Customer Reviews

Cadillac and the Dawn of Detroit (Michigan)

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As a descendant of one of the founding habitants of Fort Pontchartain, I am always looking for information on their lives. This book not only gives a great deal of information about life during the first ten years of Detroit, but also brings it alive for the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's story, its presentation of Cadillac, and attention to detail. This is fun reading for anyone who wants to get a flavor for Fort Pontchartain.

Something that so many folks don't realize or maybe never thought about is the fact that Detroit, founded in 1701, was every bit a colonial village at virtually the same time as Boston, Hartford, Baltimore, or any other town in the original 13 colonies. Unfortunately, Detroit never (or VERY rarely) celebrates this part of its history, and that's a shame.

This is a well written novel that has brought together, in under 300 pages, all the historical facts and details that are presently available about the founding of this once great city, and then jamming all of that historical data into story form. After reading this wonderful book, one feels that they know Cadillac as a person and not just as some fabled guy from the past who had a city and car named after him.

The descriptions of the land and river before and after the fort was built are impeccable, and I can see how it all looked clearly in my mind; the original Ste. Anne's church, the Cadillac home, the storage facility...I can envision the complete lay out of this Village By the Straits all due to the words written here.

And the author has a way of bringing out the personalities of those long dead pioneers.

The telling of little known facts of these first 10 years really made this book stand out to me. For example, the frustrations that Cadillac went through to keep his fort alive, to prove its worth, was something I never knew about, and the man did go through quite a lot to keep this tiny village going.

I recommend this for Detroit history buffs as well as social history fans. The author does an excellent job of bringing the past to life, and I commend her.

Sure, I've enjoyed very kind hospitality at the author's house, and have a personally inscribed copy of this book, but I can still maintain my professional objectivity.

This is a great book about early Detroit.

What with meticulous research in primary sources about Cadillac and Early Detroit, as well as "improving" upon the facts to better portray the drama of 1701, this book is a must have for students of early Detroit, or for those interested in French exploits in the early 18th century.

Highly recommended.