This is Bree's third cruising narrative. The first was _In the Teeth of the Northeaster: A Solo Voyage on Lake Superior_ followed by _Call of the North Wind: Voyages and Adventures on Lake Superior_.

Bree is one of the better writers in a small sub-set of cruising narratives by singlehanded sailors who go coastal cruising in small yachts. Other writers in this genre include Philip Teece (_A Dream of Islands_ and _A Shimmer on the Horizon_) who cruises the waters around Vancouver Island and Robert DeGast (_Western Wind, Eastern Shore_ and _Five Fair Rivers_) and Howard Walker Schindler (_Between Two Bays and the Sea_) who sail in Chesapeake Bay.

Just as reading Teece makes you want to go sailing around Vancouver, Bree does the same thing for Lake Superior. Bree is an excellent story-teller and his books are always lively and filled with historical information and yarns that will shiver yer timbers.

Bree's latest work is extremely tense in parts and you will probably have a hard time putting it down after you start reading (especially since the 'Prologue' is a nail-biter). The book is centered around his experience with the July 4, 1999 "Green Storm" in which his home-made 20 foot wooden centerboard sloop *Persistence* was caught out on the Lake and knocked-down -- and experiences by other boaters with the same storm. There are other exciting moments -- like grounding on a reef and tense moments navigating through very narrow channels in the fog and dodging floating trees.

Like the other books referred to above, this book shows that you don't have to cross an ocean or own a big and expensive boat to find some adventure. And, for sailors cruising in other areas, it will instill some respect (if they don't have it already) for "Lake sailors".

This is a true story about a lone sailor on the biggest, most beautiful, and most violent lake in the world. The lake that can swallow a modern day 730 foot lake freighter in an instant. LAKE SUPERIOR! Marlin Bree was caught, without warning, in a storm that wreaked havoc across the land and exploded on to Lake Superior. It is the story of the skill and luck it takes to survive a short lived hurricane with winds in the 100 mph range. It tells the stories of others who were surprised, and survived the green monster. I witnessed this same storm, and can attest to the ferocity of it. This book tells about the stark contrast of the changing moods of what has become known as the inland sea. It is a lesson on the unpredictable nature of such an immense body of water that has been known to create it's own weather systems. It's no wonder most choose to admire her from the safety of her rugged shore line. This is the type of intense adventure that makes it difficult to put the book down.

It's been a long time since I have read a book that I truly enjoyed as much as "WAKE" It's one of those books where you just don't want to and CAN'T put it down because you sense and feel that you are there with Marlin sharing the adventures. Superior is well known for the fierce storms that drive across the lake. Ships of all types and sizes have sailed into these storms, never to be seen again....Marlin tells about some of these storms and his voyage aboard PERSISTENCE... a first hand account of the infamous "Green Storm", and other tales along Superiors North Shore..........

I guess I may be a little biased because I was one of the primary sources for the book, but with some very minor issues, it is the most accurate re-telling of a story that should have been turned into a film. If you want to read a GREAT legal story that is also a true story, this is an excellent read. Oh yeah, it also has the obligatory beautiful photographs of Mono lake. Seems that lake doesn't know how to take a bad photograph! :-)

"Summer of the Storm" took me straight back to some of the happiest days of my life -- days reading the Little House books, and summertimes in Galveston. Julie Lake has created in Abby Kate a character who's as charming and curious as Laura Ingalls Wilder. And, like the Little House books, the setting is full of accurate historical details -- how an icebox worked, the foods people favored, the outhouse, woolen bathing suits ... even the job of providing insurance for a ship's cargo. While the book highlights the havoc wreaked by a hurricane, I would love to see a whole series based on the character and the time period -- turn of the 20th century. I'll be telling my children's school librarians and teachers about this book.

My favorite part of the book was the storm because it was the most thrilling part of the book. I also liked the part where Freddie locked Abby Kate in the outhouse. It was a very good book and I enjoyed it.

I liked the setting -- Grandma Linden's house, Galveston and the beach. There was so much detail that I felt I was really there and could see it. I really liked the characters (even troublemaker Freddie!), and enjoyed their practical jokes and adventures. I was happy to experience what a hurricane is like by reading this book in the safety of my bedroom.

The fitz wreck happened 1 day after my 10th birthday and because of gordon lightfoot's tribute song i have alwayshad a strong interest about this ship.I have seen lots of documentaries and have books about it. This so far seems to be the most informative. This book gives a pretty good description of the Great Lakes especially Lake Superior background information on the crew and the investigation. The only thing I did not really like was some of the description of the feelings and the things the crew were going thru I felt there may have been a little to much speculation on ths part.But all in all are great book. The one part that always seems to really stay with me that maybe kind of haunting is the phrase from Gordon's song that says does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes t hours

I am an avid student of the "Edmund Fitzgerald", Great Lakes shipwrecks and Great Lakes lighthouses. I have studied the "Edmund Fitzgerald" for several years and have attended ceremonies, held each year on the anniversary of the sinking of the "Edmund Fitzgerald", at the Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota. I have read several books about the shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, as well as many books about the sinking of the 'Edmund Fitzgerald'. Also, I have visited exhibitions in Duluth, MN and White Fish Point, Michigan. The 'Edmund Fitzgerald' is a passion of mine and I strongly & wholeheartedly recommend "Fitzgerald's Storm...The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' by Dr. Joseph MacInnis. This book will not bore you with endless and insignificant details, but will enthrall you. Dr. MacInnis has written a book suitable for both the casual armchair reader and the serious student. When you read this book you can understand the nightmarish hell that the 'Fitz' and crew went through on that last voyage. You will be able to comprehend the fury of the storm, feel the helplessness of the doomed sailors and experience the grief and emotions of the families the crew left behind. If there is only one book that you will read, about the 'Edmund Fitzgerald', READ THIS ONE! Then, go to White Fish Point, Michigan and visit The Shipwreck Museum. I would rate this book higher than five stars if I could. It is just a good book, that will hold your interest and rivet your attention. Read it!

