The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes (Great Lakes Books) (Hardcover)

by Charles K. Hyde (Author), Ann Mahan (Author), John Mahan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The definitive guide to lighthouses on the Great Lakes.

From the Publisher
Symbols of safety, reassurance, and guidance, lighthouses hold a special fascination for many people. On the Great Lakes, lighthouses—"northern lights"—helped to open the region to settlement and supported the growth of commercial trade. To this day, they continue to light the way for thousands of recreational boaters.

In this definitive guide to the lighthouses of the Great Lakes, Charles Hyde describes the histories of more than one hundred and sixty individual lighthouses that still exist in Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and the straits of Mackinac.

Featuring more than two hundred color photographs, "The Northern Lights" captures the beauty, history, and significance of lighthouses on the Great Lakes, and illuminates the rich maritime history of the region.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814325548
• ISBN-13: 978-0814325544
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great book on the Great Lakes, March 22, 2000

By	Susan K. Thompson "aka Susy Kysely Thompson" (East Troy, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The endpapers of this book feature an 1848 map of lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The evolution of the Lighthouse Board and the Fresnel lens are accompanied with historical photos as the book moves toward the 20th century. There are even some sequential photos of early training exercises for keepers and rescue workers. Readers then get to meet some of those keepers and their families, not in dry biographies, but in colorful accounts and memoirs. Once acquainted with these brave men and women, the tour of the Great Lakes lights begins, and sometimes I think that you see these lights today through their eyes. There is a pride in those that have been lovingly preserved, and a sadness for those in ruins. Each light covered has its historical significance and photo; some lights have more than one. A great many of the shots are aerial views, all in all a treat for any lighthouse buff.