amandabethrose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I have always loved growing up in the Midwest, Chicagoland specifically, and a central part of that midwestern identity is the Great Lakes. I didn't spend my childhood at lakeside beaches and the shoreline of Lake Michigan is one I only see a few times during the year, but it has an important place in the tapestry that makes up where I am from and the roots I have planted in this region.
My vacation this year took me briefly to the shores of Lake Superior and I wanted to have something to read while I was there that would connect me more deeply to these waters and provide more knowledge about who they are. The Living Great Lakes absolutely met that need. One part personal memoirs, one part narrative non-fiction, Jerry Dennis brings to life the surface, environment and depths of these five bodies of water. There is so much to learn and so much to appreciate about their unique features and history.
If you have a love and appreciation for Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, then you will love and appreciate this book.
My vacation this year took me briefly to the shores of Lake Superior and I wanted to have something to read while I was there that would connect me more deeply to these waters and provide more knowledge about who they are. The Living Great Lakes absolutely met that need. One part personal memoirs, one part narrative non-fiction, Jerry Dennis brings to life the surface, environment and depths of these five bodies of water. There is so much to learn and so much to appreciate about their unique features and history.
If you have a love and appreciation for Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, then you will love and appreciate this book.
buryman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
nyeargh's review against another edition
2.0
Listened to this as an audiobook on a road trip from Indianapolis to the Great Lakes (well, 3 of the 5).
Started out interesting - I appreciate the author tying in personal stories. However, I got lost and also lost interest as they journey went on way beyond the Great Lakes... Felt obligated to finish the book given the relevancy of the topic, and was hoping it would improve with time but that didn’t happen. It could be that I went into this with slightly different expectations, which this book didn’t meet...
Started out interesting - I appreciate the author tying in personal stories. However, I got lost and also lost interest as they journey went on way beyond the Great Lakes... Felt obligated to finish the book given the relevancy of the topic, and was hoping it would improve with time but that didn’t happen. It could be that I went into this with slightly different expectations, which this book didn’t meet...
libkatem's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure why, but I was surprised by this book. Dennis does a fabulous job of trying to fathom what exactly makes the Great Lakes so Great. I wish he would have spent more time on Lake Superior, but regardless, it was a very enjoyable read.
iambartacus's review against another edition
3.0
I love the Great Lakes, so I thought I would love this book...not really so. I like the idea of it, and am jealous of his trip, but I didn't care for the way it was presented.
I thought it was kind of erratically put together, just kind of a collection of stories and thoughts. A tiny bit of history and science was woven in , but for the most part just random stories about sailing. And talking about the boat. And random people/meals. I got bored, so apparently sailing is not a viable mode of transportation for me.
I recommend this book if you really like boats, sailing, are above the age of 65, or live on Lake Michigan. He pretty much ignores Superior and Huron, which I found disappointing because they're my two favorite lakes.
I thought it was kind of erratically put together, just kind of a collection of stories and thoughts. A tiny bit of history and science was woven in , but for the most part just random stories about sailing. And talking about the boat. And random people/meals. I got bored, so apparently sailing is not a viable mode of transportation for me.
I recommend this book if you really like boats, sailing, are above the age of 65, or live on Lake Michigan. He pretty much ignores Superior and Huron, which I found disappointing because they're my two favorite lakes.
boredcat99's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for the Weque summer bookclub, and it was very fun to read this so close to Lake Michigan, about which a good portion of the book is written. This book contains so many fascinating scientific and historical facts, stories, anecdotes, and wonder, it is hard to summarize it in a few sentences. There were so many familiar place-names among the Great Lakes explorers - Champlain, Hennepin, Charlevoix (a priest, as it turns out) Nicolet, Joliet, Marquette. I found it fascinating to read about the history especially. I also was interested to read about many of the unusual incidents that are part of great lakes history, from the Peshtigo fire (we pass the Fire museum in Peshtigo each year), the singing of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and another harrowing tale from that same evening, the huge salmon boom in the 60's, and numerous others. He also covers many of the ecological challenges the lakes have faced and continue to face even now.
These facts and stories are all interwoven in the author's own Great Lakes experience, growing up in Michigan and especially sailing on two ships, one The Gauntlet in the Chicago to Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw!) race, the other, his time on the Malabar, sailing her from Traverse City to Maine. I am not a sailor, but these were excellently told tales of at least two slices of nautical life on the great lakes. I would have liked to hear about the experience of travelling these lakes by freighter as well, but it was not included in this book.
This is a book that certainly deepens my already considerable appreciation for the unusual, spectacular, sometimes terrifying bodies of water that have influenced the growth of our nation much more than most realize.
These facts and stories are all interwoven in the author's own Great Lakes experience, growing up in Michigan and especially sailing on two ships, one The Gauntlet in the Chicago to Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw!) race, the other, his time on the Malabar, sailing her from Traverse City to Maine. I am not a sailor, but these were excellently told tales of at least two slices of nautical life on the great lakes. I would have liked to hear about the experience of travelling these lakes by freighter as well, but it was not included in this book.
This is a book that certainly deepens my already considerable appreciation for the unusual, spectacular, sometimes terrifying bodies of water that have influenced the growth of our nation much more than most realize.