It was 7:30 PM on November 10, 1975. While we were watching Monday Night Football from the comfort of our homes, 29 sailors were fighting for their lives in a storm on Lake Superior. They were the crew of the ore-carrier S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and they would eventually lose the battle. Dr. Joseph MacInnis led a 1994 expedition to the wreck and produced a television documentary on the subject. His book is the account of the wreck exploration and also a history of the ship. He tells the complete story from the ship's launching in 1957 to the sinking in 1975 and the search for answers in the 1990s. The primary question was how could a ship sink in the era of modern navigational technology and weather forecasting? This question and many others are examined throughout the book. The ship and crew have been immortalized in a 1976 song by Gordon Lightfoot. Dr. MacInnis uses his book to show the importance of learning from the disaster and keeping the memory alive.

David G. Brown's "White Hurricane" is yet another in the recent flood of books depicting historical weather releated disasters. Indeed, the 1913 storm of the book's title is so little remembered that I had never heard of it prior to reading the book, despite growing up in the Great Lakes region. Brown obviously did a copius amount of research and does a fine job describing the history of Great Lakes shipping and demonstrating the risks that sailors face when the "gales of November" start howling.

The 1913 Great Lakes storm was unusual both for its intensity and because it raged over the lakes for almost a full week rather than just a couple of days. As a result, it claimed a dozen ships and nearly 250 lives. Dozens of other ships barely escaped and the first hand accounts of the sailors who survived the tempest make for chilling reading.

The book's main drawback, however, is that it lacks a single compelling central event as a focus for its narrative. Brown gamely switches back and forth between accounts of each individual ship as the storm progresses. Unfortunately, there are far too many ships and sailors for the reader to keep easy track of and eventually all the accounts begin to sound the same. On the plus side, the book provides several helpful maps as well as a generous helping of photographs, mostly of the ships that were lost.

Overall, an informative if not highly readable account of a largely forgotten weather disaster.

Hate to admit it, since I live along Lake Erie, but I never heard of this storm until someone bought this book for me. It is really excellent. The author picks a certain day, certain time, and writes about what is happening with which ship, etc., at that particular time, and sometimes it was a little hard for me to keep track of which ship he was writing about. However, he really makes you understand and feel what it would have been like being on one of the ships breaking up or getting stranded in the terrible storm. This would be an excellent movie! I recommend this book to anyone interested in the weather, the Great Lakes, or boating/shipping in general.

As a Coastie recently stationed on the USCGC ACACIA out of Charlevoix, MI. I found this book to be very helpful in my learning about the Great Lakes geographically, meteorilogically, historically. If you are at all interested in Great Lakes lore then you will thoroughly enjoy this book as well as learn a few things you may not have known, such as why lake storms are different from those on the sea.

Storm Over the Lake: Three years ago, reporter Dana Meredith had ruined--and lost--the only man she'd ever loved. Now, brilliant, enigmatic businessman Adrian Devereaux seemed bent on revenge against the woman who'd cost him his empire--and his heart. Intensely tender and suddenly kind, Adrian had already attacked...with sweet intent.

To Love and Cherish: Shelby Kane wasn't about to let her friend's bossy brother run her off his family's ranch again! Kingston Brannt kept a tight rein on his emotions, but made it clear he resented her presence--and the passion she stirred in him. Ruggedly handsome and impossibly stubborn, this lonesome cowboy was about to learn a lesson in love from the woman he scorned!

I've read two of Robert J. Hemming's books about Great Lakes storms and shipwrecks--this volume plus his "Gales of November: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald." I prefer this book if for no other reason than it memorializes one of the most ferocious storms in Great Lakes history. The 1913 storm blew for four days in early November (11/07 - 11/12) and sank ships on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (the worst hit) and Erie. Twelve ships were sunk and anywhere from 250 to 300 sailors died (the records weren't as strictly kept back then).

November on the Great Lakes is always an anxious time for sailors (the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a November storm), but the 1913 storm was a once-in-a-lifetime freak. Three weather fronts collided over the Lakes, producing hurricane-force winds, rain, lightning, and finally record-breaking snowfalls. The storm broke steel freighters in two, weighted them down with tons of freezing spray, pounded them with killer waves, and rolled them into the troughs between gigantic seas. It was astonishing that any lake-bound boat survived.

Hemming relates the destructive power of the 'Big Blow' lake by lake, ship by ship, and even sailor by sailor if there happened to be survivors. Over Huron, where the northerly gales collided with the advancing low front from the Gulf of Mexico, the whole lake seemed to churn into the air and combine with the ice and snow of the storm. Eight ships went down on the second largest of the Great Lakes, and there were no survivors.

Hemming includes a lengthy epilogue on other Great Lakes November gales, including the 1940 Armistice Day Storm, the sinking of the Bradley in 1966, and the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

If you'd like to read more about the 'Big Blow' of 1913, I highly recommend Dwight Boyer's "True Tales of the Great Lakes" and William Ratigan's "Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals."