logo for University of Illinois Press
Talking Union
Judith Stepan-Norris and Maurice Zeitlin
University of Illinois Press, 1996
As an institutional, political,
        and cultural oral history of the struggle to unionize the River Rouge
        Plant near Detroit during the 1930s and 40s, this book affords us a rare
        insight into the difficulties of organizing a union in the face of the
        then anti-union Ford Motor Company. Against a backdrop of the depression
        and entrenched racism, history was made by courageous individuals whose
        rich, eloquent stories illuminate the character and views of others like
        them across the nation, from all backgrounds: left, right, and center;
        black and white; native and foreign born, Jew and gentile.
 
[more]

front cover of The Territory of Michigan (1805-1837)
The Territory of Michigan (1805-1837)
Alec Gilpin
Michigan State University Press, 1970
The present State of Michigan had one of the longest territorial periods in the continental United Sates. The Great Lakes boardering Michigan were an asset for early trading, but a deterrent to inland settlement. This is the first book concerned solely with the history of the territory.
[more]

front cover of The Thirty-Year War
The Thirty-Year War
A History of Detroit's Streetcars, 1892–1922
Neil J. Lehto
Michigan State University Press, 2017
Streetcars played an especially important role in society around the turn of the twentieth century in Detroit, in part because of the downtown hub-and-spoke design of its main streets. During this period the streetcar was the main mode of transportation for the average citizen, as horse-drawn carriages and automobiles were not found outside of the upper class. Control over streetcar franchises was highly coveted—this control was simultaneous with having power over how and where people were transported throughout the city, making it an incredible political tool. The Thirty-Year War was a battle waged between 1892 and 1922 by the City of Detroit against the politically powerful and deeply entrenched corporations that owned streetcar franchises for control of the city’s streetway system. This compelling history shows how and why the owners of monopoly franchises of great public utilities such as bridges, street railways, electricity, natural gas, and cable television will protect and defend their privilege against public ownership or control, and is an example of how one city successfully fought back.
 
[more]

front cover of Three Bullets Sealed His Lips
Three Bullets Sealed His Lips
Bruce A. Rubenstein
Michigan State University Press, 1987

The gangland style slaying if State Senator Warren G. Hooper on January 11, 1945, three days before he was to testify before a grand jury investigating alleged corruption in the Michigan legislature, forced coverage of Allied war triumphs from the state's newspaper headlines. National media representatives flocked to Michigan to join local reporters in following the efforts of grand jury special prosecutor Kim Sigler and the State Police to apprehend the killers. Because no arrests ever were made, a 1951 journalistic prediction has proven true: "The Hooper case will continue to come back to remind the people and politicians of Michigan of the black days of 1945 when almost every official of the state had his price." For this reason, the Hooper murder has endured as one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries in the annals of Michigan crime.
     Utilizing interviews, trial transcripts, State police files, and a collection of grand jury testimony long thought to have been destroyed, Professors Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz set forth the reason for Hooper's assassination. Written in a lively style, using dialogue taken from court records and correspondence, Three Bullets Sealed His Lips demonstrates that historical writing need not be dull.

[more]

front cover of Tight Spaces
Tight Spaces
Kesho Scott
University of Iowa Press, 1999
This expanded edition of Tight Spaces includes six new essays that explore the fulfilling spaces inhabited by Kesho Scott, Cherry Muhanji, and Egyirba High since their book was originally published in 1987. Tight Spaces won the American Book Award in 1988. 
[more]

front cover of The Toledo War
The Toledo War
The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry
Don Faber
University of Michigan Press, 2008

"An engaging account of the Toledo War of 1835, a serious confrontation whose outcome established the borders of the state of Michigan. Faber expertly narrates the history of a dispute conducted by fascinating characters practicing political shenanigans of the highest order."
---Andrew Cayton, author of Ohio: The History of a People and a general editor of The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia

Most are familiar with the Michigan-Ohio football rivalry, an intense but usually good-natured contest that stretches back over one hundred years. Yet far fewer may know that in the early nineteenth century Michigan and Ohio were locked in a different kind of battle---one that began before Michigan became a state.

