“Extraordinarily rich in depth and detail, this book is more than a guide. It is really a traveler's companion. Too many people pass through Mid-Michigan on the way to someplace else. The engaging histories and concise contemporary portraits of the cities, towns, and natural spaces of the area should certainly encourage a deeper appreciation and even a longer visit to this complex and very intriguing section of the state. Not just for travelers, the feel the book gives for the area should inspire visitors and residents alike.”

—Francis Blouin, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Michigan, author of Processing the Past: Contesting Authority in History and the Archives and Taming the Wild Field: Colonization and Empire on the Russian Steppe

“In the best spirit of the Federal Writers’ Project, here is a guidebook written from the ground up, collaboratively, by Michiganders who’ve gone exploring in their cities and rural communities, woodlands, and library stacks, and returned with many stories to tell. It’s a rich, lively, and complex self-portrait of a place—and a call for us to go exploring, too."

—Scott Borchert, author of Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers to Rediscover America

“Exploring Mid-Michigan: A Guide to Flint, the Saginaw Valley, and the Thumb is a deep dive into the history of a named place—Michigan’s Saginaw River Valley. But as the editors and writers warn, this volume is not a catalogue of roadside attractions, hotels, eateries, and the like. Rather it is a rich, fascinating, sobering, and multifaceted collection of essays based upon scientific research, personal experience, and collective memory that allow us to see the richness of this region of Michigan. Perhaps more important still, these remarkable essays summon us ‘to the higher calling of learning as much as we can about the place[s] we live.’ This guide has much to teach us all.”

—Laura B. DeLind, Department of Anthropology and the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, emerita, Michigan State University 

“Exploring Mid-Michigan is a tour de force, introducing locals and tourists to the struggles and dreams of Flint and its watershed. Inspired by the Federal Writers’ Project, it restores humanity to a misunderstood region and tells a new (and much-needed) American story.”

—Sharon Ann Musher, Professor of History at Stockton University and author of Promised Lands: Hadassah Kaplan and the Legacy of American Jewish Women in Early Twentieth-Century Palestine and Democratic Art: The New Deal’s Influence on American Culture

“A lively, intelligent, and thoughtful guide to Mid-Michigan, this volume is a worthy successor to the state guides produced by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and ’40s.”

—Fern L. Nesson, author of the online series Travels with the WPA State Guides