Two Finalists for 2010
Update 11/2/09: The Living Great Lakes is the selection for the 2010 Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads.
A selection committee of community leaders, librarians, students and educators in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area will meet in mid-October to choose one of two books as the focus for this year on the subject of Michigan. Which book should be chosen? We appreciate your comments and opinions.
The two book finalists are available in alternative formats for those who are unable to read or use printed materials due to a physical disability (blindness, macular degeneration, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, dyslexia, etc.). Please contact the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled at 1-734-327-4224.
Click on the titles below for more information about the books and authors, and to add your comments.
The two books under consideration are:
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Kevin Boyle, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age. New York: H. Holt, 2004. |
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Jerry Dennis, The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003. |
Comments
Both books look wonderful, but I'd like to put in a strong recommendation for Jerry Dennis's book. This is a very readable narrative that also provides a wonderful context for many of the issues that will be facing us in the near future--no, that are facing us NOW--about the appropriate use of our water resources. Dennis is also a wonderful speaker--direct, unpretentious, attentive to the questions and concerns of his audience. It would be great to have him in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti talking about these things.
I would like to put in an advance vote for Kevin Boyle's Arc of Justice, although I have not read the second choice as yet. He writes with the clarity of a true historian who has done his research well and has a great technique for putting it into a highly readable form. The subject matter reminds us of the difficulties of black professionals to advance or serve in the community of their choice, in this case Detroit in the early part of the 20th Century.The provoking of mobs is even akin to what has been seen in the town hall talks that we have seen over the summer over a different issue when civility falls away and people close their minds. Thie story of this black doctor and his wife will stay with you a long time. Mr. Boyle graduatied frorm U of M and still has many ties to this area although he teaches in an Ohio University.
I highly recommend The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, by Jerry Dennis. Jerry is an eloquent nature writer, whose warmth encompasses all who read his works and listen to him talk about his experiences. He shines a bright light on the waters he travels and writes about. He is a wonderful speaker and will get us talking about the issues facing our Great Lakes and make a difference in how we approach these waters. The discussion his book will generate will be timely.