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The authors, Ron Beaupre and Skip Gillham, both of whom are past MHSD Historian of the Year award winners, have put together a comprehensive look at this saltwater fleet whose vessels were familiar sights on freshwater in the early days of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The book includes many photos and a detailed history of each ship.

"Manchester Liners: Great Lakes Pioneers,” by Ron Beaupre and Skip Gillham, 2012. 68 pages; softcover, $25 (postage included); Available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0.

It’s clear from this detailed account that Chicago would not be the world-class city that it is today without the efforts of ship captain, business owner and politician James S. Dunham. His life during the 1800s was the embodiment of everything that is and was Chicago maritime, and his life story reveals how the maritime community in Chicago shaped the city’s waterfront and the image the city presents to the world today. Dunham died in 1901, but his contributions live on thanks to the work of author and historian Thomas J. Lutz. Ship fans will find the appendix of vessels owned/operated by Dunham and his associates an added bonus.

“Shaping Chicago: James S. Dunham’s Crusade for the River” by Thomas J. Lutz, 2012 Softcover, 216 pages, 100 illustrations, $21.95 plus s-h and www.in-deptheditions.com

The S/S City of Milwaukee is currently a National Historic Landmark as well as a member of the Historic Naval Ship Association. Built at the beginning of the Great Depression, the City of Milwaukee shuttled railcars across Lake Michigan for over 50 years. She is now moored in Manistee, Mich., and is open to the public as a floating museum. This is her story, told in words and pictures.

“Last Ark of the Railroad: The Steam Ship City of Milwaukee,” Dominic R. Sondy, 2012 Softcover, 72 pages, many photographs, $17.50, from Amazon.com

These two discs from the Wisconsin-based company Plets Express, previously available on several video tapes and now gathered together on DVD, contain plenty of footage of classic lakers and salties. The DVDs show vessels up close and in action at various ports, rivers, locks, and lakes. Each DVD shows about 50 different ships each and an on/off narration option is a nice touch. Among the classics on “See the Ships” (run time 75 minutes) are the Alpena, Buckeye, Algocen, Chief Wawatam, Myron C. Taylor, E.M. Ford and Edward L. Ryerson. The salties DVD (run time 80 minutes) includes footage of Vamand Wave, Federal Asahi, Millenium Condor, Yosemite, Pochard and Federal Maas. In addition to the maritime DVDs, Plets has also released the DVDS “Lake Superior’s Scenic Adventures, exploring the lake’s north shore (Vol. 1) and south shore (Vol. 2). Many lighthouses are included.

“See the Ships Vol. 1” and “See the Salties Vol. 1”   DVD's by Plets Express, $24.95 each plus s-h available from  www.pletsexpress.com

“Ships of the Great Lakes,” written and produced by Leonard Brown, takes viewers aboard a 1,000-foot Great Lakes freighter. The story is set using the motor vessel Oglebay Norton (now American Integrity) as a backdrop. As the ship carries coal to Silver Bay, Minn., and taconite iron ore to Indiana Harbor, Ind., the story unfolds and leads viewers through the history of Great Lakes shipping and gives the history of the various landmarks as the vessel passes by. Also: Dive 530 feet below the waters of Lake Superior to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, see the Soo Locks, watch how ships get their mail and experience what its like to ride through gale force winds.

Profusely-illustrated volume traces the history of the Steinbrenner family’s Kinsman fleet from its founding in 1901 with the steamer Henry Steinbrenner to its demise at the end of 2002, when the Kinsman Independent laid up.  In between can be found the history of one of the most successful independent shipping lines to sail under the U.S. flag.  The book looks at each vessel, not only during its tenure with Kinsman, but also before and after it became affiliated with the company, in the process touching on the stories of many historic lakers and fleets. This is a valuable book for historians and ship fans alike.

This handsome, coffee table-style book is subtitled “A Unique Study of the Maritime Heritage of the Great Lakes From an Artist’s Viewpoint,” and that sums things up nicely. McGreevy, considered one of the finest maritime artists anywhere, offers a book that juxtaposes his superb renditions with the stories of the vessel or situation depicted. An accomplished scuba diver, a number of his works offer a unique underwater perspective of shipwrecks. With his well-trained eye for detail, McGreevy brings Great Lakes maritime history alive in this high quality volume that touches on the ages of sail and steam as well a modern shipwreck disasters and the Great Storm of 1913.

“Lost Legends of the Lakes” Robert McGreevy, 2011, 128 pages, hardcover, illustrated; $42.50. Available at www.mcgreevy.com.

The "Turkey Trail" was the route along a narrow and twisting course in the North Channel followed by steamers servicing settlers on the north shore of Lake Huron. This book, by Canadian historian Longhurst, looks at the passenger and package freight vessels that plied this route. The vessels are mostly but memories (the final sailing on this route was in 1963), but it is important to remember the role these staunch craft played in the lives of families living in the northern Lake Huron area of Canada who depended on vessels such as the Waubuno, Chicora, Manitou and Manitoulin for their very existence.

“Steamers of the Turkey Trail” G.I. “Buck” Longhurst, 2011, 136 pages, softcover, many black and white photos; $25.00. Available from Gore Bay & Western Manitoulin Museum, P.O. Box 222, Gore Bay, ON, P0P 1H0

A trio of Canadian marine historians (Longhurst and Gillham are past Marine Historical Society of Detroit Historian of the Year award recipients) has tackled two relatively recent fleets familiar to ship fans. Soo River, founded by Robert S. Pierson, lasted from 1975 to 1982, until it was forced out of business by an economic downturn. Many of their vessels – known for their handsome paint jobs and shamrock-graced smokestacks – wound up with P&H Shipping (Parrish & Heimbecker), which operated them from 1982-2001. The research is impeccable, and many black and white illustrations help tell the story of two independent fleets that have since joined the pages of history.