The conflict started with a long-simmering dispute over a narrow wedge of land called the Toledo Strip. Early maps were famously imprecise, adding to the uncertainty of the true boundary between the states. When Ohio claimed to the mouth of the Maumee River, land that according to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 fell in the territory of Michigan, the "Toledo War" began.

Today the fight may bring a smile to Michiganians and Ohioans because both states benefited: Ohioans won the war and Michigan got the Upper Peninsula. But back then passions about rightful ownership ran high, and it would take many years---and colorful personalities all the way up to presidents---to settle the dispute. The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry gives a well-researched and fascinating account of the famous war.

Don Faber is best known as the former editor of the Ann Arbor News. He also served on the staff of the Michigan Constitutional Convention, won a Ford Foundation Fellowship to work in the Michigan Senate, and was a speechwriter for Michigan governor George Romney. Now retired, Faber lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Jeannette, and indulges in his love of Michigan history.

[more]

front cover of Traveling Through Time
Traveling Through Time
A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers
Laura Rose Ashlee, Editor
University of Michigan Press, 2005
Traveling Through Time is the definitive illustrated guide to nearly 1,500 historic Michigan sites. With this book, travelers can journey through the state to discover the historical markers in Michigan's neighborhoods, along its highways, and in city centers.

Since 1955 the state of Michigan has erected historical markers throughout the state. In this revised edition of Traveling Through Time, Laura Rose Ashlee collects the histories that appear on these markers together into one handy guidebook---a great desk reference for researchers and armchair historians alike.

Some of the book's special features include:

o Location and full text of each marker

o Arranged alphabetically within county chapters

o More than 85 historic and color photographs

o Special section on Michigan historical markers placed outside Michigan
[more]

front cover of TV Land--Detroit
TV Land--Detroit
Gordon Castelnero
University of Michigan Press, 2006
An in-depth and personal look at the most popular and best-remembered local shows from the golden years of Detroit TV

Long before cable, prepackaged syndication, infomercials, do-it-yourselfers, and reality shows cluttered the television dial, there was a brand of entertainment that has today nearly vanished from the airwaves: local TV. And with its colorful and quirky cast of characters, Detroit TV arguably offered some of the best of the best of local programming anywhere in the nation-a smorgasbord of exuberant, one-of-a-kind television shows.

Based on actual interviews with the people who made Detroit TV, Gordon Castelnero's TV Land-Detroit awakens the emotional attachment and nostalgia our community has for these shows, bringing the beloved characters and memorable programs back to life.

From the glamorous Rita Bell to the insanity of the Ghoul, the zany Jingles in Boofland to the opinionated and often confrontational Lou Gordon and the gruff-voiced and somnolent George Pierrot, Castelnero reacquaints us with the talent and behind-the-scenes people, of the creative spirit in Detroit, and the intimacy they shared with the community both on and off the air.

Gordon Castelnero was a producer at WNIC radio for four years. He produced the acclaimed documentaries for WDIV and WTVS, Michigan, It Started Here! Michigan and the American Dream, and Titanic: The Final Chapter. He currently lives in Livonia, Michigan, and works at Technicolor in DVD and game media distribution. He can be contacted by e-mail at tvlanddetroit@yahoo.com
[more]

front cover of Twelve Twenty-Five
Twelve Twenty-Five
The Life and Times of a Steam Locomotive
Kevin P. Keefe
Michigan State University Press, 2016
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.
 
[more]

front cover of Two Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland Sites in Central Michigan
Two Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland Sites in Central Michigan
Scott G. Beld
University of Michigan Press, 1991
This volume contains the analysis of two prehistoric sites in Gratiot County, Michigan. The author presents a description of the features and artifacts from both sites and discusses the possible cultural affiliation of the sites, which he dates to the Terminal Archaic/Early Woodland.
[more]


Send via email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter