The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History (Great Lakes Books) [Paperback]

William Ashworth (Author), Ashworth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Great Lakes have always had an economy based on resource extraction, notes Ashworth, author of Nor Any Drop to Drink. First it was furs, followed by lumbering, minerals and heavy industry. Since the beginning of settlement the lakes have been polluted by sewage, garbage and runoff wastes; more recently, ship traffic and canals have played havoc with native fish and shoreline stability. Two geographic features compound pollution problems: the lakes' vast size and poor development of the region's drainage system. As Ashworth explores the North Coast, our longest shoreline, he lucidly explains its fragility in terms of its geologic youth and traces the coast's history from early exploration to modern times. He discusses microcontamination from dumps, beach erosion, superships, acid rain, puts forth a proposal for diverting lake water to the Great Plains. Ashworth makes a powerful statement that should be required reading for anyone interested in the environment.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This compact natural history of the Great Lakes region is really a passion ate plea for an awakening to the crises faced by the lakes and surrounding land. Geologically recent, the Great Lakes were formed by the huge glaciers that pushed south through Canada, pe riodically, during the Pleistocene ep och. Ashworth tells the lakes' story with clarity and urgency. He details the destruction of the naturalness of the re gion, from the clear cutting of the for ests to the loss of most of the fish. To day the threat is greater than ever, from such things as industrial toxins, acid rain, and proposed diversion of water to the arid Southwest. Ashworth is puz zled by the apparent apathy of the peo ple living around the water, as if it will always be there. From his deeply felt account, all can see the folly of such thinking. Highly recommended. Ran dy Dykhuis, Grace A. Dow Memorial Lib., Midland, Mich.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press; Rpt edition (May 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814318878
• ISBN-13: 978-0814318874
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,331,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Great Lakes States residents, October 21, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History (Great Lakes Books) (Paperback)

I read this book as part of the curriculum for my 'American Dreams and Realities' history class as an undergraduate student in the fall of 1991. The Late Great Lakes gives a good history of Native American and European use and abuse (most of the abuse perpetrated by the European folks) of the Great Lakes ecosystem. If you are a fisher person, this book will be interesting to you as it documents the numerous massive swings in dominant species in the lakes caused by overfishing and the introduction of non-native species over the last few centuries. The aspects of chemical pollution in the Great Lakes ecosystem are also important and well documented. A must read for anyone who spends time on the lakes in any recreational or commercial capacity (I used to live in Monroe, MI).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on Great Lakes History, May 16, 2008

By 

Richard Reese (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History (Great Lakes Books) (Paperback)

This book provides an excellent analysis of what happened when industrial civilization invaded the Great Lakes region. It's an outstanding primer for those who wish to understand the ecological history of the Great Lakes. It's about fish mining, forest mining, fur mining, mineral mining -- and this isn't a cheerful and inspiring story about progress. It's a well-researched book documenting the many mistakes made by greedy European settlers.

Richard Adrian Reese
Author of What Is Sustainable

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timothy Mikolay, June 6, 2000

By 

Timothy Mikolay (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History (Great Lakes Books) (Paperback)

During the summer of 1999, it was reported that Lake Erie would be 10-18 inches lower than normal and that boaters should be aware of this change. Did anyone bother to ask why, because the papers certainly didn't bother to research the matter. If you would like to know, then read this book. It provides some possible conclusions as to why a major lake like Erie would suffer such a drastic loss of volume. Additionally, Lake Michigan's levels have dropped, but millions of Great Lakes dwellers aren't exactly aware of Ice Mountain bottled water. It is the only water bottling company that has been allowed to pump water OUT of Lake Michigan, due to a kniving political maneuver. If such corrupt business deals are allowed to continue, we can continue to watch Great Lakes water levels decline.

Although dated, because some of the places described have changed considerably, i.e. the Cleveland flats, this book contains some elegant, historical descriptions of the Great Lakes' former natural glory and the beginning of and up to present man's devastating manipulation and tragic destruction caused by centuries of industrialization and neglect. At present, the Ice Mountain bottled water company sucks out Lake Michigan water to sell. A terrible first for ANY of the Great Lakes. This is an indispensible learning tool as well as a teaching tool for how we have changed forever the lifeline of these lakes and how we continue to do so, whether good or bad. Did you know that it's possible to empty one of the lakes into the aquafier underneath the water-guzzling, midwest breadbasket?

The book was published in 1987 so one can imagine if more destruction has occured since and if not, then maybe some good has come about. In any case, there are other sad truths to be read about in this classic of environmental history. I recommend it with the highest degree of respect.