The Living Great Lakes, Jerry Dennis
The Living Great Lakes, Jerry Dennis
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The Living Great Lakes
Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas

Author: Jerry Dennis

Narrator: Barry Press

Unabridged: 12 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/01/2016


Synopsis

If fresh water is to be treasured, the Great Lakes are the mother lode. No bodies of water can compare to them. One of them, Superior, is the largest lake on earth, and the five lakes together contain a fifth of the world's supply of standing fresh water. Their surface area of 95,000 square miles is greater than New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island combined. They are so vast that they dominate much of the geography, climate, and history of North America. In one way or another, they affect the lives of tens of millions of people.

The Living Great Lakes is the most complete book ever written about the history, nature, and science of these remarkable lakes at the heart of North America. From the geological forces that formed them to the industrial atrocities that nearly destroyed them, to the greatest environmental success stories of our time, the lakes are portrayed in all their complexity. The book, however, is much more than just history. It is also the story of the lakes as told by biologists, fishermen, sailors, and others whom Jerry Dennis grew to know while traveling with them on boats and hiking with them on beaches and islands.

About Jerry Dennis

Jerry Dennis is an acclaimed nature, science, and outdoor writer whose books have appeared on national bestseller lists, have been translated into six languages, and are taught in many universities and high schools. His essays and stories have appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Smithsonian, Orion, American Way, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Gray's Sporting Journal. Among the awards he has received are the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, the Michigan Author of the Year Award, the Great Lakes Culture Award, and four Best Book of the Year awards from the Outdoor Writers Association of America.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on February 08, 2022

Wow, what an amazing book! I may not be the most objective reviewer, living as I do so near to these wonders, but I heartily recommend this book. For anyone who appreciates these lakes' beauty, who is awed by their presence, who enjoys time spent on the water or at the beach or in the surrounding reg......more

Goodreads review by Keith on February 21, 2025

Too many things to say about this wonderful book! Dennis found a way to organize a bunch of information along the line of a personal narrative. The whole book gets informed by knowledge and experience. I've read it three times, and I should probably read it again soon. Here's a little thing I wrote a......more

Goodreads review by Tiffanie22 on March 18, 2024

I listened to this on my commute after listening to the Shakleton story. It was neat to read about something closer to home. The author joins the crew of a tall ship on its journey from Lake Michigan through the Great Lakes to Maine. He tells storyies of this journey, history of places they pass by......more

Goodreads review by Pam on January 13, 2008

Jerry Dennis is simply a great story-teller, and he weaves together history, ecology, and memoir into a great yarn. He clearly loves the Great Lakes as much as I love Michigan, and is on a mission to impress the reader with their rich histories, power, and environmental fragility. I also appreciated......more

Goodreads review by Kelly on June 17, 2018

My actual rating for this amazing book would be 4.75 stars, because it barely mentions the greatest of all cities on the Great Lakes, BUFFALO, NEW YORK!!!! OK, that bit of local jingoism aside, this is a truly fantastic book about a region of the country that many don't really seem to think all that......more