Eric Hirsimaki spent his forty-year career working in various facets of the Great Lakes shipping industry. He has sailed on the lakes, worked in the fleet office, been an engineer for a marine construction firm, worked for a major ore-hauling railroad, and been involved in lower lake dock operations and management. He has written several books; one, Lima: The History, was nominated for the 1986 Railroad Book of the Year by the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. He has authored dozens of articles concerning Great Lakes shipping and railroad subjects for historical societies and commercial publications and been featured in several public television productions concerning the Great Lakes and railroads. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in the Corps of Engineers. He lives in North Olmsted, Ohio, with his wife Beverly; they have two daughters and one son

The author has clearly devoted years to his research, and the end result is a truly remarkable summary of his discoveries. Hirsimaki has shared with today's readers the evolution of Great Lakes watercraft, along with the personal experiences of sailors on many generations of those vessels, both merchant and military crewmen. He has also supplemented his work with informative appendices and footnotes. Sail, Steam, and Diesel: Moving Cargo on the Great Lakes promises to be a very popular source of Great Lakes history! --C. Patrick Labadie, maritime historian and underwater archaeologist, former director of the Saugatuck Marine Museum, and former director of the Lake Superior Maritime Museum in Duluth

This volume is a good read for those who know about Great Lakes shipping and an easily accessible work for those who don't. It's well organized and covers a lot of material in an economical yet coherent way. Put it this way: I read--and dismiss--a lot of books on the topic of Great Lakes ships and shipping, but this one is a keeper. --Roger LeLievre, editor and publisher of Know Your Ships

This book makes a substantial contribution to the field of Great Lakes maritime history. The author successfully blends a wide array of factors into a complete story, including modifications to the travel routes, gradual increases in ship sizes and carrying capacities, changes in the nature of the crew makeup, port loading and unloading operations, and technological advancements such as radio's impact on navigation. While there have been a substantial number of works about nineteenth-century ships and their cargoes and crews, the author does the audience a great service in bringing out and synthesizing what has happened on the lakes in the last century to tell the significant stories that affected the industry. --Scott M. Peters, curator of collections, Michigan Historical Museum

A standout, one-of-a-kind work on the fascinating story of Great Lakes maritime expansion from the very first lake traders to today's vast diversity of world commerce on the Great Lakes. --Matthew Weisman, member of the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History and coauthor of nine books on shipbuilding

Publisher: Michigan State University Press

Pub date: 2024-04-01

Length: 696 pages