Muskegon is a derivation of a Native American word meaning "river with marshes." Jeff Alexander examines the creation, uses of, devastation, and restoration of Michigan's historic and beautiful Muskegon River.
Four of the five Great Lakes touch Michigan's shores; the state's shoreline spans more than 4,500 miles, not to mention more than 11,000 inland lakes and a multitude of rivers. The Muskegon River, the state's second longest river, runs 227 miles and has the most diverse features of any of Michigan’s many rivers. The Muskegon rises from the center of the state, widens, and moves westward, passing through the Pere Marquette and AuSable State Forests. The river ultimately flows toward Lake Michigan, where it opens into Muskegon Lake, a 12 square-mile, broad harbor located between the Muskegon River and Lake Michigan.
Formed several thousand years ago, when the glaciers that created the Great Lakes receded, and later inhabited by Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians, the Muskegon River was used by French fur trappers in the 1600s. Rich in white pine, the area was developed during the turn-of-the-century lumber boom, and at one time Muskegon Lake boasted more than 47 sawmills. The Muskegon was ravaged following settlement by Europeans, when rivers and streams were used to transport logs to the newly developing cities. Dams on rivers and larger streams provided power for sawmills and grain milling, and later provided energy for generating electricity as technology advanced.
There is now an ambitious effort to restore and protect this mighty river's natural features in the face of encroaching urbanization and land development that threatens to turn this majestic waterway into a mirror image of the Grand River, Michigan's longest river and one of its most polluted.
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Alexander's research is impressive, his prose informative and entertaining, and his message is clear: conservation of the Muskegon River watershed--and the Great Lakes as a whole--is up to all of us. This book is both first-rate reporting and an implicit challenge to all of us to be better stewards of our precious waters. -- Dave Dempsey, author of On The Brink
From the Publisher
Winner of a 2007 "Michigan Notable Books" Award, which highlights the Library of Michigan's annual selection of books reflecting Michigan's rich cultural heritage.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking At The Same River Twice,
By
This review is from: The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River (Paperback)
I just finished reading the Jeff Alexander book and will never look at the Muskegon or any other river in the same way again.This is a scholarly work with seventeen pages of notes. It could have been dreary reading. But Alexander has style and heart. He pulls no punches here. He does this sublimely. Prepare to be, from the first page, swept up and dropped smack dab into the multi-layered flow of an important American river. Anyone with an interest in fisheries, or the science/politics surrounding fresh water, or of natural resources in general, should be vastly enriched for having read this bittersweet chronicle.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An epic story of a much-beset river,
By Steven Huyser-Honig "www.greatlakeseditions.com" (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River (Paperback)
Rapacious logging, indiscriminate damming, wanton discharge of industrial pollution, invasion of pernicious exotic species, relentless urban sprawl, exploitation by multinational corporations--Jeff Alexander's book, The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River, tells it all. The book reads like an Homeric epic, with the river itself as the central character. I couldn't help but be fascinated as the author recounts in vivid detail each new assault on this much beset river. And somehow, like Ulysses, the river seems always to survive, and in the end, even thrive.At times, like the river itself, Alexander's account meanders. But overall this is environmental writing at its best and a fascinating read.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A highly recommended in-depth case study for environmental studies reading lists and reference shelves.,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River (Paperback)
Award-winning environmental journalist Jeff Alexander presents The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River, part history, part environmental scrutiny, part wake-up call to the Muskegon River's vital role in both the environment and to local communities that have relied on it for fisheries, tourism, and hydroelectric power. A handful of black-and-white photographic plates illustrate this evenhanded look at all sides of modern environmental issues surrounding the river, from controversies over where and to what extent dams should be built or kept along its length, to pollution runoff problems, to conflicts between those who want to use the river for industry and sports fishermen, and much more. The Muskegon is also a contemplative piece on the river, observing its splendor and glory even as it chronicles man's use and overuse. A highly recommended in-depth case study for environmental studies reading lists and reference shelves.
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