CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s never a bad time to be thinking about books, especially those with a decidedly local bent. Late vacation? Beach books. Birthdays? Perfect gifts. Holidays and hygge coming up? What could be better than cozying up with one or more?
With that in mind, we’re giving you the lowdown on some recent reads that Cleveland.com readers might have some interest in diving into:
“The Third Coast: America’s Great Lakes Shoreline”
By David Zurick
Think you know the Great Lakes? Think again.
Zurick’s full-color photo journey sweeps you across four galleries organized by lake and season—Lake Superior’s brutal winters, Lake Michigan exploding into spring, Lakes Erie and Ontario glowing under summer skies, and Lake Huron drenched in autumn hues. He even includes a gallery dedicated to the straits and rivers that stitch the whole system together.
Award-winning nature writer Jerry Dennis sets the mood with an evocative forward, teeing up this visual love letter to America’s inland seas.
“The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald”Liveright/Norton
“The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
By John U. Bacon
Some 50 years after the “Mighty Fitz” went down, Bacon delivers the definitive chronicle of the Great Lakes’ most infamous shipwreck. At a time when the region rivaled Silicon Valley in global economic clout, no vessel embodied American industrial might better than the 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald.
That’s why its sudden loss in 1975 stunned the nation.
Bacon—already acclaimed for “The Great Halifax Explosion”—pulls back the curtain on the ship, storm and shifting fortunes of the Great Lakes themselves. Grab an “Eddie Fitz” and settle into this tome.
The book will release on October 7.
“Cleveland Boomer Memories” by Howard A. Zuckerman and Ellen N. JacobCourtesy of Howard A. Zuckerman and Ellen N. Jacob
By Howard A. Zuckerman and Ellen N. Jacob
Step into a time machine set to mid-century Cleveland: Mawby’s, “Barnaby,” The Schvitz, Royal Castle, Euclid Beach Park and transistor radios on hot summer nights at Edgewater. Zuckerman and Jacob pack the book with iconic landmarks, vintage TV programs, local ads, fashions, foods and fads that shaped a generation.
Better yet, each copy comes with an interactive, printable photo book—and proceeds support the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the Alzheimer’s Association. It’s nostalgia with a purpose.
“The Westport Jets meet the Beatles: A Baby Boomer Adventure” by Peter JedickPeter Jedick
“The Westport Jets Meet the Beatles: A Baby Boomer Adventure”
By Peter Jedick
Imagine “The Sandlot”—but set in 1964 Cleveland, with a mission to meet the Beatles. That’s the vibe of Jedick’s playful “Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn” style adventure, where four Pony League ballplayers from West Park chase the impossible dream of crossing paths with the Fab Four. We aren’t alone in thinking of that “Sandlot” analogy; a user on goodreads actually beat us to it! (“You’re killing me, Smalls.”)
Packed with local landmarks and pure ‘60s flavor, it’s boomer nostalgia with a speculative twist. If you loved the first of Dave Eifert’s “Cleveland Curse” books or grew up sneaking into concerts and baseball fields, this is right in your wheelhouse.
“Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance” by John VachaKent State University Press
ICYMI: “Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance”
By John Vacha
Before Playhouse Square was a crown jewel of Cleveland’s arts scene, it was mere inches from demolition. Vacha—arguably the leading authority on the subject—traces how a band of Clevelanders in the 1970s rallied to save the theaters, setting off a chain reaction that helped spark the city’s larger comeback.
If only the Hippodrome had been so lucky.
While just over a year old, this book is the definitive account of how grassroots determination transformed a fading district into one of the world’s most prestigious theater hubs in the world. If you need proof of Vacha’s storytelling chops, check out his guest column about it here:
Did Playhouse Square’s rescue hinge on a magazine picked up at a barbershop? John Vacha
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