“The Soo River Company & P&H Shipping Fleets”  Buck Longhurst, David Bull, Skip Gillham; 2011, $25.00, 98 pages, softcover. Available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0

After the Grand Trunk car ferry Milwaukee was lost with a crew of 52 men in an October 1929 storm, it was replaced by the City of Milwaukee. Built in 1931, the ferry operated for half a century, hauling railcars across Lake Michigan. She survives today as the last unaltered example of a Great Lakes railroad car ferry designed with twin stacks, a classic profile and triple-expansion engines. Now a museum ship, the vessel serves as a living memorial to the car ferries and the dedicated crews that sailed them. With access to the City of Milwaukee’s archives and numerous private collections, car ferry historians Art Chavez and Bob Strauss have gathered a variety of vintage and contemporary photos and documents. Along with detailed captions, they reveal the pictorial history of this enduring car ferry that now resides in Manistee, Mich.

“SS City of Milwaukee”  Art Chavez and Bob Strauss; 2011, $21.95, 128 pages. Order from www.arcadiapublishing.com
 

This profusely-illustrated, full-color volume examines the activity that occurs on board lake boats throughout the Great Lakes shipping season. It looks not only on the outside, but the inside too, starting with the engine room and continuing into the pilothouse, out on deck and in the galley. Plenty of “people” pictures help give the book additional depth. Author Patrick Lapinski is clearly an expert on his subject and it shows in this well-researched and informative effort.

“Ships of the Great Lakes: An Inside Look at the World’s Largest Inland Fleet”  Patrick D. Lapinski; 2011, $34.95, 126 pages, softcover. Available from a variety of booksellers, including www.amazon.com

On May 21, 1891, the lumber schooner Thomas Hume and its crew of seven sailed out of Chicago into a spring storm, and was never seen again. The disappearance has lingered as one of the great unsolved mysteries of the Great Lakes. More than a century after its disappearance, the discovery of the wreck of the Thomas Hume solved the mystery. However, the collection of shoes, clothing, jewellery, coins and tools found inside generated even more questions.  An archaeological investigation by Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and the Lakeshore Museum Center has attempted to solve the riddles posed by the shipwreck. After survey dives, historical research, and detective-like reasoning, the team pieced together not only the vessel’s career, but how its crew lived, worked, and died on the lake.

“Unsolved Mysteries: The Shipwreck Thomas Hume”  Valerie van Heest and William Lafferty, 2011, $19.95, 128 pages, softcover. Available from in-depth editions, www.in-deptheditions.com

Bayswater Shipping Limited was active from 1946 to 1967, and their small pre-Seaway self-unloaders Bayanna, Baygeorge, Bayfair, Bayquinte, Bayfair and the chartered Dolomite were familiar sights in the coal trade, especially at smaller, shallower ports. Besides a complete history of all the vessels, with a very nice color photo gallery, the book includes a touching finale that details the last trip of the Baygeorge. Without efforts like this, it would be easy to forget forever some of these smaller fleets that served an important niche until overtaken by larger vessels and doomed by changing economic demands and current operations.

"Bayswater Shipping" Tom Brewer & Skip Gillham; 2011, softcover with photos, 44 pages. $20.00 (includes shipping). Order from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0
 

Since the beginning of commerce on the Great Lakes, there has been a desire to build larger and more efficient ships culminating in 1972 with the commissioning of the first 1,000-foot vessel to sail on the inland seas, the Stewart J. Cort. This book tells the story of each of the 13 1,000-foot ships, including their unique operational histories and the purposes for which they were built. Included are numerous never-before-published photographs portraying these vessels in their previous and current operations.

"Superships of the Great Lakes: Thousand-Foot Ships of the Great Lakes"  Raymond A. Bawal, Jr.; 2011, softcover with photos, 104 pages. $19.95. Order from: www.inlandexpressions.com
 

It almost seems as if Lower Lakes Towing / Grand River Navigation haven’t been around long enough to warrant a fleet history, but time flies and a look at this book reveals there’s plenty to write about.  “The Grey Ghosts” covers the company’s modest beginnings in 1994, with a tug and barge, and follows along as the first vessel is purchased in 1995, tracking additional acquisitions and even a few scrappings.  There are many photos present to help tell the stories of the vessels that make up the fleet, and each boat’s history is also recounted in detail.  One part of the book recounts a trip on the Saginaw and another offers a look inside the logistics of keeping the company running. In the past 20 years, the Great Lakes have lost many familiar shipping companies to consolidation and economic constraints.  It comes as almost a relief to read about a successful newcomer, especially so when the company’s vessel roster includes so many classic lakers that were thought to have reached the end of their useful lives until Lower Lakes/Grand River put them back to work.
 
The Grey Ghosts: The Ships of Lower Lakes Towing and Grand River Navigation; Steven Duff, Buck Longhurst and Skip Gillham; 2010, softcover with many photos, 140 pages. $25 (includes shipping). Order from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0
 

Canadian ship historians / authors Jay Bascom and Skip Gillham have joined forces for what must surely be the only published work to delve into such great detail about the early years of this important fleet. The volume lists vessels owned or managed by CSL up until World War II (vessels from then onward have already been described in Gillham’s earlier book, “Postwar Ships of Canada Steamship Lines”), and includes many really rare photos. Starting with the A.E. Ames and ending with the Wyoming, this book is a treasure-trove of maritime history that might otherwise have been lost to time.

