MSU Press staff offered their picks for great gift books from MSU Press. Use the code MSUP24 to get 20% off of these titles today.
Tragedy and Triumph on the Great Lakes
Richard Gebhart
$29.95
126 Pages
Richard Gebhart traces little-known voyages of Great Lakes ships that sailed the Atlantic beginning in the 1850s. They bore cargoes to and from the lakes and as far as Constantinople. Gebhart recovers the voices of long-ago ship captains, along with their cargo manifests and itineraries. Drawing on deep research in old newspapers and maritime archives, he traces the construction of new ships and shipyards, and the comings and goings and travails of the lakes’ workhorses. Included is a mournful visit to a boneyard where many ships’ lives ended. Among many other lost tales, Gebhart brings to light the rise of oil tankers, marking the great twentieth-century energy transition in shipping. A must-read for Great Lakes shipping fans.
Ships and Shipwrecks
Stories from the Great Lakes
Richard Gebhart
$29.95
182 Pages
From the day that French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle launched the Griffin in 1679 to the 1975 sinking of the celebrated Edmund Fitzgerald, thousands of commercial ships have sailed on the vast and perilous waters of the Great Lakes. In a harbinger of things to come, on the return leg of its first trip in late summer 1679, the Griffin disappeared and has never been seen again. In the centuries since then, the records show that an alarming number of shipwrecks have occurred on the Great Lakes. If vessels that wrecked but were later repaired and returned to service are included, the number certainly swells into the thousands. Most did not mysteriously vanish like the Griffin. Instead, they suffered the occupational hazards of every lake boat: collisions, groundings, strands, fires, boiler explosions, and capsizes. Many of these disasters took the lives of crews and passengers. The fearsome wrath of the storms that brew over the Great Lakes has challenged and defeated some of the staunchest vessels constructed in the shipyards of port cities along the U.S. and Canadian lakeshores. Here Richard Gebhart tells the tales of some of these ships and their captains and crews, from their launches to their sad demises—or sometimes, their celebrated retirements. This volume is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the maritime history of the Great Lakes.
Mes Tartes
The Sweet and Savory Tarts of Christine Ferber
Christine Ferber
$29.95
318 Pages
“In this book I explain the alchemy of the pastry, discuss the preparation of bonne crème à flan, crème anglais, crème aux œufs, and above all, I offer to lovers of fine food, ways to create new aromas and flavors.” —Christine Ferber
After the publication of the original French edition of Mes Confitures in 1998, Christine Ferber was chosen as France’s finest patisserie. Now, in Mes Tartes, she brings together a new collection of her unique recipes.
Christine Ferber unravels a seasonal thread of ingredients to create an encyclopedia of truly wonderful tastes, invaluable advice, slights of hand, culinary tricks, and inventive and successful methods for insuring magnificent tart fillings and perfect crusts. In all, the book contains more than 130 previously unpublished recipes for sweet and savory tarts.
Mes Confitures
The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber
Christine Ferber
$29.95
287 Pages
Chefs worldwide have long prized the rare and delicious creations of France’s Christine Ferber—an internationally known master patissière who has worked with culinary luminaries Alain Ducasse, the Troisgros family, and Antoine Westermann. For the first time, English-language audiences have access to her artistry with the publication of the French bestseller, Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber. Written in a clear, accessible style, Mes Confitures brings hand-made jams to life for home cooks and professional chefs alike.
In Mes Confitures, Ferber opens her personal recipe book, sharing such treasures as Black Cherry with Pinot Noir, Apricot and Spiced Apple, and Rosehip and Vanilla. Organized seasonally, uncommon recipes like Rhubarb with Acacia Honey and Rosemary, or Banana, Orange, and Chocolate jams raise the craft of confiture to a new level. Ferber also divulges her secrets, identifying the proper tools and equipment for foolproof, exciting, and unusual creations.
Ferber’s use of locally grown, extraordinary ingredients, most of which are accessible in farmers’ markets, gourmet food shops, or by mail-order, makes for exquisite jams that are far more interesting than the everyday. Ferber’s jams are artisanal in their reliance on seasonal fruits, traditional techniques, and their emphasis on simplicity and freshness.
