Great Ships on the Great Lakes

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A Maritime History

Catherine M. Green, Jefferson J. Gray, and Bobbie Malone

A rip-roaring journey through the waterways of the Great Lakes and the sea battles, perilous storms, and unexpected tragedies that sent thousands of ships to the bottom of these so-called low seas.

144 pages, 8 x 9, 128 color and b&w photos, 20 maps
Paperback: $18.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-582-8
Ebook: $12.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-592-7
Publication Date: 7/12/2013

Reading Level: Ages 11–14, Grades 5–8

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Front cover of Great Ships on the Great Lakes

Description

The Great Lakes have provided a vital—and treacherous—waterway for the peoples of the region for millennia, from the earliest indigenous peoples who paddled the lakes and their tributaries in birchbark canoes to the modern and massive shipping companies that bring essential commerce to and through Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Great Ships on the Great Lakes presents the stories of these important players in Great Lakes history, along with European voyageurs and traders, sailors, lighthouse keepers, and shipping agents whose livelihoods depended, and were occasionally lost, on these mighty lakes. The book explores the region’s rivers, lakes, and inland seas, and the ships and people who navigated them, battled upon them, and settled along them.

Great Ships on the Great Lakes tells of the devastating storms and other tragedies that sent thousands of ships to the bottom of these lakes. Readers are brought along on miraculous rescues and get to tag along with underwater archaeologists as they dive into the mysteries of Great Lakes shipwrecks. They will learn how the shift from sail to steam forever changed the history of shipping, as schooners made way for steamships and bulk freighters, and sailing became more of a recreation than a hazardous way of life.

Designed for upper elementary and middle school readers, Great Ships on the Great Lakes includes a timeline of events, on-page vocabulary, and a list of resources and places to visit. More than twenty maps highlight the region’s maritime history and allow young and old alike to explore this history.

Author Bios

Catherine M. Green

Catherine M. Green is an underwater archaeologist and maritime historian. Formerly the education coordinator for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, she is currently Executive Director of the National Maritime Historical Society in Peekskill, New York. Green combines her background in nautical archaeology with her experience in educational programming to bring maritime history to wide audiences.

Jefferson J. Gray

Jefferson J. Gray has served as superintendent of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, since 2002. The sanctuary protects the Great Lakes and their rich maritime history through research, education, and resource protection so current and future generations can enjoy these underwater treasures.

Bobbie Malone

Bobbie Malone is former director of the Office of School Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society and the author of several books on Wisconsin history written for the classroom. Now retired, she lives in San Antonio, Texas.