188. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆1/2

Recommended by:   Darla Schueth

Author:   Dan Egan

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Science, History, Environment, Animals

321 pages, published March 7, 2017

Reading Format:  Book

 

Summary

In The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, author Dan Egan recounts the history of the Great Lakes which amazingly hold 20 percent of the world’s freshwater.  Like the American Bison which were hunted to near extinction, we learn how the formerly pristine, enormous bodies of water have been maltreated after the colonization of America.  The mistreatment of the lakes got so bad that they on the verge of becoming dead seas.  Multiple species of fish were wiped out when invasive predators were inadvertently introduced which caused huge, thick algae blooms to appear.  However, all is not lost.  Egan ends the book on a promising note, showing how the Great Lakes can be restored and preserved for future generations.

 

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My Take

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed a book about the history of the Great Lakes.  The credit has to go to author Dan Egan who knows how to take a historical narrative and spin it into a tale of intrigue and suspense.  I was not surprised at all to learn that this book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  After finishing The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, I want to take a trip to the Upper Midwest and Canada so I can check them out for myself.  Highly recommended.