The Early Ships of Canada Steamship Lines; Jay Bascom and Skip Gillham, 2010. Softcover, 234 pages, with photos. $30.00 (add $10 postage to the U.S., $5 to Canada) available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0

This small booklet is a remembrance of the Torrence family’s relationship with the Algoma Central fleet and its self-unloader Algoport, which sank on saltwater Sept. 9, 2009 while being towed to China for a new forebody. The book contains over 30 photographs, a reproduction of the launch invitation and souvenir launch booklet, the fleet booklet for the Algoport, as well as other ship diagrams and maps.

M/V Algoport; Chris and Andy Torrence, 2010. Softcover, 72 pages, with photos and diagrams. $34.95 available from www.lulu.com

Author and diver Valerie van Heest recounts the worst disaster on the open waters of the Great Lakes, when the sidewheel steamer Lady Elgin sank in Lake Michigan on September 8, 1860, taking with it over 300 passenger, mostly Irish from Milwaukee’s Third Ward. This well-researched historical narrative tells the story of the Lady Elgin set against the backdrop of a pivotal presidential election during the golden age of passenger travel on the Great Lakes. The book describes in detail the loss of the steamer, and recounts the discovery of the vessel’s remains more than a century after the disaster. No dry recounting of history, this vividly written volume is difficult to put down.

Lost on the Lady Elgin; Valerie van Heest, 2010. Hardcover, 168 pages. $26.95 available from In-depth Editions, www.in-deptheditions.com

In June 1910, a new steam ferry for the Toronto Island Company was launched and christened Trillium. Now, 100 years after its debut, Toronto columnist Mike Filey revisits the history of this notable landmark with the centennial edition of Trillium and Toronto Island. Updated with new photographs and introductory commentary, this anniversary edition of the book details the remarkable journey of one of Toronto’s most interesting treasures.

Trillium and Toronto Island: The Centennial Edition; Mike Filey, 2010. Softcover, 120 pages with photos. $24.99 available from Dundurn Press (www.dundurn.com)

By now, many folks who follow the Great Lakes know that Dennis Hale was the only survivor of the steamer Daniel J. Morrell, which sank on Lake Huron in late November 1966. This book serves as his autobiography, not only relating the sad story of the shipwreck and its aftermath, but also delving into Hale’s troubled childhood and his life as reckless young man in search of a sense of family.

Although he’s written about the shipwreck before, this self-published volume delves deeper into the emotional side of the story. Hale goes into great detail about what he saw, heard and felt during his near-death experience and also shares details about a mysterious visitor aboard the raft who warned him to stop eating the ice to quench his thirst.

One thing that’s clear – Hale is a survivor in more ways than one. He’s led quite a life and, lucky for readers, he decided to write it all down.

Shipwrecked: Reflections of the Sole Survivor; Dennis Hale, 2010. 312 pages, with photos. $23.95. Order direct from the author by mail (click for order form) or by e-mail, dennishale@windstream.net.

The Canadian steamer Wexford’s fateful final voyage was full of opportunities to be saved from destruction, but 24-year-old captain Bruce Cameron’s persistence in trying to make port at Goderich led to tragedy – she was a victim of the storm of 1913. Over a period of 87 years, Wexford eluded many efforts to locate her remains, but was finally discovered in 2000. This story traces her history from her British origins in 1883, through the transition to become a laker, the eventful storm, the search, her ultimate discovery in southern Lake Huron and the controversy over how she should be protected. The author recently, and deservedly, received the Save Ontario Shipwrecks Marine Heritage Award.

The Wexford: Elusive Shipwreck of the Great Storm, 1913; Paul Carroll, 2010; 328 pages, illustrated; $30 from Dundurn Press
(www.dundurn.com)

This stunning, hard-cover volume offers 215 beautiful color aerial photos with close-ups of every lighthouse on Lake Michigan, as well as scenic area views to show locations. Index maps for each state are included. Marge Beaver has an eye for lighthouses and it shows in this self-published book, a must for fans of the genre.

Above the Lighthouses: Lake Michigan; Marge Beaver, 2010; hard cover, 208 pages, lavishly illustrated; $49.95, free shipping from www.photography-plus.com. Personalization available for online orders.

“Greenwood’s Guide to Great Lakes Shipping,” revived last year after a short hiatus, is back and even more comprehensive than the 2009 edition. Its 27 tabbed sections offer an array of details on fleets, vessel compartment capacities, horsepower, ore docks, grain elevators, coal docks, shipyards and dry docks, steamship agents, brokers, freight forwarders, stevedores, surveyors, maritime attorneys, insurers, vessel operations services and more, offering a lot of information that’s almost impossible to find anywhere else.  In addition to what’s inside, the cover features new original artwork by Paul C. LaMarre, and a sturdy spiral binding holds the pages in place and makes for easy reference.

Greenwood’s Guide to Great Lakes Shipping 2010 (Harbor House Publishers Inc., 121 Water St., Boyne City, MI 49712; $80; available from the publisher at www.greenwoodsguide.com in book form, as well as on CD for $65 or as a searchable PDF for $45)

Fans of Dick Metz’s sea stories on the BoatNerd.com Web site will already be familiar with some of the recollections he shares in this, his second such volume. Still, it is nice to have them collected in this way, and illustrated with a number of black and white photos. Metz enjoyed a long career on the Great Lakes, many of them spent with the Soo River Co. and the Parish & Heimbecker fleets under the Canadian flag, and his insider observations are fascinating.

