I Recommend These Two Books

I'd like to recommend two great books about the Great Lakes that have recently been published. The first is called The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas by Jerry Dennis. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312251939/103-0624804-7267026?v=glance&n=283155Mr. Dennis's book skillfully blends human and natural history in an entertaining but thoughtful way. He ends his tales of traveling on the Great Lakes in a renovated clipper ship by discussing challenges to maintaining or improving the health of Great Lakes ecosystems. His book won the 2004 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award for excellence in nature writing.

A perfect companion to this is David Dempsey's book called On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870137050/qid=1143750972/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0624804-7267026?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Mr. Dempsey picks up where Dennis leaves us--by examining the Great Lakes as an "early warning system" for many national environmental problems. This nonfiction book reads like a well-paced story of what is happening on the lakes and why, and what we can do to keep the Great Lakes truly great.