Book Review: The Life and Death of the Great Lakes

[Prof. Arielle Lemoyne]

Title: The Life and Death of the Great Lakes
Author: Dan Egan
Genre: Nonfiction

Over the summer, I read seven books about various aspects of the Great Lakes, and this book was my favorite! It came out this year, so all of the information is current, and it provided a fascinating description of the history of the lakes and current issues they face. It's written at a level where you don't need any background experience to understand it, but it's not overly basic or condescending. I learned a lot! The first few chapters were excellent, and I found myself taking pages of notes to try to remember everything. The middle dragged a bit, getting into topics that were of less personal interest to me, but the last chapter was a good ending, and least somewhat hopeful. I think each chapter was written to be able to stand alone, which is fine, but it got repetitive at times. Overall, it was an easy and engaging read; it was packed with facts, but included humorous anecdotes as well. I got this book at the library, but I ended up buying it after I finished - it contains such a wealth of information and I'm sure it will be useful to go back and reference in the future!