Life Aboard A Laker From 1964 To 1999; Capt. Richard D. Metz, 2010; 212 pages, illustrated. $20 (US orders) or $25 (Canadian orders) from Capt. R. Metz, 5291 Manor Rd., Rhinelander, WI 54501

This is the second in a series of books authored by Gillham on overseas shipping companies that pioneered regular cargo service to the Great Lakes. This volume covers the ships of the Dutch firm Oranje Lijn that came to the lakes from 1938-1969. Vessels such as Princess Irene and Prins Alexander were familiar sights once the Seaway opened in 1959, carrying passengers and freight. One of them, Prins Willem V, met with an unfortunate accident in 1954 when it was struck by barge and sunk off Milwaukee. Gillham’s book not only offers details of the fleet’s many vessels, but also their eventual disposition. Many rare black and white photos, along with Gillham’s in-depth research, help make the book complete.

Oranje Lijn: Great Lakes Pioneers; Skip Gillham, 2010; 64 pages, illustrated; available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0; $25

Historian Brendon Baillod provides an in-depth study of Wisconsin’s maritime history, including detailed port histories of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Port Washington. “Fathoms Deep” also includes details on every commercial vessel ever lost in southeast Wisconsin waters, totaling well over 400 lost ships, as well as complete information on every documented vessel ever built in southeast Wisconsin, for a total of more than 1,000 ships detailed in the book. This book – the result of 20 years of research – is the first comprehensive inventory ever assembled of southeast Wisconsin ships and shipwrecks. All proceeds from this book help the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association is its efforts to document historic sites.

Fathoms Deep But Not Forgotten: Wisconsin’s Lost Ships; Brendon Baillod, 2010; Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association; many historic photos and maps; $24.95, www.wuaa.org

This book features photos taken by Peter Francis Groh over the years and compiles them in a coffee table-style book. Some photos include the C.T.C. No.1 in South Chicago and the John Sherwin. This book is the culmination of five years of boat chasing and its pages are filled with the author's passion for both the Great Lakes and its boats.

Great Lakes Freighters; Peter Francis Groh, 2010; soft or hardcover, 40 pages, 74 photos; $20 + $7 s-h, www.grohs-photography.com or from the author at Peter Groh, 1815 Tivoli Lane, Sheboygan, Wis., 53081

Tom Langmyer's lavishly-illustrated volume combines narration, factual summaries, photography, maps and antique postcards to tell the story of this vast inland sea. Starting with the Ice Age, the book chronicles its discovery, battles for its control, settlement, development and population growth along its shores. Cities and towns around Lake Erie (including Detroit and the Detroit River) are highlighted and readers can get a glimpse of life aboard a 1,000-footer, thanks to a trip by the author aboard the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. Use this book as a armchair travel guide, or take it along for your own journey around the lake.

Lake Erie: History and Views; Tom Langmyer, 2009; 298 pages, softcover, spiral bound, many color photos and reproductions of historic postcards; $45; www.lakeeriehistory.com

Author Craig Rich explores in fascinating detail the history of shipping accidents around Ottawa County, near Grand Haven and Holland, Mich. As sail gave way to steam, vessels continued to fall victim to treacherous seas, fog, fire and ice. Read about the two-masted schooner Sylvanus Marvin (lost in 1850), the steamer H.C. Ackley (1883), Post Boy (1905), Wisconsin (1929) and nearly 100 more.

For Those In Peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County, Michigan; Craig Rich, 2010. 136 pages, black and white photos; $17.95; www.craigrich.net

In May 2005, Canadian singer-songwriters David Francey and Mike Ford were granted the opportunity to spend two weeks aboard the M/V Algoville. They sailed from Montreal to Thunder Bay and back along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the inland seas of the Great Lakes. This CD is a collection of songs inspired by that trip. Songs include “Banks of the Seaway,” “The Chief Engineer,” “When You’re the Skip” and “Climbing Up to the Soo.” If you’re a fan of Lee Murdock and other Great Lakes minstrels, “Seaway” is an equally excellent collection of thoughtful, well-played music.

AUDIO CD: Seaway; David Francey and Mike Ford, 2009; 16 songs; $23; www.davidfrancey.com

Log your freighter and other vessel observations in this handy, spiral-bound booklet that can be used on its own, or as a companion to “Know Your Ships.” This book can be used in two ways, one as a simple log. The other way is to use the indexing function to log ships in such as way that you can track all of your sightings of a ship and also accommodate name and ownership changes. Sample pages are included to get vessel enthusiasts off on the right foot.

Wilson Freighter Observer’s Logbook; Christopher Wilson. 50 sheets duplex, 2 forms per sheet allowing 200 observations per book; $14.95; Order at www.votingindustry.com/freighter/

This is the latest in a series of publications featuring Canadian Great Lakes shipping fleets focusing on the different ships that have operated on their behalf. The book starts with an Algoma fleet history (the roots of the company began in the late 1800s), then details each vessel that served its interests from that time until the present day. Tugs, barges, lakers and tankers – many with the prefix ALGO beginning their names – are all detailed, including the recent loss of the Algoport. There are many rare photos herein, including several interior shots, and listings of masters and chief engineers from select years. This is an incredibly complete volume chock full of many of the details ship fans love. This is another valuable addition to Gillham’s growing body of work chronicling the ships that sail the lakes.

