University of Michigan Press, 2011
By Jerry Dennis. Illustrations by Glenn Wolff
DESCRIPTION
The Windward Shore: A Winter on the Great Lakes is the chronicle of a season spent living on the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. As part of Jerry Dennis’s continuing project to learn a few places well, he set out with the intention of slowing down and paying closer attention to the world around him. Along the way he met fascinating people, explored beautiful and little-known places, and learned a thing or two about solitude and time, as well as weather, waves, ice and snow, books, birds, our complex and ever-changing relationship with nature—both human and wild—and much more.
SEE THE BOOK TRAILER produced by Aaron Dennis and Stone Hut Studios.
REVIEWS
“The Windward Shore has become my go-to gift — I send it to people who have never visited Michigan, to people who’ve moved away, and to people who now call this state home. I love all of Dennis’s books, but I have to say, I think he completely knocked it out of the universe with this one.”
— Kate Bassett, Harbor Light Newspaper
“I have long been a fan of Dennis’s books and am something of an evangelist for his The Living Great Lakes so I expected to love this book but nothing prepared me for the deep connection it forged with me – a connection so strong that I spent two weeks avoiding reading the last chapter so the book would never end….The Windward Shore is the best non-fiction book this year.
— Hungry for Good Books
“Part poem, part philosophical discourse, part memoir, a handy dose of scientific observation… the reader is taken on a sprawling stroll, back and forth—ice and snow and life—as ideas pop and grow and find form in fine, pellucid prose…”
— Northern Express
“The Windward Shore might be described as our first philosophy of the Great Lakes. Over the years Dennis has been compared to many different writers—but in this book I think his only model might have been Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
— Ann Arbor Observer
“Well known for his literary work on nature, science, outdoor sports, and this entire bountiful world, Dennis has become the collective voice of integrity when considering our magnificent waterways… Dennis is a deep thinker who rewards us with passages of introspection and great beauty.”
— Night Light Revue
“Jerry Dennis is a national treasure, and he keeps writing new and more wonderful books. Fitting him into a specific category can be a bit difficult because he is at once an outdoor writer, a conservationist, a nature lover, a dreamer… A truly wonderful read by a favorite author.”
— Dave Richey Outdoors
“The prologue is one of the most powerful three pages of Great Lakes writing I’ve encountered.”
— Great Lakes Echo
“Jerry Dennis has written a thoughtful, lyrical, and sensitive credo for the hardy residents who survive and thrive in our northern paradise. The prologue alone is worth the price of the book, but you will want to read on and on.”
— Snowbound Online