Amazon.com description: Product Description: Great Lakes, the novel is a tale as wide and deep as the lakes themselves; a rare combination of history, romance and, “what just might have been,” rolled into a read so fascinating it is literally impossible to put down. From the earliest days of the old “wind wagons” to the steel behemoths of today, Great Lakes, sails into the drama, mystery and outright treachery of the dark side of navigating the lakes. Screaming “nor’easter’s” and back-stabbing corporate boardrooms all form part of the novel’s captivating saga of the sweetwater seas. As an historian reading “historical novels” has always been like scraping fingernails down chalkboards for me. The plot may have been believable but the scope of the times was so misunderstood and characters mere poorly constructed cardboard cutouts, the book invariably collapsed of its own ponderous ineptness. By contrast Great Lakes, is everything a historical novel should be; rich in history with an overarching storyline balancing nicely between fact and fiction, believable characters, a narrative rarely told; all set against a backdrop that while we think we understand it, surprises keep emerging from the shadows. Great Lakes, the novel is certain to become a classic for the inland Seas. ~~ Fred Stonehouse