The Ships of the Algoma Central Corporation, E.B. “Skip” Gillham; 2010; (Available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON  L0R 2CO; 202 pages, many photos; $30.

Author Ric Mixter invites readers to experience four shipwrecks through the eyes of the men who were at the helm. Len Gabrysiak wheeled the Cedarville when it was cut down in a thick fog in the Mackinac Straits in 1965. Lloyd Belcher was one of the 17 men rescued from the Novadoc, lost in Lake Michigan’s Armistice Day storm of 1940. Helmsman Ray O’Malley was only at the wheel for a few second when a mysterious explosion sank the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba with 100 of its crew. Revisit the loss of these vessels, and take a harrowing ride through the Great Storm of 1913 as Ed Kanaby reflects on the tempest that he and his ship survived only because he beached his ship in lower Lake Huron. It’s fascinating to read about these tragedies first-hand and from a point of view not usually recorded.

The Wheelsman, Ric Mixter; 2010; 194 pages, softcover, many black and white photos; $19.95. www.lakefury.com
 

This collaboration offers a chronology of more than 300 vessels scrapped in Hamilton, Port Colborne, St. Catharines and Port Maitland, Ont., from 1936 to the present. It’s amazing to see how many vessels made their last trips to Hamilton and Niagara-area cutters. Many of the photos that illustrate this volume are rare, showing some of the vessels at the height of their careers, and others during the sad demolition process. Scrap yards include Stelco, United Metals and Marine Salvage, which among them cut up many a proud laker. “Final Voyage II” is a fitting memorial.

Final Voyage II: Ships Scrapped in Hamilton and Niagara, Ron Beaupré and Skip Gillham; 2009; (Available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0, 190 pages, $30)

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario’s A.B. McLean & Sons gets a fine profile from the prolific Canadian vessel historians Buck Longhurst and Skip Gillham. The firm, founded by A.B. McLean in 1898 with the tug Seagull, operated until 1994, almost 100 years. In that time, the company operated dozens of tugs and barges, such as Miseford, Edward C. Whalen, Twin Ports, T.F. Newman and more, all of which are profiled here. The excellent, and very rare, photos that are included make this volume a real treat, especially if you like tugs (don’t miss the fine color shot of the Strathbogie on the back cover!).

A.B. McLean & Sons, G.I. “Buck” Longhurst and E.B. “Skip” Gillham; 2009; (Available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON  L0R 2CO; 86 pages, many photos. $25).

“Greenwood’s Guide to Great Lakes Shipping,” last published in 2005 by the late John Greenwood, is back.  Harbor House Publishers acquired Greenwood's Guide and Lake Boats earlier this year and, after a complete revision and redesign, has released the 2009 edition.  The book’s 26 tabbed sections offer a vast array of details on Fleets, Compartment Capacities, Fuel Used by Vessels and Horsepower, Ore Docks, Grain Elevators, Coal Docks, Shipyards & Drydocks, Steamship Agents / Brokers / Forwarders / Stevedores and more.  There’s a lot of information here that’s not easily found elsewhere, which makes it valuable for industry professionals as well as serious ship fans.

Steam-powered freighters, once the mainstay of the Great Lakes fleet, are rapidly dwindling in number. It may come as a surprise to know that there were only 20 active carriers that are steam powered by the end of the 2008 shipping season. This amply-illustrated volume documents those that are still in service, from the 1906-built St. Marys Challenger, to the Canadian Leader, built in 1967. Black and white photos, mostly current views rather than those of a more historical nature, show the vessels at work. If you want detailed individual histories of each of these 20 vessels, plus a brief overview of steam power on the Lakes, this well-researched book provides it.

This volume, the latest in a series of works tracing the history of Canadian-flag vessel operators, concerns the fleets managed by Robert A. Campbell from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. Illustrated with plenty of photos, the book includes complete histories of several dozen vessels from the obscure (Jolly Inez, Saracen) to the familiar (Silver Isle, Senneville, Golden Hind), some of which are still with us today under other names. It’s great to revisit the stories of the Mohawk Deer, a victim of the Great Storm of 1913; the Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, the “Red boats” (Redfern, Red Cloud, Redriver and others); the Capt. C.D. Secord and many others. Anyone who wonders what happened to the old Tecumseh (later  New York News) will find the answer here, and lots more as well.

Beaconsfield, Mohawk and the Red Barges, Gene Onchulenko and Skip Gillham, 2009 (126 pages, many photos; $25, available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0)

The mix of black and white and color photographs in this book show a slice of industrial America rarely seen by the general public. These images, contemporary and historic, take readers to all of the primary loading and unloading ports from Lake Superior to Lake Erie. View how cargoes are loaded at the grain terminals of Thunder Bay, the ore docks of Minnesota’s north shore or the Midwest Energy coal dock in Superior. See where the ships and cargoes go on the Cuyahoga River, the Ford plant on Detroit’s Rouge River or inside the heart of the U.S. Steel Works in Gary.

Photographer and historian Lapinski (and the other photographers represented here) has a good eye for composition, and the accompanying text is well-written and informative. For a behind-the-scenes look at lake boats and the ports they serve, this book gets the job done.

