Customer Reviews

The Muskegon: The Majesty and Tragedy of Michigan's Rarest River

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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.

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.

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.