Wayne State University Press

Regionalism and University Presses

     It can be difficult to find interesting books. The various "Best Sellers Lists" are generally not too useful and you may balk at the suggestions made by the heavily pierced bookstore clerk, or not find anything enticing among "Heather's Picks" (for American readers, our Heather is the boss of Indigo Books, the equivalent of  your Barnes and Noble).
    If you are interested in the general area in which we live I will make the surprising suggestion that you look at some of the books published by the Wayne State University Press.  I said "surprising" because many civilians think that scholarly books written by academics are likely to be unreadable. That may be the case for most subjects about which they write, but sometimes an attempt is made to publish books that will have some appeal for the tax-paying citizens.
    I made a similar suggestion a while back when I posted about the Penn State University Press. They publish a local series called Keystone Books and the geographical range of some of them extends across the lake and the subjects covered are often of interest to Canadians.
    Wayne State University Press produces books about many subjects. The focus here is on the Great Lakes Book Series. If you travel to Detroit or enjoy books about cars, sports and the history of our area have a look at their publications.
     A list of some of the titles from the WSU Press available in London is provided below. As well, they publish some works in Canadian Studies and a few titles are mentioned at the bottom of this list.

 Great Lakes Book Series (click on this link for a full list of the titles in this series.)
Editor: Thomas Klug, Wayne State University
"The Great Lakes Books Series specializes in books of regional interest and importance to Michigan and the entire Great Lakes region. Inaugurated in 1986 to honor Michigan's 1987 sesquicentennial, the series currently includes titles on Michigan and regional history, the Upper Peninsula, military history, the Great Lakes and maritime history, Detroit history and culture, automotive history, art and architecture, literature, sports, ecology and the environment, and books for young readers."

  

     Listed below are about 40 titles from the Great Lakes Series that are available in the Western Libraries. There are around 1000 titles listed in the Western catalogue from the WSU Press. The London Public Libraries also have some. In both cases, the books can be located by doing a key word search by publisher.

The Ambassador Bridge : a monument to progress 
Arsenal of democracy : the American automobile industry in World War II 
Throughout World War II, Detroit's automobile manufacturers accounted for one-fifth of the dollar value of the nation's total war production, and this amazing output from "the arsenal of democracy" directly contributed to the allied victory.
Beyond the Model T : the other ventures of Henry Ford 

The French Canadians of Michigan : their contribution to the development of the Saginaw Valley and the Keweenaw Peninsula, 1840-1914 
Charting the inland seas : a history of the U.S. Lake Survey 
Deep woods frontier : a history of logging in northern Michigan 
Narrating the history of Michigan's forest industry, Karamanski provides a dynamic study of an important part of the Upper Peninsula's economy.


Designing Detroit : Wirt Rowland and the rise of modern American  architecture 
Shines a light on Detroit architect Wirt Rowland who, until now, has largely slipped into obscurity.
Detroit : city of race and class violence 
Beginning with the legacy of the Ku Klux Klan and the industrial tyranny of the early twentieth century, Detroit: City of Race and Class Violence charts Detroit's bitter history through the birth of industrial unionism, war time, the 1967 riots, and their effect on the city today.
Detroit images : photographs of the renaissance city 

The Detroit Tigers : a pictorial celebration of the greatest players and moments in Tigers history Discovering stained glass in Detroit 
"Expanding the frontiers of civil rights" : Michigan, 1948-1968 
A fluid frontier : slavery, resistance, and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River borderland 
New research on the long, shared struggle for freedom by people of African descent in the Detroit River borderland from a uniquely bi-national perspective.
Frontier metropolis : picturing early Detroit, 1701-1838 
Great Lakes journey : a new look at America's freshwater coast 
Henry's lieutenants 
In the shadow of Detroit : Gordon M. McGregor, Ford of Canada, and Motoropolis 
Part biography and part corporate history, In the Shadow of Detroit investigates the life and career of Gordon M. McGregor, who founded and led Ford of Canada during the first two decades of the twentieth century.

Iron fleet : the Great Lakes in World War II 
John E. Fetzer and the quest for the new age, 
John Jacob Astor : business and finance in the early republic 
Biography of John Jacob Astor's life and his career as a merchant, fur trader, and land speculator as vehicles for examining several important themes and issues in American economic and urban development between 1790 and 1860.
Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair handbook 
Let the drum beat : a history of the Detroit Light Guard / 
Life on the Great Lakes : a wheelsman's story
The Making of Michigan, 1820-1860 : a pioneer anthology
Mapping Detroit : land, community, and shaping a city
Illustrates and analyzes Detroit’s dramatic physical transformation in a balanced mix of text and maps.
Maxwell Motor and the making of Chrysler Corporation
A detailed history of Maxwell Motor Company, a medium-sized Detroit automaker that became the foundation of the Chrysler Corporation.

Michigan remembered: photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, 1936-1943
A newscast for the masses : the history of Detroit television News
"Old Slow Town" : Detroit during the Civil War 
Details Detroit's tumultuous social, political, and military history during the Civil War.
A place for summer : a narrative history of Tiger Stadium
Riding the roller coaster : a history of the Chrysler Corporation
Roads to prosperity : economic development lessons from midsize  Canadian cities
Explores popular economic development strategies in midsize Canadian urban areas.
Roy D. Chapin : the man behind the Hudson Motor Car Company /

Rumrunning and the roaring twenties : prohibition on theMichigan-Ontario Waterway 
Songquest the journals of Great Lakes folklorist Ivan H. Walton
The field notes of a pioneering folklorist who collected the songs, stories, and cultural history of Great Lakes sailors in the 1930s.
Steamboats & sailors of the Great Lakes 
Steamboats and Sailors of the Great Lakes traces the evolution of the Great Lakes shipping industry over the last three centuries.
Storied independent automakers : Nash, Hudson, and American Motors
Survival and regeneration : Detroit's American Indian community
These men have seen hard service : the First Michigan  Sharpshooters in the Civil War /
Turkey Stearnes and the Detroit Stars : the Negro leagues in Detroit, 1919-1933


Uppermost Canada : the Western District and the Detroit frontier, 1800-1850 
Examines the historical, cultural, and social history of the Canadian portion of the Detroit River community in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Windjammers : songs of the Great Lakes sailors
Wonderful power : the story of ancient copper working in the Lake Superior Basin 

    The Wayne State University Press also publishes books relating to Canadian Studies. Here are two examples:


Power Play:Professional Hockey and the Politics of Urban Development
Big money and municipal politics collide in the story of Edmonton’s Rogers Place hockey arena.


Reflections on Malcolm Forsyth
A captivating and approachable portrait of the life and work of a Canadian musical legend.