Great Lakes Shipping Ports & Cargoes, Patrick D. Lapinski, 2009 (160 pages, $34.95, Iconografix, P.O. Box 446, Hudson, WI 545016, www.iconografixinc.com )

Skip Gillham’s latest (a revision of an earlier work) tells the history of shipbuilders located around the Welland Canal area, starting with the fabrication of wooden schooners up to the construction of steel bulk carriers. Yards like those run by Louis Shickluna, Muir Brothers, E.B. McGee Ltd. and Port Weller Dry Docks are listed along with the vessels they built, some of which are still with us today. This is a complete and authoritative work, another of many authored by Gillham.

Shipbuilding in Niagara 1828 – 2008, Skip Gillham, 2008, (46 pages, illustrated; $16 from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, Ont. L0R 2C0)

Canadian historian Buck Longhurst offers a look at the five Purvis brothers of Sault Ste, Marie, Ont., the fishing enterprises they created, and the various fishing vessels they employed. Many rare photographs help bring the Purvis story to life in a very personal way, aided by a handy family tree. What a life this must have been, and it is captured very handily here.

Purvis Brothers Fisheries: A Family Tradition, G.I. “Buck” Longhurst, 2009 (88 pages, many photos; $25; available from the Gore Bay & Western Manitoulin Museum, P.O. Box 222, Gore Bay, Ont. P0P 1H0)

inger/songwriter and guitarist Lee Murdock has released his 16^th CD, containing more of his signature Great Lakes-themed tunes. There are some tasty treats here, including the bluesy, spoken-word “The Alva C. Dinky of the Tin Stack Fleet” and “The Lady of Old Maumee Bay,” celebrating the restoration of the Toledo Harbor lighthouse. “Up Anchor” is another traditional tune from the Ivan Walton Collection, “Eight Bells” and “Up Anchor” are jaunty treats and “Just Five Minutes” tells the story of a sailor who fell from the steamer Buckeye a few years back, and survived the swim to shore. 

Strong songs by Murdock and others, coupled with Sue Demel’s harmony vocals and the backing of a tight, but never overpowering band, make this CD a treat. Play it while chasing boats, or heading for your next lighthouse tour. It’ll get you in the mood, guaranteed.

The View From the Harbor, 2009, Lee Murdock (CD, $15, 11 songs, www.leemurdock.com)

With numerous photographs and engaging stories, “Deckhand” offers an insider's view of duties both mundane and intriguing performed by deckhands on Great Lakes cargo vessels.  Boisterous saloons, ice jams, and the daily drudgery of soogeying – cleaning dirt and grime off the ships – are just a few of the experiences Mickey Haydamacker had as a young deckhand working on freighters of the Great Lakes in the early 1960s. Haydamacker sailed five Interlake Steamship Company boats, from the modern Elton Hoyt 2nd to the ancient coal-powered Colonel James Pickands, with its backbreaking tarp-covered hatches.

“Deckhand” will appeal to shipping buffs and to anyone interested in Great Lakes shipping and maritime history as it chronicles the adventures of living on the lakes from the seldom-seen view of a deckhand.  For those who are interested in the subject, “Deckhand” is hard to put down.

Deckhand: Life on Freighters of the Great Lakes, Nelson "Mickey" Haydamacker with Alan D. Millar, 2009; 152 pages, with 32 color photographs; $18.95; http://www.press.umich.edu

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation announces the publication of “The St. Lawrence Seaway: Fifty Years and Counting,” an official history of the waterway’s first five decades. The corporation commissioned the book to commemorate the Seaway’s 50^th  anniversary in 2009.  The 120-page book is roughly half text/half photos, with all the images  selected to illustrate and enhance the text. Toronto-based writer D’Arcy Jenish spent two years on the project. “The St. Lawrence Seaway” captures every major development and setback of the first 50 years and concludes with a snapshot of the future as seen by shipping company executives, shippers and the SLSMC itself.  

This is the first time that the complete history of the Seaway has been compiled in one volume. The SLSMC has printed a limited number of copies in English and French, but the corporation has also approved a commercial press run of the English edition.
The St. Lawrence Seaway: Fifty Years and Counting, D'Arcy Jenish, 2009 (Order direct from D’Arcy Jenish, 15 Dagwell Cres., Ajax, ON, L1T 3M8; $50.00 incl. book, GST, mailer & postage within Canada; 120 Pages)

On a warm summer afternoon in 1927 off South Haven, Mich., an old barge began taking on water. Realizing their vessel would inevitably sink, the crew escaped to the accompanying tug, and watched as their ship plunged beneath Lake Michigan. Its loss unlamented, its career unheralded, it slumbered on the sandy bottom in the same obscurity that had shrouded its earlier work days as a steam freighter sailing the Great Lakes. However, the vessel’s anonymity ended in 2006 when Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates located the sunken wreck of the Hennepin. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the world’s first self-unloading vessel.
 
“Buckets and Belts: Evolution of the Great Lakes Self-Unloader” traces more than a century of innovative technological advancements in the conveying of bulk cargos from the Hennepin’s conversion to a self-unloader in 1902 to today’s 1,000-foot long lakers. What’s surprising is how little the actual design of the unloading equipment has changed over the decades.
 
Enhanced with the most comprehensive collection of self-unloader images ever published and dozens of underwater photographs, the book also explores the lives of the people who designed these vessels, the crewmen who sailed them and the self-unloaders that went to the bottom of the lakes. This book is long overdue.

