The Wolf's Head: Writing Lake Superior

by Peter Unwin

With a passion for storytelling and a gift for showing how the past flourishes in our daily lives, Peter Unwin takes an original look at the North -- in particular, the stories and personalities that surround the world's largest body of fresh water. Lake Superior has long had a powerful effect on the popular imagination. The Wolf's Head weaves together the stories of the Ojibwa, French, and English peoples whose coexistence on these shores formed the basis for a genuinely North American society -- a society based on everyday hardship, naked courage, and native adaptability.

The Wolf's Head encompasses a range of stories, including the life of wild teenager Pierre Radisson, the coming of the Jesuits, the rise and fall of the world's most celebrated silver mine, the astonishing removal of the Ontonagon Boulder, the Second World War German prisoners who handfed black bears from their prison camp and, of course, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Genres: Travel, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Sterling Archer]

The basic stories the author tried to cover were interesting. I wish he had focused more on the Canadian side of Superior rather than the American. Overall, I did not enjoy the author's writing style. He came across as self righteous and pious. The author tried too hard to convey storytelling in a poetic and dreamy way but it came across as a forced and failed effort. Dates and times were inconsistent and hard to follow. Often had to go back to retrace what exactly was happening (and when). I regret buying this book.