Michigan: A Bicentennial History

A good history of Michigan, but don't expect a lot of pictures.Not a complete history, and some things are glossed over. But still a very worthwhile read.

Catton covers two centuries in 11 chapters and just under 200 pages. The book is literally crammed with information in a mishmash of military acquisitions, missionaries, Native American tribes (at least a dozen are mentioned), woods runners, capitalists and (of coarse) politicians. However, Catton makes good use of brevity: he does not waste print on the minutiae of strategic military maneuverings as so many historians do, but rather he carefully selects and explores the details of the social and technological events that shaped the territory, the state and the nation (the "open shop" lumber industry, federal land grant programs, the Toledo strip, "wildcat" banks and the Great Railroad Conspiracy). As historians (and Michiganders) go, Catton is a romantic, and even melodramatic at times, but never boring. This book is thoroughly enjoyable.

I live in Ohio, but I was raised in Michigan. Reading this book once a year (as well as the MORNING TRAIN) reminds me of my place in the universe. If you want to know about Michigan, Bruce Catton delievers.