The Illinois and Michigan Canal: A Contemporary Perspective in Essays and Photographs | 
| Author: Jim Redd
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $34.00
Buy New: $9.95
You Save: $24.05 (71%)
New (5) Used (15) from $7.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 2485339
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.3 x 7.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 0809316609
Dewey Decimal Number: 977.32
EAN: 9780809316601
ASIN: 0809316609
Publication Date: May 12, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
From The Illinois and Michigan Canal: "When I first came upon one of the locks, I thought of the ancient Roman ruins or the entangled monoliths in the forest of the Yucatan. I remember, as I stood on that rough stone edge looking down into the chamber, my sadness that such classic work had not been preserved. The side walls were weathered mosaics of precisely cut and fitted limestone, indented with the scrapes, gouges, and grooves of hundreds of canal boats. Tree roots, growing through the joints of the masonry, had forced fragments into the shallow stream trickling through the canal bed. To my left and right, the long, narrow chamber flared out at each end to form the entry bays, the walls curving outward and tapering downward in perfect proportion and symmetry. . . . But what I remember most about that lock, and what inspired me to explore and photograph the others, was the puzzle of its appeal: to what could I attribute the value I found in something so decrepit and devoid of purpose?"
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| Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but marred by distracting opinions December 1, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In 1848, the Illinois and Michigan Canal was opened, connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, via the Illinois River. In 1993, some sixty years after the I&M Canal finally closed, author and photographer Jim Redd followed the length of the Canal, documenting its history and its present condition.
Overall, I found this to be a pretty interesting read. The author did a good job of showing the Canal as a relic of the past. My one complaint is that the author does have a certain, rather strange, contempt for his subject. Sprinkled throughout the book are distracting and unnecessary attacks on the canalmen, and the Canal itself (focusing primarily on its environmental impact).
But, that said, it is a rather good book on the Canal, one that anyone interested in it should read. I give it a somewhat guarded recommendation.
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