Customer Reviews

Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State

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As a life-long resident of Michigan, I felt that I needed to know more about my home state. Dunbar and May's work did just that.

Michigan : A History of the Wolverine State lies somewhere between a textbook and a more casual non-fiction text, with copious endnotes for the historian, yet a clear, flowing style for the casual reader. It would serve as an excellent text for a college course on the subject.

I found reading this work to be immensely valuable and entertaining, and a great conversation starter. In it you will find explanations of the origins of nearly every facet of Michigan society. Beginning with the ancient history of the Native American tribes, and finishing with the education and tax reforms of the early 1990's, very little is left behind. You will learn such quirky facts as the meaning of the name "Ypsilanti", why Kellogg and Post Cereals are both headquartered in Battle Creek, and the true story of the Michigan-Ohio border war. Comprehensive, lucid, and entertaining. Recommended.

I had bought this book because I needed it for a class for college, and as I started reading it I started to understand the drama of how Michigan came about-It was a rough road for our ancestors. The authors pull you back in time in a way that it is not just a history book, but it kind of tells the STORY too.