Uncovering the Ecological Changes of the Great Lakes: From Decline to Revival

Roger F. Thoma: The book gives a good breakdown of the changes in the biological communities of the Great Lakes and what it has wrought. A very good synopsis.

United States on Feb 15, 2024

paula holous: This is such an interesting read. Much research went into writing this book. It is usually not my genre of choice but it had my attention to the last page. Never boring!!

United States on Feb 14, 2024

von Nichthoven: As a Brit who visits Wisconsin and loves to dive, I had some sense of the onslaught of invasive species but had no idea of the extent or the context. The Great Lakes are a microcosm of the problems divers see all over the world: animals shunted all over the world, becoming super predators, growing exponentially and crashing. The author sympathetically charts the stories of those who tried - and are trying - to fix the situation with little data and small budgets.

United Kingdom on Jan 28, 2024

James W. Gustafson: Bought copies for my brother and my son. Lots of facts, easy read.

United States on Jan 12, 2024

G: Very easy to read, and has well researched and well written information on the history of the Great Lakes without being very technical. Most of all, it succeeds in giving perspective on an important environmental issue and a very significant resource for life.

Canada on Oct 28, 2023

Martt Harding: This book, written by a journalist who for many years has researched in detail the history of the Great Lakes with respect to primarily the fish populations, is a cautionary exploration about why invasive species can be such a challenge for an environment. Anyone who is willing to consider that we humans as a massively invasive species ourselves have caused lots of problems, will find this account very interesting. And perhaps
the book will contribute to our growing realization that seemingly trivial events can cause massive changes, many of them unforeseen. As persuasive as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, but exploring a different aspect of human impact on the existing natural environment. When you consider how many ways we humans try to bend nature to our own desires and then find that life is marvelously -- and frighteningly -- interconnected, it's ever clearer that the impacts of environmental changes are, by and large, unpredictable. And thus need to be approached with great care and forethought, although even that will not prove sufficient.

United States on Aug 20, 2023

Andrew Fox: Easy to read and informative. The editing was a bit sloppy in parts making it read like a series of short stories that had similar introductions.

Canada on Jun 23, 2023

Linda + Leo: Interesting and informative!

Spain on Jan 08, 2021

LastRanger: Dan Egan's "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes" is a sweeping chronicle of North America's largest fresh-water lakes and the environmental threats they face. Tracing their geological history, from the end of the last ice-age some 10,000 years ago, to today's troubling headlines, Egan explores man's impact on one of the World's most precious resources: fresh-water. Well written and meticulously researched the book is endlessly fascinating with the author's hand-on approach of traveling to many locations and interviewing the people who live and/or work in these affected areas. The problems started with the building of some bypass-canals in an attempt to link the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and the world of international shipping. Done with the best,
of intentions in the mid 19th Century, these canals would allow goods from all over the World direct access to our "inland seas" and the communities who crowd their shores. Sounds like a good plan, right? Problem is; these canals not only served as a pathway for world commerce they were also a perfect avenue for any invasive organisms that happened that way. Whether these organisms swam, drifted or hitched a ride in the...

United States on Dec 18, 2017

Marco Buseghin: A very useful book: our ecosystem can be damaged by human activity but foresight and planning can avoid and fix many of the damages.

Italy on Dec 06, 2017