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Read Michigan, a list of recommended books about Michigan or by Michigan authors, was established in 1991 in cooperation with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association and the Historical Society of Michigan.
The Secretary of State, Candice S. Miller, announced the list on May 15, 2001. Committee members include Sam Spiegel, Partners Book Distributing, Inc. and George Weeks, Detroit News. Following is the 2001 Read Michigan list.
A Place Called Home: Michigan's Mill Creek Story, by Janie Lynn Panagopoulos, illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen. Sleeping Bear Press and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. Vividly illustrated, this book for young readers combines history and fiction to portray life in the Straits during revolutionary days.
Canoeing Michigan Rivers: A Comprehensive Guide to 45 Rivers, Jerry Dennis and Craig Date. Friede Publications. This revised edition on 1500 miles of canoeing opportunities was selected as representative of the wide variety of authoritative books available on Michigan's superb recreational opportunities.
Echoes of Detroit: A 300-Year History, by Irwin Cohen. City Vision Publishing. Detroit News writer George Cantor, in the introduction, said the pictures "are priceless glimpses of a Detroit that is gone or has been transformed. ...Names to conjure and events to remember. ...A book to buy your kids and your grandchildren."
Ethnicity in Michigan: Issues and People, by Jack Glazier, Arthur W.Helweg. Michigan State University Press. This introductory book in MSU's Discovering the Peoples of Michigan series, reveals unique contributions that diverse communities have made to Michigan's historical and social identity.
Leelanau: A Portrait of Place in Photography & Text, photos by Ken Scott, text by Jerry Dennis. Petunia Press. The author notes that Leelanau County "remains quiet and rural and slow to change, and thus increasingly important to our collective well being. It is one of the last good places." Superb photography underscores the point.
Mail By the Pail, by Colin Bergel, illustrated by Mark Koenig. Wayne State University Press. This book in WSU's Great Lakes Books series, gives young readers a glimpse of maritime heritage and how the marine post office in Detroit delivers mail by boat to and from passing freighters, which lower large pails to dispatch and receive mail.
Motor City Memoirs, edited by Jennifer Thomas Vanadia, photography by John Sobczak. Lorien Studio. "The people in this book are some of most creative and accomplished in the world," Detroit News writer Tim Kiska notes in the foreword of this collection of reflections. "This is a partial collection of the town's pearls."
Off the Planet: Surviving Five Perilous Months Aboard the Space Station Mir, by Jerry M. Linenger. McGraw-Hill. The author, an example of Michiganians leading the way, is among four U.S., astronauts raised in Michigan (another four attended the University of Michigan.). He offers a colorful view of the state from space.
The Detroit Almanac: 300 Years of Life in the Motor City, edited by Peter Gavrilovich and Bill McGraw. Detroit Free Press. Cited by its publisher as "the most comprehensive reference book ever assembled on the metro area," with 648 pages and more than 1,000 photos and graphics covering three centuries.
The Huron River: Voices from the Watershed, edited by John Knott and Keith Taylor. University of Michigan Press. This book is representative of physical and cultural environments that inspire writings celebrating the best of Michigan. More than 20 authors reflect on a river that stretches 130 miles through three Southeast Michigan counties.
The Place of the Pike (Gnoozhekaaning): A History of the Bay Mills Indian Community, by Charles E. Cleland. University of Michigan Press. The focus is on one Michigan tribe but this book by a widely-published authority on the subjects will fascinate and inform anyone with an interest in Native American and Great Lakes history.
Views of Mackinac Island, by Thomas Kachadurian. Sleeping Bear Press. Horace Greeley said in 1847: "A stroll at Mackinac is worth a day in any man's life." The pictures and words of Kachadurian show why this is true for men and women of all ages, in a book that will be an introduction for some, and a treasured memory for others.
Voices of Michigan: An Anthology of Michigan Authors, Volume Three. MackinacJane's Publishing Company. Representing the writing of those with talent and yet-to-attain fame, this collection of fiction, nonfiction and poetry is the product of a statewide contest and "dedicated to all Michigan residents who enjoy writing."
Women and the Lakes: Untold Great Lakes Maritime Tales, by Frederick Stonehouse, Avery Color Studios. Popular history of the lakes focuses on men, from explorers to missionaries. Yet the total fabric of Great Lakes history includes women who contributed much but are mostly forgotten if not unknown. This book tells their stories.
Updated 07/01/2010