What do you think?
Rate this book
Door Way
Weaving a tapestry of lives and landscapes, past and present, earth and water, Norbert Blei celebrates the unique heritage of Door County, Wisconsin, a spectacular peninsula reaching into Lake Michigan. Blei ponders the balance of nature in a place where locals, tourists, and developers vie with the native flora and fauna of forests and lakeshore.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
4 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 13, 2019
We are frequent visitors of Door County, Wisconsin. It is a place blessed with scenic beauty as it lies on the peninsula that extends from Green Bay into Lake Michigan. It is a popular tourist destination but also home to some 27,000 residents. About a third of the county’s residents live in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Sturgeon Bay is the county seat and home to much of the county’s industrial and commercial base. Most visitors view Door County as everything North of Sturgeon Bay.
What you find in northern Door County is a tension between an economy based on tourism and residents seeking to both live and work among its scenic beauty.
Much like William Kent Krueger’s novels, Norbert Blei captures the tensions that exist between these cultures. This book provides 37 profiles of individuals making their living in Door County. Some are very dependent on the continued growth of tourism, while others fight to maintain a pristine natural environment. All of the profiles in this book present colorful and unique personalities. There is both the element of oral history (as each tells a story) and beauty of language and setting that the talented author supplies.
Read the book and visit Door County. You will find many insights in both!
What you find in northern Door County is a tension between an economy based on tourism and residents seeking to both live and work among its scenic beauty.
Much like William Kent Krueger’s novels, Norbert Blei captures the tensions that exist between these cultures. This book provides 37 profiles of individuals making their living in Door County. Some are very dependent on the continued growth of tourism, while others fight to maintain a pristine natural environment. All of the profiles in this book present colorful and unique personalities. There is both the element of oral history (as each tells a story) and beauty of language and setting that the talented author supplies.
Read the book and visit Door County. You will find many insights in both!
July 16, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It isn't a book you necessarily pick up and read straight through. Every chapter is a story in itself. I got to where I would read one chapter at night just before turning the light out. That way I could really absorb that particular story. Norbett Blei has done a wonderful job sharing his version of Door County, WI. All of the folk he chose to interview and write about are quite the characters and his descriptions make them come to life. We have visited Door County several times and absolutely love it and too, worry about all the commercialization that takes over these beautiful, restful places. If you enjoy human interest stories, you'll enjoy this book.
December 31, 2018
As a recent transplant to Door County, I really appreciated the backstories on some of the local characters that we hear so much about. Thank you for the insights. Already, you've made my life richer here in Door.
November 13, 2014
Norbert Blei was a writer from Chicago who moved to Door County, Wisconsin, in the late 1960s. This is a book of essays about the county and its people, written (as far as I can tell) primarily in the 1970s.
I've been to Door County, and am familiar with some of the places mentioned in the book. If you're unaware, though: Wisconsin is shaped something like a mitten; Door County is the thumb of the mitten, sticking out into Lake Michigan. It's well-known in the Midwest for its natural beauty; its fruit (particularly cherries); its large number of artists and craftspeople; and as a rustic vacation spot.
Most of these essays are homages to individual people Blei befriended there; portraying what the subject is like right now, how they became the person they are, and an attempt to discern how they see the world. They're quite well-written and sympathetic, and in most cases they make you wish that the people he describes were a part of your own life. In the first half of the book I was ready to criticize him for apparently only being interested in people very much like himself; it's full of fellow artists (in various mediums) and naturalists, mostly people who have moved to Door County as adults (rather than growing up there), mostly male. Most of them share Blei's general attitude towards the world. But the people he writes about diversify as the book goes on.
When he's not writing about people, his writing can grow distressingly turgid. "The Chicago Run", for instance- one of the few non-biographical essays in the book- is an exploration of his thoughts and state of mind as he drives from Door County down to Chicago. It's about as dull a piece of writing as I've ever encountered. And his tendency to ascribe spiritual qualities to the Door landscape, and wax poetic about it, grated on me.
But those are merely small flaws in an otherwise engaging book.
I've been to Door County, and am familiar with some of the places mentioned in the book. If you're unaware, though: Wisconsin is shaped something like a mitten; Door County is the thumb of the mitten, sticking out into Lake Michigan. It's well-known in the Midwest for its natural beauty; its fruit (particularly cherries); its large number of artists and craftspeople; and as a rustic vacation spot.
Most of these essays are homages to individual people Blei befriended there; portraying what the subject is like right now, how they became the person they are, and an attempt to discern how they see the world. They're quite well-written and sympathetic, and in most cases they make you wish that the people he describes were a part of your own life. In the first half of the book I was ready to criticize him for apparently only being interested in people very much like himself; it's full of fellow artists (in various mediums) and naturalists, mostly people who have moved to Door County as adults (rather than growing up there), mostly male. Most of them share Blei's general attitude towards the world. But the people he writes about diversify as the book goes on.
When he's not writing about people, his writing can grow distressingly turgid. "The Chicago Run", for instance- one of the few non-biographical essays in the book- is an exploration of his thoughts and state of mind as he drives from Door County down to Chicago. It's about as dull a piece of writing as I've ever encountered. And his tendency to ascribe spiritual qualities to the Door landscape, and wax poetic about it, grated on me.
But those are merely small flaws in an otherwise engaging book.
February 10, 2016
I read about this small book on a Door County web site. Over a decade now I have vacationed a week or more in a number of little villages, hamlets, and spent time in painting workshops and wandering about at art shows and museums.
So, I checked out Door Way from the Wilmette Library. Mr. Blei died two or three years ago and his own story is rather interesting, but I digress.
The book is comprised of chapters, sketches about local characters, famous and others virtually unknown to but a few; sketches of locals are mixed with Blei's observations and his philosophy, ill-defined in my opinion.
He wrote rather well-not great-but well. Great literature, no; but his work held me for a while, then the profiles became redundant, boring, so I skimmed through much of the rest of the book. Were it not for my own experiences in the Door this book would have held minimal interest.
Jim
So, I checked out Door Way from the Wilmette Library. Mr. Blei died two or three years ago and his own story is rather interesting, but I digress.
The book is comprised of chapters, sketches about local characters, famous and others virtually unknown to but a few; sketches of locals are mixed with Blei's observations and his philosophy, ill-defined in my opinion.
He wrote rather well-not great-but well. Great literature, no; but his work held me for a while, then the profiles became redundant, boring, so I skimmed through much of the rest of the book. Were it not for my own experiences in the Door this book would have held minimal interest.
Jim
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews