Comments on: A NEW BOOK (FINALLY!)

By: Jerry Dennis

Jerry Dennis — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 21:03:57 +0000

Thank you, Sondra. I remember the conversations we had about paddling, rivers, writing, and the infinite in 2000-2001. I’m delighted that you’re still using the canoe guide in its evolving editions. I’m making plans and taking notes for a 4th edition, but alas I’ll have to do it alone. Craig passed away several years ago, so as you can imagine it will be a bittersweet project. Glad you’re enjoying the new book as well. –Jerry

By: Sondra Willobee

Sondra Willobee — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 23:02:56 +0000

Enjoyed the program at Hamburg Library very much and the book itself even more. One of my favorite passages was from the elegant first essay, “Loon Song,” about how Spring “doesn’t spring, it sidles, two steps forward and one back, and then it halts altogether, like a child in a sulk.” Sulky child happening right now! I also liked how “A Round River” ended, suggesting that blunders can be good for us, reminding us “that we’re humble travelers in a complicated world.” But the part of Up North that I liked the best was the description of your canoeing ritual in “River Rush” going back to 1984 when you and Craig Date began writing Canoeing Michigan Rivers. Your guidebook has been in our shuttle vehicle ever since you published it, replaced only by each new edition. Like you, we “still get excited every time we push off the bank,” unable to resist “the draw of that first downstream bend and whatever waits beyond it.” I read your book for pleasure–and instruction. You demonstrate how to write vividly about nature and how to tease out meaning from our experience of the natural world. Thank you.

By: Sondra Willobee

Sondra Willobee — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:54:00 +0000

Hi Jerry,
Congratulations on the new book. I’m glad its production kept you “on an even keel” in 2020-21. Writing a memoir about hiking and canoeing my way through the pandemic kept me steady through the madness. Looking forward to “seeing” you at the virtual program at the Hamburg Public Library tomorrow night.

By: Joe Kopec

Joe Kopec — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 17:23:32 +0000

Dear Jerry
Just finished rereading “The Living Great Lakes” for the Great Lakes/Great Book Club here (Sturgeon Bay Wi) at the WriteOn/Door County and Maritime Museum group. We read it a few years ago and I contend it is the best book available on the Great Lakes. Hope that you are well and will look into your latest book. Question: For the upcoming Group Meeting on Jan. 6, 2022. Whatever happened to the Malabar? And the crew esp Hajo? Couldn’t find anything on Wikipedia or net. Have you ever considered an update or sequel to the book in terms of what’s happened in the last 20 years? Much ado. Very best wishes for 2022.