Buckets and Belts: Evolution of the Great Lakes Self-Unloader, William Lafferty and Valerie van Heest, 2009 (In-depth Editions, www.in-deptheditions.com ; $24.95, 320 Pages, 275 photographs)

Breaking away from his series of books on Canadian fleet histories, Canadian marine historian and author Skip Gillham reissues and updates a book on the Welland Canal Mission originally authored by him and printed in 1982.  Published to honor the Mission's 140 years of ministry to sailors transiting the Welland Canal, the book discusses the history of the Mission with a chapter devoted to each of the 4 Chaplains who have served the Ministry since its inception in 1868.  Included are many photos of ships transiting the Canal in years gone by and the first-hand experiences witnessed by the author as he accompanied Chaplain Orr and more recently Chaplain Taylor on their pastoral visits to ships transiting the Welland Canal.  This is a most informative book on an essential yet maybe lesser known service provided to the crews of ships of all flags sailing the inland seas.

Welland Canal Mission: 140 Years of Ministry, E.B. “Skip” Gillham, 2009, 46 pages, softcover, many black and white photos (available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0,  $16)

Great Lakes sailor Edward L.M. Spicuzza has come out with both a self-published book and a DVD that offers a panoramic, insider’s view of the shipping scene.

“A Stern View” offers some great footage, the kind you can only get from working aboard the long ships, in this case vessels of the Oglebay Norton Co. and American Steamship Co. Spicuzza has a good eye for angles and movement, and his composition is first rate. The video shows the vessels in all kind of weather; the ice and foul weather shots are particularly impressive, as are those taken from atop the Mackinac Bridge. The soundtrack features well-chosen songs performed by Lee Murdock, Jill Jack and Carl Behrend.

The Marine Historical Society of Detroit has released it latest book, a complete history of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, a prominent Detroit area shipbuilder.  Over 500 pages, this hard-cover book took nearly four years to complete and is divided into two major sections, which are amply illustrated with more than 1,000 photographs.

The first section depicts GLEW’s three shipyards and their development at St. Clair, Ashtabula and the Detroit area from virtual marshlands to one of the most successful shipbuilding yards on the Great Lakes, until its demise in 1961.The second section is dedicated to the 300 plus vessels that were built by GLEW’s three yards, describing each vessel’s history in detail with most being accompanied by an outstanding number of photographs, many of which have never been published and are very rare.

The Great Lakes Engineering Works: The Shipyard And Its Vessels, the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, 2008.  This book is a small run limited edition and can only be ordered directly from the Society. The cost of the book is $59.95 in U.S. funds plus shipping and handling of $5 to U.S. addresses or $12 to Canadian addresses. Order on line http://mhsd.org/publications/GLEW/default.htm or send check or money order to Robert Pocotte, 606 Laurel Ave., Port Clinton, OH  43452-2127.

It was Thanksgiving 1905 and 31 ships were on Lake Superior, making the season's last run. What none of the sailors knew until it was too late was that they would soon face the worst storm ever to hit the Great Lake, a storm that nearly half of their number would not survive. This is the story of that fateful storm, and of one of the worst shipping disasters in the nation's history. Readers are taken aboard the steamer Mataafa as it crashes into Duluth's piers, half of the crew freezing to death overnight as the other half survives by dancing through the dark around bathtubs set ablaze with scuttled pieces of the ship. Next, go aboard the steamer Ira H. Owen, crashing into the cliff where Split Rock Lighthouse would later be built, too late for these men. This, a story drawn from the accounts of witnesses and survivors,  is a tale of people pitted against the elements, of a disaster so extreme that, in its wake, weather forecasting, shipbuilding and even compass-reading were changed forever.

So Terrible a Storm, Curt Brown, 2008, Voyageur Press, www.voyageurpress.com. 320 pages, hardbound, many black and white photos, $25

The fleet of tugs used by the Abitibi Power and Paper Co. in the pulpwood rafting trade, mostly on Lake Superior and Lake Nipigon during the middle part of the last century, are remembered in this latest book from these prolific Canadian authors. Tugs like Gargantua, Strathbogie and Nipigon are gone, but a few of the others continue on the lakes, converted to pleasure craft or at work for other owners. This is another essential addition to the series of Canadian fleet histories authored by Gillham and his rotating cast of co-authors.

Abitibi Tugs, G.I. “Buck” Longhurst and E.B. “Skip” Gillham, 2008, 126 pages, softcover, many black and white photos (available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0,  $25)

Don’t let the pirate on the cover fool you – this new DVD, which uses historical film and live commentary to chronicle the maritime activities of Henry Ford, is a fascinating glimpse into the building of Ford Motor Co.’s huge River Rouge, Mich., complex and the launching of a fleet of freighters to serve it. Capt’n Willie provides the nautical commentary (the one-hour DVD is aimed to educate kids as well as to inform adults), interpreting footage that includes the excavation of the slip at the Rouge, the assembly line that produced Eagle Boats for the U. S. Navy, construction of a Hulett ore unloader at the Rouge dock, Great Lakes freighters stockpiling raw materials at the dock, the blast furnace operation to make iron, the launching of the freighter Henry Ford II in 1924 at Lorain, Ohio, the launching of the Benson Ford in 1924 at River Rouge, the Ford family yacht Sialia, the creation of the Ford Fleet of tug boats and more. This the first of at least three such documentaries, made possible by an abundance of high-quality footage shot by Ford photographers, and the help of Detroit/Great Lakes historian John Polacsek.

