Death's Door: The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder | 
| Author: Steve Lehto
Publisher: Momentum Books, LLC
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $6.00
You Save: $13.95 (70%)
New (24) Used (12) from $3.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 66025
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1879094770
Dewey Decimal Number: 977.4993
EAN: 9781879094772
ASIN: 1879094770
Publication Date: November 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Death's Door is the true account of the tragedy that struck a Michigan copper mining town during a time when a bitter struggle raged between the striking workers and the mining companies. This haunting story continues to be an unsolved mystery today. Lehto conducts all the research to bring you the most accurate account of what songwriter Woody Guthrie called the "1913 Massacre."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Wrong title for the right book September 3, 2007
As a native of Michigan's Copper Country, where the incident described in this book took place, I have come away from the book with a firm conviction that the author has done the history of that region a great service.
I was given a signed copy of this book for my birthday. I looked askance at the title, because such titles, in my experience, surround books that promote drama, or the author's own predispositions, at the expense of objectivity. The book in fact turned out to be a case study in how someone investigating history should deal with sources - correctly and incorrectly. I was shocked to see how historical accounts I had read of the disaster could rest on biased or misrepresented primary sources (newspaper articles). I am grateful for Mr. Lehto's reevaluation of the disaster.
This book carries a taste of an expose of community-wide anti-union machinations during a time of labor strife. However, given the valuable contribution stated above, and the fact that the author gives more than adequate examples of how the anti-labor fight was carried on from management ranks, I find said taste to be much easier to swallow.
The subject of the book, the Italian Hall disaster, is spared conjecture beyond facts from testimony, much to my relief. The author does not seek to dramatize the disaster itself. I learned little about the incident and its surrounding history, having read several other books relating to it. But most valuably, I UN-learned some myths about the disaster that had been buried in the Copper Country's popular consciousness for decades. I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in Keweenaw history.
 A long hard look at a Michigan mystery June 30, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Until a book was published about the Italian Hall Tragedy a few months ago, the best known record about the deaths of seventy-three people was a song. It was a Woody Guthrie tune from the 1940s, The 1913 Massacre. One critic called the song "one of his most delicate, affecting, and personal works."
The massacre - the largest in Michigan history - occurred when a man -- the headlines later would call him a Drunkard -- yelled "Fire" into a crowded Christmas party for the children of striking copper miners. He caused a stampede down a steep staircase.
There was no fire.
The country learned of the deaths of 73 people, mostly children, on Christmas Day, 1913.
The case was never properly investigated, not even when it got to the Congressional level. The most basic questions were never answered - such as exactly how many children and parents died on the staircase. And did the doors swing outward, as the new book concludes? If they did, what -- or who -- held them closed?
The case was never solved, despite the incredible death toll. Or because of it? The Detroit Free Press once called the tragedy "an enormous secret".
Attorney Steve Lehto, an author with deep roots in the Finnish community, has put the tragedy in its historical context, which also explains why the local newspaper and law enforcement failed the victims of this calamity. It also explains why the entire staff of the local Finnish newspaper was arrested for writing about the case mere days after the event.
Some will and already have criticized the author's conclusions. He states: "The event was murder -- not an accident or prank -- and was most likely instigated by mine management. As such, it is the largest mass murder in Michigan."
But this firm conclusion is supported by careful research. The book would have been a disappointment if he hadn't stated the obvious after reviewing what record there is of this monstrous disaster.
In 1913, Calumet, Michigan was a copper boom town, a company town on a peninsula jutting far into Lake Superior, one of the most beautiful places in the state. But the mines were crude, filthy, dangerous, and there was great labor unrest at that time.
When 15,000 miners struck, a mass of people moved into Calumet -- scabs, striking workers on parade, Socialist party leaders, Mother Jones, spies, roving mobs, public deputies, Pinkertons, National Guard troops, and Department of Labor officials, to name most.
But they couldn't stop the rising violence, which, as the strike went on, led to beatings, then shootings, then multiple murders, then the National Guard firing wildly into crowds, who turned on the soldiers when they ran out of ammunition.
Steve Lehto has written an important contribution to Michigan history. His book is getting many strong reactions. It should.
Historical happening May 12, 2007
Very interesting about the location, but excessive legal issues. I enjoyed the book about the local people who were involved. It would be very interesting to anyone with ties to the Upper Peninsula.
A haunting review of history May 1, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mr. Lehto's dissection of data, photographs, blueprints, and newspaper articles provides an incredible insight into the tragedy. The photographs are truly haunting and force the reader to look beyond the text and into the personal implications of this nightmare. Further, Lehto's comprehensive bibliography allows the reader to draw many of his own conclusions about the "fire."
 Death's Door March 15, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I had seen the book at the bookstore, with the exciting title "Death's Door - Michigan largest mass murder" (My favorite type of books). My son knowing I like these types of books, bought it for me for Christmas. Not wanting to disappoint my son, I am now forced to read it. But I am on the 2nd or 3rd chapter and I am struggling to read it. It is very painful to read. The first chapter was OK, but now it is just dragging on painfully about the union and management. This is not what I wanted to read about. My son will be disappointed, but I now have to put the book down and read something more enjoyable. I can't go on. Maybe if I put it down for awhile and go back, I might be able to continue it, but right now I have to stop. PS I am also from Michigan
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