Now in a completely updated and expanded third edition, Bonnie Dahl's Superior Way continues to be the premier cruising guide to Lake Superior for recreational sailors and their onboard guests. A definitive and detailed guide to cruising Lake Superior, this superbly presented guide offers more than 350 new GPS Waypoints, information on improved harbor passages,. as well as new marinas and anchorages. Enhanced with more than 300 diagrams, charts and tables, this "user friendly" volume is spiral bound allowing it to be laid out flat next to the helm. If you are planning a cruise anywhere on Lake Michigan, whether as an afternoon's outing or for an extended vacation, begin your preparations and planned itinerary with acquiring your own copy of Bonnie Dahl's Superior Way!

March 22, 2001 Obviously this is not a review. I've been searching everywhere for this book without sucess. Please if you have an extra copy you would be willing to part with send me an e-mail MJBahr007@aol.com Thank you! P.S. I'm planning on bringing my 26' sailboat with a crew of 3 or 4 to the Apostle Islands the first week in August 2001. If anyone else that reads this is going to be up there during this period of time please feel free to send me an e-mail and maybe we can raft up some evening and swap dinner and tales! It does not matter if you are a power or sailboater all are welcome!

Cruising Surperior has always been a goal for my husband and myself. Three years ago I bought 5 copies of the book for ourselves and friends. We studied and planned and charted Superior the first year. The book gave us a very detailed description of approaches, anchorages, bottom holding, alternative anchorages depending on wind. We found our first summer 1999 sailing Superior a very rewarding experience and in a large way "Superior Way" gave us the confidence to approach seemingly unapproachable anchorages. In many instances we seemed familiar with the areas, having read, studied Bonnie's book. We circumnavigated Superior that year and vowed to return in 2000. We did and again Bonnie Dahl's book was invaluable. We are going again in 2001. Lake Superior is a formidable lake by many accounts but having good Navigation skills and equipment, charts and Bonnie's book; Your experience will be the highlight of your cruising experience for years to come. Motor or Sail - - BUY THE BOOK!!

A few years back I borrowed this book from my local library. The TRUE story of the Cutter Mesquite is very intruiging, but I must say the best part of the book is the crystal-clear full color underwater photos of the wreck. Unlike most underwater wreck photos, these are bright, clear, in color and best of all interesting. You can see photos of a file cabinet with one drawer open and tons of soaked files still hanging from it. Also a xerox machine, and other office supplies and crew supplies that were perfectly good and usable but for some reason were not removed from the Mesquite before it was scuttled. It looks as though it was business as usual on the cutter right up until the very end.
Unfortunately this book is out-of-print, and I cannot seem to find it on ebay. A shame. Let's hope they re-issue it very soon! A must for Great Lakes wreck enthusiasts!

While Stonehouse is an accredited Great Lakes scholar, Haunted Lakes Part II is a complete and total waste of paper. It is nothing but Volume One with a few extra chapters thrown in.

Historian Fred Stonehouse continues his shift toward more commercially successful books with the Haunted Lakes series. Unlike Stonehouse's previous books, which represented significant contributions to the Great Lakes maritime history genre, Haunted Lakes sacrifices historical value for commercial appeal. Stonehouse has admittedly created a book of tall tales, which is sure to introduce him to a wider audience, but I can't help but long for his previous works, which, although dry, were interesting and valuable references. I can only hope that future volumes don't speculate that the Fitz was sunk by a UFO.
I still found Haunted Lakes very entertaining, but after a while some of the stories began to sound contrived.

Once I started to read this book I had to keep on reading until my eyes are so tired. Thanks to Mr. Stonehouse, I am once again loving history of these great ship wrecks .. Mr. Stonehouse sure dug up a lot of interesting stories. Some of them I just find them to be funny and some of them got my heart racing for more. I am hoping Mr. Stonehouse dont stop writing stories of Haunted Lakes. I just know there are many more ghost stories of the Great Lakes that needed yet to be told . yes, I have also read Haunted Lakes II

This is an exhaustively researched book, with interesting photos and all sorts of detail. But it was a little short of the one thing I thought it would be filled with, given the title: Life saving. There's very little in the way of actual tales of rescue, and almost none until the last quarter of the book. I would have preferred a little less day to day minutae and a little more adventure.

There are a few other good books on the old life-saving service, but this is the first one to focus on the Great Lakes. I bought it to discover my roots, since I've been a longtime lifeguard at a converted life-saving service station. While my station (Rogers Park) is only mentioned in passing, the great information and detail of other stations, keepers, and rescues kept me engaged. The writing's a little uneven but Stonehouse is a great researcher and obviously has a deep passion for the subject. The pictures & illustrations are top-notch.