MARQUETTE - Those shopping for books with Great Lakes connections to give for Christmas gifts will find a variety of new choices this season.
ART OF WINTER
A photographic essay
Article Photos
by Julie M. Covert
Whitehead Press
The beauty of winter is celebrated in this new photography book by Covert, who lives on the shore of Lake Huron on Drummond Island.
As Covert got to know the island after becoming a resident, she captured beautiful images of winter. With the encouragement of friends, Covert launched a Kickstarter project that became this 96-page book containing more than 160 images.
To read an excerpt, see images and find out more about the author, visit www.juliemcovert.com.
UPPER PENINSULA
HOSPITAL
A History of the Newberry
State Hospital
by William A. Decker, M.D.
Arbutus Press
Decker, the former medical director of the Kalamazoo State Hospital, has put together a comprehensive history of the former facility in Newberry, which opened in 1895 and closed in 1992.
The battle over the location of the hospital, with St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, L'Anse, Menominee and Ontonagon in the running, included newspapers writing editorials to support their communities.
Eventually, Newberry was chosen. Decker looks at the hospital's history, including its construction with a "cottage plan."
The book offers a complete history of the facility, which is now the location of the Newberry Correctional Facility.
For more information, visit arbutuspress.com.
SWEDES IN MICHIGAN
By Rebecca J. Mead
Michigan State University Press
In the late 19th Century, Swedish immigrants came in large numbers to Michigan, seeking opportunity.
They farmed, worked on the railroads, mined, fished, logged and worked in urban manufacturing centers. Mead writes about how these Swedes had an impact on the evolution of Michigan and looks at how these people who valued education assimilated while maintaining its distinct cultural ties and traditions.
Mead, who is an associate professor in the history department at Northern Michigan University, writes of the community patterns, social organizations and family ties that are part of the Swedish history in the state of Michigan.
It's part of the book series Discovering the Peoples of Michigan.
For more information, visit msupress.edu.
CITY OF SEVEN RIVERS
By William P. Bekkala
Mill City Press
Former White Pine resident William P. Bekkala is the author of a novel of historical fiction, set in Marin County, Calif., in 1995.
A high school junior suspects his recluse neighbor is actually a former bombardier of the Enola Gay, which is counter to the widely held belief that the guilt-ridden man committed suicide on the 10th anniversary of the bombing.
The question examined, as presented on the novel's back cover, is "can anyone truly escape the past - or are we all destined to confront it."
For more information, visit Bekkala's blog at bills-daily.blogspot.com.
MICHIGAN'S
HISTORIC
RAILROAD
STATIONS
By Michael Hodges
Wayne State University Press
Iron Mountain's former train station is included in this tome, which features more than 140 photos of 31 stations in its 200 pages.
Writer and photographer Michael H. Hodges writes about stations still in use (Jackson) to those converted to other purposes (Battle Creek) to those no longer in use (Iron Mountain).
He highlights the beauty of the structures and provides a reminder of the impact the stations had on communities throughout Michigan.
The book should interest those who find the railyards romantic and those who are fascinated by historic preservation.
For more information, visit wsupress.wayne.edu.
NORTH COAST ALMANAC
By Paul Dimond
Huron River Press
This timeless story for young readers has a Great Lakes setting.
In it, a grandfather cares for his granddaughter who is stricken in a flu epidemic, losing her father. The grandfather reads her stories to lift her spirits, choosing a leather-bound book that chronicles the struggles of an earlier generation.
It's a story about the power of family and the health influence of nature.
For more information, visit huronriverpress.com.
Renee Prusi can be contacted at 906-228-2500, ext. 253. Her email address is rprusi@miningjournal. net.