Mid-Michigan Modern, Expanded Edition
From Frank Lloyd Wright to Googie
Susan J. Bandes
$39.95
436 Pages
Featuring 36 new illustrations
From 1940 to 1970, mid‐Michigan had an extensive and varied legacy of modernist architecture. While this book explores buildings by renowned architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Alden B. Dow, and the Keck brothers, the text—based on archival research and oral histories—focuses more heavily on regional architects whose work was strongly influenced by international modern styles. The reader will see a picture emerge in the portrayal of buildings of various typologies, from residences to sacred spaces. The automobile industry, state government, and Michigan State University served as the economic drivers when the mid-Michigan area expanded enormously in the growing optimism and increasing economic prosperity after World War II. Government, professional associations, and private industry sought an architectural style that spoke to forward‐looking, progressive ideals. Smaller businesses picked a Prairie style that made people feel comfortable. Modernist houses reflected the increasingly informal American lifestyle rooted in the automobile culture. This expanded paperback edition adds over twenty architect-designed residences along the various rivers and creeks that traverse the area as well as on man-made lakes, and introduces several popular architectural designers not previously discussed. The epilogue briefly considers disappearing modernist inventions and buildings. With a detailed narrative discussing more than 150 buildings and enriched by 186 illustrations, this text is a vibrant start at reclaiming the history of mid-Michigan modernist architecture.
A Cold, Hard Prayer
John Smolens
$29.95
278 Pages
In 1924, an orphan train passes through the Midwest, and two teenagers, seeking a new life, find nothing but hardship when taken in to live on a farm in Michigan. Mercy, a teenage girl of mixed race, and a boy nicknamed Rope, who lost fingers in a factory accident, become virtual prisoners of Harlan and Estelle Nau, whose children died during the Spanish flu epidemic. After facing abuse, Mercy and Rope flee, making an arduous journey into sparsely populated northern Michigan, where Mercy believes she will find her aunt. After Harlan is found murdered on his farm, police captain Jim Kincaid pursues Mercy and Rope to the cold, barren villages on the Mackinac Straits, but his efforts are complicated by the reemergent Ku Klux Klan, which has formed a coalition with the police deputy Milt Waters and the Dingley brothers, who run a local bootleg operation. Resolute and intrepid, Mercy and Rope develop a bond of mutual trust that helps them navigate a stark American landscape shaped by prejudice, hypocrisy, and fear.
Wiijiwaaganag
More Than Brothers
Peter Razor
$29.95
240 Pages
Niizh Eshkanag is a member of the first generation of Anishinaabe children required to attend a U.S. government boarding school—schools infamously intended to “kill the Indian and save the man,” or forcibly assimilate Native students into white culture. At the Yardley Indian Boarding School in northern Minnesota, far from his family, Niizh Eshkanag endures abuse from the school staff and is punished for speaking his native language. After his family moves him to a school that is marginally better, he meets Roger Poznanski, the principal’s white nephew, who arrives to live with his uncle’s family and attend the school. Though Roger is frightened of his Indian classmates at first, Niizh Eshkanag befriends him, and they come to appreciate and respect one another’s differences. When a younger Anishinaabe student runs away into a winter storm after being beaten by a school employee, Niizh Eshkanag and Roger join forces to rescue him, beginning an adventure that change their lives and the way settlers, immigrants and the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes think about each other and their shared future.
Twelve Twenty-Five
The Life and Times of a Steam Locomotive
Kevin P. Keefe
$49.95
248 Pages
The against-all-odds story of a World War II–era steam locomotive and the determination of two generations of volunteers to keep it running comes alive in Twelve Twenty-Five: The Life and Times of a Steam Locomotive.
Pere Marquette 1225 was built in 1941 at the peak of steam locomotive development. The narrative traces the 1225’s regular freight service in Michigan, its unlikely salvation from the scrapyard for preservation at Michigan State University, and the subsequent work to bring it back to steam, first by a student club and later by a railroad museum. Milestones along the way include 1225’s retirement in 1951, its donation to MSU in 1957, its return to steam in 1988, a successful career hauling tens of thousands of excursion riders, and its starring role in the 2004 movie The Polar Express. The massive infrastructure that supported American steam locomotives in their heyday disappeared long ago, forcing 1225’s faithful to make their own spare parts, learn ancient railroad skills, and interpret the entire effort for the public. As such, the continuing career of 1225 is a triumph of historic preservation.
Michigan State University Collection
Read about the evolution of Michigan State University from Michigan Agricultural College, to Michigan State College to the major research institution it is known as today.
The Evolution of a Land-Grant Philosophy 1855–1925
John Hannah and the Creation of a World University, 1926–1969
The Rise of a Research University and the New Millennium, 1970–005
Michigan Books
Michigan stories have often been the focus of MSU Press, from books that brought long-forgotten stories into the present to modern explorations of the depths of the Great Lakes.
Order Michigan Books here.