An interesting maritime novel on the tragedies on the Great Lakes. The author does a good job of presenting the stories and having first-hand accounts and photographs to further the story. A good read for the maritime fan.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This slim volume is a follow up of sorts to Gebhart’s earlier book Ships and Shipwrecks. Both are published by Michigan State University Press, and both tell stories from the history of shipping on the Great Lakes.

Gebhart has researched Great Lakes maritime history for four decades. He spent time as the director of the White River Light Station and Museum on Lake Michigan. His love of shipping on the Lakes comes through in the stories in this book. Gebhart is based in Detroit and most of the stories in this book have some connection to the city and the Detroit River.

The stories start in the 1850s with the Lady Elgin, a wooden sidewheeler that carried both freight and passengers. The Lady was 252 feet long, large for its era. Gebhart gives much of her back story before telling us of her tragic end.

From there we progress through time and place to the final chapter on the history of the barges and tankers that carried oil on the Great Lakes from the 1860s right up through the 1950s.

The book has a number of photos, and the stories are told with a fascinating level of detail that helps to pull you back to the time they took place.

Anyone who grew up in the states and provinces surrounding the Great Lakes and has felt the lure of the Lakes and the freighters that ply the freshwater seas would like this book.

Thank you for allowing me access to this manuscript. Unfortunately, I think what I received has nothing to do with the subject. Mistake?