Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas (Hardcover)

by Wisc Cart Guild (Author), Zoltan Grossman (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A wonderfully useful book."—William Cronon, Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-–Madison


"This atlas fills a void in the bibliography of Wisconsin history."—Margaret Beattie Bogue, professor emeritus of history, University of Wisconsin–Madison, author of Around the Shores of Lake Michigan


"[Wisconsin's Past and Present] is a first of its kind for this state and is long overdue."—Onno Brouwer, associate director, University of Wisconsin Cartography Laboratory, co-editor of the Cultural Map of Wisconsin


Product Description
"A wonderfully useful book."-William Cronon, Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin--Madison

"This atlas fills a void in the bibliography of Wisconsin history."-Margaret Beattie Bogue, professor emeritus of history, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of Around the Shores of Lake Michigan

"The Historical Atlas of Wisconsin is a first of its kind for this state and is long overdue."-Onno Brouwer, associate director, University of Wisconsin Cartography Laboratory, co-editor of the Cultural Map of Wisconsin

Despite Wisconsin's rich history, no historical atlas has been produced in the state since 1878. The Historical Atlas of Wisconsin, created by the Wisconsin Cartographers' Guild, has filled this void with a fascinating and colorful portrait of the state's complex development. This useful and entertaining guide, produced to mark 150 years of statehood, provides a lasting resource for map lovers and history buffs of all ages, and anyone interested in Wisconsin's heritage. The Atlas features more than 100 pages of historic and geographic data, including full-color maps, descriptive text, photos, and illustrations.

The Atlas highlights the peoples and cultures, economy and land, and socio-political landscape of Wisconsin-from Native American mounds to weather hazards to labor history. Situated at the intersections of natural and cultural regions, Wisconsin has always been an area "on thecutting edge." It formed a boundary between the glaciated and unglaciated regions of North America, which evolved into the "tension line" between the Northwoods and the Central Plains. It later became the meeting ground among Native American nations, and a new home to diverse groups of immigrant settlers, who introduced cutting-edge political and economic ideas to the rest of the country. Wisconsin still serves as a borderland between the agricultural Midwest, the industrial Great Lakes, and the Northern forests. The Atlas explores the history of indigenous cultures, immigrant groups, natural resources, agriculture, industries, boundaries, political and social movements, and government institutions in lively detail.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; illustrated edition edition (November 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029915940X
• ISBN-13: 978-0299159405
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #679,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, August 20, 1999

By A Customer

As a student of Wisconsin's natural and human history all my life, this book is a Godsend for its fine graphics and outstanding presentation of historical minutiae. I particularly appreciate its statewide focus that avoids Madisonian or Milwaukeean parochialism. "One must caress the details, the divine details" - The authors have done this in this obvious labor of love. Probably one of the top five books ever written on the geography and history of Wisconsin.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars nice maps, weak text, March 20, 1999

By	[e-mail] (SD, USA) - See all my reviews

The text seems to have been written for twelve-year-olds, but the maps are very nice and cover a satisfying variety of topics.

2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an accurate book from a Luxembourger's point of view, July 16, 1999

By	[e-mail] "mlwisc" (Ozaukee County, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

While I appreciate many sections of the book, the authors make the age-old mistake of equating Luxembourger immigrants with Germans or Germanic-speaking peoples. That's like equating the Finns with Russians by virtue of geographic location. It just is not accurate. Luxembourgers settled in Ozaukee County as early as 1845 or so. They did not then and still do not today equate themselves with being German in any manner or form! In fact, many immigrants from the Palatinate, Hesse, the Trier area, etc., considered themselves to be more like Luxembourgers in identity.

Luxembourgers have a unique, rich history all of their own and it is constantly overlooked by those not versed in Luxembourg history or immigration. So here we have another book where they as a unique ethnic population are non-entities---this would not happen if they were American Indians, that's for sure. Luxembourgers had one of the largest 19th century immigration settlements of the United States in what was old Washington County and would become Ozaukee County in 1853.

And are these authors SURE that the first cheese factory was in Sheboygan Falls? That's not the way I hear it living here in Ozaukee County, but that's open to interpretation.