Quote of the Day: "There have been few birds in the history of Michigan, indeed in the history of mankind, that have captured the imagination as did the passenger pigeon. Old timers who have seen a flight of pigeons were hard pressed to find words to describe the scene. Such enormous numbers of birds passing overhead would blot out the noonday sun, and for hours it would be as dark as midnight." Eugene T. Peterson in Michigan Perspectives: People, Events, and Issues. 1974.
Reviews
The Secret of Snow by Viola Shipman
In a half-dozen novels the author has proven to be a born storyteller and his latest burnishes that well-earned reputation. And yes, I said he. Viola Simpson is the name de plume of Wade Rouse who chose the pseudonym to honor is grandmother. This latest offering takes readers into what was the well-ordered life of TV meteorologist Sonny Dunes. Sonny is 50, comfortable living alone, loves her job, and living in Palm Springs. She grew up in Traverse City but left because she hated winter. But the well-ordered life comes to a crashing halt when she discovers she's being replaced by a digital weather girl and self-destructs on live TV. She tears up the evening news set in a drunken rage. It goes viral and leaves her unemployable. Surprisingly, Sonny's agent calls to tell her she has an offer. The lowest rated local TV station in Traverse City wants to hire her.
Reluctantly Sonny agrees and it is revealed winter wasn't the only reason she left her hometown. She lives with a terrible feeling of guilt about the past, the pain of losing a loved one can't be repressed, and the cold weather is beyond bracing. To make matters worse, within days she learns someone at her new station is bent on sabotaging what is left of her frail reputation. The author is not a meteorologist but writes convincingly about how they do their job, connect with the viewing public, and what makes a television news crew a team or tears it apart. Given an assignment to report on ice fishing she finds, "Ice fishing is like watching paint dry. In Antarctica. Naked."
Anyone who has read a previous novel by this author knows it's a foregone conclusion the book will have a happy ending. But that doesn't mean readers won't find it moving and believable with
a cast of compelling characters, and a vivid description of Traverse City in all its winter glory. The book is immensely readable, and always entertaining.
The Secret of Snow by Viola Simpson. Graydon House, 2021, $16.99 pb.
J. Walitalo Woodburnings: Highlights of the First Five Years by Joanna Walitalo
I am in awe of Joanna Walitalo and her first book. She is a pyrographer. In simple terms she is an artist who creates extraordinary portraits of people, wildlife and landscapes that are burned into wood using a pen-like instrument with interchangeable heating tips that when touched to wood leave different shaped burn marks. The simplest analogy is the different tips are like a painter's many specialized brushes needed to create a painting. I, like Joanna and countless other kids, had an early fascination with woodburning but after a few painfully burned fingers and poor results gave it up as did the author. As a child and later as an adult she took art classes in a variety of venues including Midland Center for the Arts as she earned a BS in Biology and Environmental Studies at CMU and a Master of Forestry at Michigan Tech in the UP.
She combined her passion for art with her scholastic work to bring wildlife, and our state's breathtaking natural settings to life through pen and ink, watercolors and oils before picking up a woodburner again. The results of applying hot, burning pens into contact with slabs of wood are stunning and what the reader holds in his or her hands are just the highlights of her first five years as a pyrographer. The various chapters are divided into landscapes, wildlife, portraits of people and pets, the kitchen, and fauna and several other topics. There is an introduction to each chapter and the author usually comments about her approach in capturing the images found in that chapter. Every piece of work includes a short paragraph that includes title, the type of wood used, and short notes on the subject be it a tame otter, a wolf in the wild, or their family's cabin.
The book's cover depicting a beaver in a pond only hints at the magic this book holds. It took a minute for me to wrap my head around the fact that what I was looking at was a beaver brought to life by wood burning. Images jump off the pages that are simply incredible. She incorporates the grain of the wood into the images and works in great detail such as the drool and droplets of water failing from a moose's mouth. I am fascinated by how she burns water. She makes it shimmer, reflects images, depicts it as still, or creates currents within the lake or stream. There has been some discussion on whether woodburning is a craft or art. This book decisively puts that issue to rest.
J. Walitalo Woodburnings: Highlights of the First Five Years by Joanna Walitalo. Modern History Press, 2021, $74.95.
Thompsonville in Time: A Northwest Michigan Story 1890 - 2021 by Charles T. Kraus
This is a meticulously researched, authoritative history of a small town in Benzie County founded in 1889 at the point where two railroads intersected. In the 1890s its residents, swollen with pride and optimism, boasted it was the "biggest little town in Michigan." In 2005 a Traverse City columnist wrote, "Alas, they were wrong. Thompsonville had no real future at all." The village like many small towns in northern Michigan relied on a wealth of local natural resources, a bountiful supply of hardwood trees in this case, for its early success and growth. But when the Piqua Handle Factory and a wooden dish factory cut down all the hardwoods the two companies either went out of business or moved. For the village of 1,000 it was the beginning of a long, slow inexorable decline. Bad luck also played a part when the dam supplying electrical power to the village collapsed several times. Then there's the fire that burned downtown to a crisp.
The author has mined a rich vein of local history including memoirs, letters, contemporary newspaper articles, diaries, unpublished manuscripts, the state archives, railroad histories, historical associations, and numerous libraries. The book also uses more than a hundred historical photographs to tell Thompsonville's story. Entertainment, religion, social life, sports, community activities are all covered in this comprehensive history. There is hope for revitalization of the village and the community from the same features that first attracted people to settle here - its natural resources. The Betsey River has been designated a natural river and attracts fishermen, kayakers, canoeists and a day use park invite hikers, birdwatchers, and snowshoeing in winter. The Crystsl Mountain Resort brings skiers to the area in the winter, and a railroad bed has been turned into hiking a biking trail. The village is still on maps and optimism seems to be the watch word for Thompsonville.
The book is a great example of how local histories should be written and produced.
Thompsonville in Time: A Northwest Michigan Story 1890 - 2021 by Charles T. Kraus. A Benzie Area Historical Society Publication, Mission Point Press, 2021, $49.95.
Cutthroat Dogs: An Amos Walker Novel by Loren D. Estleman
The first in the series of mysteries featuring Detroit private eye Amos Walker was published in 1980. The book was hailed as a classic hardboiled detective story and Estleman was favorably compared to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, two iconic American writers who created and set the standard for hardboiled writing. Four decades later finds Estleman the holder of four Shamus Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the publication of his 29th Amos Walker novel.
In the latest Walker novel, the detective is hired by the sister of a man who has spent two decades in prison for murdering his girlfriend. The client is sure her brother is innocent, but in a visit to the prison the client's brother will have nothing to do with Walker. The father of the dead girl hosts a national TV show titled "Cutthroat Dogs" in which he reports on murders in which the killer is known but has illuded police. The program was inspired by his daughter's death and the father doesn't welcome Walker prying into the case. The dogged detective is undeterred and keeps pulling on loose threads until the case begins to unravel. As always, Estleman's narrative is compelling, brisk, full of interesting characters, and keeps readers guessing until the final, unexpected twist in the plot.
Among the many joys of an Estleman novel is dialogue sharp enough to cut a tough steak and memorable and often humorous metaphors and similes. Two of my favorites from this book are: "The man was as changeless as the Pictured Rocks;" and "You wear subtle like a rat in a raincoat." The entire series gives a remarkably trenchant, humorous, and a keen-eyed, 40-year portrait of the ever-changing social, political and architectural face of the Motor City. If you like classic private eye mysteries Loren D. Estleman's Amos Walker series is not to be missed. 
Cutthroat Dogs: An Amos Walker Novel by Loren D. Estleman. Forge, 2022, $25.99.
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