The Third Coast: Sailors, Strippers, Fishermen, Folksingers, Long-Haired Ojibway Painters, and God-Save-the-Queen Monarchists of the Great Lakes

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Chronicling the author's 10,000-mile "Great Lakes Circle Tour," this travel memoir seeks to answer a burning question: Is there a Great Lakes culture, and if so, what is it Largely associated with the Midwest, the Great Lakes region actually has a culture that transcends the border between the United States and Canada. United by a love of encased meats, hockey, beer, snowmobiling, deer hunting, and classic-rock power ballads, the folks in Detroit have more in common with citizens in Windsor, Ontario, than those in Wichita, Kansas--while Toronto residents have more in common with Chicagoans than Montreal's population. Much more than a typical armchair travel book, this humorous cultural exploration is filled with quirky people and unusual places that prove the obscure is far more interesting than the well known.

Reviews

"[A] hearty, good-natured homage." -- Booklist "The author struts an extensive knowledge of the area that makes this a must for fans of travel literature." -- Kirkus Reviews Captures a slice of North Americana with the precision of a Walker Evans photograph, and sentences worthy of John McPhee." --Neal Pollack, author, Alternadad "To [Ted McClelland], the North is a state of mind, and it is the Great Lakes region that fuels his imagination." --Chicago Tribune "Is there a Great Lakes culture Damned straight, and Ted McClelland nails it." --Jerry Dennis, author, The Living Great Lakes and A Place on the Water " The Third Coast is much like the place it chronicles: interesting, not at all ostentatious, and a great amount of fun." --Tom Bissell, author, The Father of All Things "[A] quirky travelogue." -- Kenosha News "A very good read. I learned more about the Great Lakes region from it than I had in a half century of living in Michigan." -- The Bay City Times

Author Bio

Ted McClelland has contributed to Mother Jones, Salon.com, and the Chicago Reader, where he wrote a popular column called "At the Track" featuring stories from the racetrack. He is currently the senior editor for Lake and writes the "Cheap Bachelor" feature for the Chicago Tribune.