Midwest Book Review on Coats of Arms: An Introduction to The Science and Art of Heraldry

John Burroughs’ Bookshelf Synopsis: Featuring full-color pages accessible to readers of any age, “Coats of Arms: An Introduction to The Science and Art of Heraldry” (written and illustrated by Marc Fountain) is a how and why quick-start guide that explains knighthood and nobility and royalty, what coats of arms mean,…

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‘Carnival Lights’ by Chris Stark Wins Best Fiction Title at NEMBA

by Ernest Dempsey, staff writer Carnival Lights by Native American author and speaker Chris Stark won the award for best fiction book at the 2022 Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA). Published last year by the Modern History Press of Michigan, the novel tells the engaging story of cultural survival through…

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North of Nelson: Hilton Everett Moore Launches New Series of U.P. Fiction

By Ernest Dempsey- The literary treasure of Upper Peninsula (UP), Michigan, is adding a new book of short fiction, North of Nelson: Volume 1, by local author Hilton Everett Moore. Published by Silver Mountain Press, an independent press based in Covington, Michigan, North of Nelson: Volume 1 is the first…

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Portland Book Review on Mikel Classen’s “True Tales: The Forgotten History of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula”

True Tales: The Forgotten History of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula by Mikel B. Claussen takes the romance out of the stories of northern Michigan. Instead, Claussen weaves a yarn of facts the way only a Yooper can. His style is approachable and very much based on the storytelling of the region,…

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Reader Views reviews Honor the Earth by Phil Bellfy

Reviewed by Megan Weiss for Reader Views (06/2022) Phil Bellfy has collected together numerous insightful, instructive, and magnificently written essays in “Honor the Earth: Indigenous Response to Environmental Degradation in the Great Lakes.” This collection serves multiple purposes: 1. To call direct attention to how western capitalist initiatives have been…

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Midwest Book Review on Jon C. Stott’s “Summers at the Lake”

Carolyn Wilhelm’s Bookshelf Jon C. Stott delightfully described the many joys of lakeside living with the unchanging activities of summer. Deb Le Blanc’s many photographs are stunning, enriching the text. Readers will feel like they are right there at the cabin next to the author. Stott says calendars are not…

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Midwest Book Review on Mikel Classen’s True Tales: The Forgotten History of the U.P.

Review by Carolyn WIlhelm for MBR Pioneer days conjure up romantic, sentimental ideas of simple living and being close to nature. However, the truth also included lawless, rugged, difficult times. Native Americans and those from Europe mined, traveled, worked, logged, and sailed Lake Superior’s frontier wilderness amid uncivilized criminals, kidnappers,…

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Michigan in Books reviews U.P. Reader Volume #6

U.P. Reader: Bringing Upper Michigan Literature to the World Volume 6 Edited by Deborah K. Frontiera and Mikel B. Classen. It’s always a good day when this annual compendium of poems, short stories, memoirs, history, sparkling essays, and humorous pieces turns up in my mailbox.  The U.P.’s rugged landscape, semi-isolation, long…

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