A Face in the Rock: The Tale of a Grand Island Chippewa

Rating:
Summary: You can't judge a book by it's cover.
Review: I came across A Face in the Rock in a bargain bin and picked it up because 1. it was so [inexpensive] and 2. it was local history. In truth, I didn't expect much from it---the edition that I bought had a badly designed cover---and it ended up sinking down my pile of "to read" books. I finally got around to it months later on a rainy, dreary, ... autumn day and, lo and behold, got totally sucked into it. A Face in the Rock as a book does everything a history should do: it captures the inherent drama, maintains an intimate, personal approach, sets the story against the framework of forces at work on the larger stage. It's also fairly short and to the point---the author keeps things moving nicely. It's nearly perfect, and a remarkable and poignant tale. Recently it has been reissued in a snappier edition (with praise from the NY Times and Louise Erdrich, among others) and, hopefully, this will help it find a wider audience. If you're at all interested in the history and development of the Great Lakes region, in native American history, or in sweeping dramas, get this book.

Rating:
Summary: A fine book about a beautifual people and place.
Review: I found this book very enjoyable reading. Being of Northern Michigan Anishnabe descent, it was a pleasure to read about the area where I grew up. This book is a genuine read about the Grand Island experience of the past. Munising, AuTrain and Grand Island are beautiful places to be and this is a must read about the history of the area, about a single life more or less, about an original people that the tourists in the area really don't get enough info about.

Rating:
Summary: I thought it kept you interested throughout the whole book.
Review: I thought this book was very good.I read it as a class project, and I thought it would be very very boring at first.Like oh yeah A Face In The Rock sounded really interesting to me!I think Powers of the Air was a very brave Grand Islander.He stood up for what he believed in.I thought Loren Graham wrote this book very well.I also thought it was interesting how he got his resources.Overall i think the book was very good.I will probably read it again.I would reccomend it to everyone because it is a good book for children because they can learn about the Grand Islanders and some of their legends.Thank You!

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Summary: How I wrote the book
Review: This book is based on conversations with local Chippewa and on family diaries. I researched it for almost 40 years. In the process I discovered a marvelous local Native American legend that is connected to broad streams in American history and culture, including the story of the composition of Longfellow's poem Hiawatha. Native Americans who remember this story still live in the Munising, Michigan, area and have become my friends.