Capt’n Willie’s Great Lakes Adventures: Henry Ford’s Maritime Heritage Part 1 1918-1927, DVD, 2008, Captain of the Fleet, Box 24697, Detroit, MI 48224 or www.captainofthefleet.com, $24.95 + $5 s-h)

Prolific Canadian historian Skip Gillham has joined with his equally-respected U.S. counterpart Daniel C. McCormick for this exhaustive guide to the small saltwater vessels that entered the Great Lakes in the years before the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. This differs a bit from Gillham’s previous efforts – there’s more text and fewer pictures, which have been included in a section at the back of the book. The information here is invaluable for the serious ship researcher, containing hard-to-find details about individual vessels and also the fleets that ran them. The authors suggest this is a starting point for others to continue similar research; if so, they have set the bar high.

Pre-Seaway Salties 1850-1958, Daniel C. McCormick and Skip Gillham, 2008, 194 pages with many black and white photos (available from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0, $30)

Patrick Livingston, author of “Eight Steamboats,” continues to delve into Great Lakes history, this time examining the Bob-Lo island amusement park south of Detroit that operated for nearly 100 years. Mention the word “Bob-lo” to longtime Detroiters and get ready for the string of memories that might well be released, recollections that will probably include the trip to the island on one of two steamboats, the Columbia or the Ste. Claire. This is the whole story, including not only the good times to be had on the island, but also the problems that doomed the park after the Detroit riots of the mid-1960s. Anyone seeking an example of how local history ought to be told need look no farther than “Summer Dreams.”

Summer Dreams: The Story of Bob-Lo Island, Patrick Livingston, 2008 (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Mich., $21.95, 208 pages, many black and white photos)

Surprising as it may seem, landlocked Ann Arbor’s name once graced the high bows of a number of staunch Great Lakes vessels. In 1892, the Ann Arbor car ferries – part of James Ashley’s Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan Railroad – began a cross-lake service to Wisconsin that many deemed impossible, especially in the winter when ice made West Michigan harbors nearly impenetrable. 
This volume details the battles ships (from the small Ann Arbor No. 1 to the powerful Ann Arbor No. 5, dubbed “The Bull of the Woods”) and men fought for nearly 100 years, not only against ice but fierce storms as well. In later years, another battle was fought, this one economic, that led to the suspension of service by the Ann Arbor boats in 1982. More than the story of ships and trains, “Ninety Years” is also the story of men, from the pioneering Ashley to those who commanded and crewed the ships, fighting battles with Lake Michigan in the years before radar and ship-to-shore radar. The book is very detailed, and should be considered an authoritative work on the topic. But it isn’t so dry that readers can fail to be moved by the thought of those huge Ann Arbor steamships smashing through the ice, smoke billowing and whistles moaning. Lots of black and white photos help tell the story of the days when Ann Arbor’s name was one to be reckoned with on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Ninety Years Crossing Lake Michigan: The History of the Ann Arbor Car Ferries, Grant Brown, Jr., 2008 (University of Michigan Press, www.press.umich.edu, 284 pages, $24.95)

“Sailor Girl” is a fictional coming-of-age tale set on the grain boats of Canada’s Great Lakes in the summer of 1981. It follows the literal and figurative journey of Kate McLeod, a rebellious photography student looking to earn money for school. She strikes out from her safe suburban origins to the closed world of the lakes and learns what it is to be tested to her limits. Using salty dialogue and gripping description, the book renders a sharp portrait of life lived on the edges of society. It is also a love story in which a middle-class girl finds a deep connection with the unruly young men and tough-minded women of the lakes. “Sailor Girl” is a uniquely Canadian story, one that preserves a vanishing part of the Great Lakes’ heritage.

Sailor Girl, Sheree-Lee Olson, 2008 (The Porcupine’s Quill, Inc., sentex.net, 288 pages, $27.95)

In this volume, 20 current Great Lakes vessels are described with detailed histories. Meant to showcase a cross-section of ships in operation on the Great Lakes, this book includes vessels ranging in size from the small Yankcanuck to the huge Paul R. Tregurtha. Many of the pictures were taken in the St. Clair area by the author – the historic Maumee graces the cover. The author has done his research, and it shows.

Ships of the St. Clair River, Raymond A. Bawal, Jr., 2008 (Inland Expressions, St. Clair, Mich., $19.95, many black and white photos, inlandexpressions.com )

The collision between the steamers Sidney E. Smith Jr. and Parker Evans took place June 5. 1972, near the Blue Water Bridge spanning the U.S. and Canada.  This is a detailed volume about the accident that led to the establishment of both Sarnia Traffic and one-way traffic under the Blue Water Bridge. This book follows the story through the histories of both vessels, the days leading up to the collision, the final moments before the crash and the monumental salvage effort to clear the channel. It's a fascinating look at a Great Lakes shipwreck that happened not so long ago.

Collision Under the Bridge, Jon Paul Michaels and Brent Michaels, 2008 (Bullhead Publishing, 86 pages; many black and white photos, drawings; $19.95)

Great Lakes marine photographer and historian Chris Winters spent five years creating a vivid record of life aboard steamer St. Marys Challenger as she approached the centennial anniversary of her maiden voyage in 2006. Reportedly the oldest operational freight ship in the world, the Challenger began her remarkable freshwater career on the Great Lakes on April 28, 1906 – six years before the launch of the Titanic. This is a stunning, hardcover record of an extraordinary ship, beautifully photographed and lovingly produced to exacting standards, with text capturing perfectly the magic that is a steamboat in action. Books like this are rare – despite the price, don’t leave this one on the shelves!

Centennial: Steaming Through the American Century, Chris Winters, 2008. 247 pages, hardcover, many current and historic photos, $50 + s-h, order at http://www.runninglightpress.com/books.php  or 414-257-4168