-75" (Arbutus Press, 312 pages) by Leslie Mertz is a very readable guide that supplies fascinating facts about the turf along the concrete river that runs from Ohio to Sault St. Marie. Starting at the southern point, the exit-by-exit text shares nuggets of info about almost every mile all the way to the International Bridge. Particularly interesting are the "Brain Busters," a Q-and-A trivia game that is entertaining and informative. Anyone who's ever logged even a mile or two on I-75 will find this book enjoyable.

A much grimmer read is "Paths of Destruction: The Story of West Michigan's Worst Natural Disaster -- the Tornadoes of April 3, 1956" (Grand Rapids Historical Society, 128 pages) by Ernest J. Ostuno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids. This book is a compilation of more than 100 interviews, hundreds of photos and numerous maps detailing the storms that killed 18 people and injured more than 300. The storms stretched from Saugatuck to Leelanau County. The tornado that hit Benzie County left one person dead and still holds the distinction as the strongest tornado on record in northern Lower Michigan.

Mary Keithan's "Michigan One-Room Schoolhouses" (University of Michigan Press, 96 pages) is a photographic treat for anyone who is intrigued by the one-room schools that are deeply embedded in our educational heritage. This elegant picture book details more than 100 early schools, including regional landmarks such as the Crawford School in Kalkaska County, the Vally School in Leelanau County, the Maple Grove and Hodge schools in Grand Traverse County, the Vance School in Antrim County and the Drake School in Benzie County.

"The Lake Michigan Travel Guide" (Trails Books, 210 pages) by Nino Gadomski offers a detailed voyage around America's most beautiful inland sea. Gadomski leads readers along the entire Circle Route, visiting resort towns, lighthouses, state parks and dozens of lakeside nooks. It's a very readable guide, packed with photos and maps to aid anyone who's venturing along the Lake Michigan shore for either a day, a week or longer.

Traverse City photographer Terry W. Phipps has produced a trio of new books highlighting three of Michigan's most popular destinations for visitors and locals alike. "Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore," "Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore" and "Mackinac Island" (University of Michigan Press and Petoskey Publishing, 32 pages) are small, measuring roughly 6.25 inches square, but are packed with dozens of Phipps' exquisite color photos of each location. These would make excellent gifts for any visitor to these special northern Michigan venues.

Al Parker, of Traverse City, is an award-winning writer and lifelong bibliophile. He can be reached at aparker48@aol.com.

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