Ruin and Recovery tells the story of Michigan's cycles of resource exploitation and conservation from the early days of statehood in 1837 to the present day. Drawing from a large number of resources, including archival records and reminiscences, official documents and individual interviews, Ruin and Recovery charts the development of a conservation ethic in Michigan and chronicles the major battles for environmental protection since the late 1800s.
Michigan has faced two turning points in its conservation history. One came at the end of the nineteenth century when its logging era ended, only to be followed by raging forest fires that left millions of acres of land denuded. Ruin and Recovery's discussion of this first turning point is from historical records and the later recollections of survivors of the ruinous 1908 Metz forest fire in northeastern Lower Michigan. The second turning point came in the late 1960s, when water and air pollution prompted public outrage. This controversy is brought to life through interviews with local residents, scientists, and agency officials who observed the Kalamazoo River to be the most polluted in Michigan. Both turning points set the stage for the historic eras of rebuilding that followed.
Dave Dempsey serves as Communications Director for Conservation Minnesota and consults for other environmental and conservation organizations across Minnesota and Michigan. He is author of William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate and Ruin and Recovery: Michigan's Rise as a Conservation Leader.

Ruin and Recovery: Michigan's Rise as a Conservation Leader

Business & Money

Dave Dempsey

Economics

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN REGIONAL

"Bill Milliken has always been a thoroughgoing pluralist. He cherishes diversity and differences of opinion and he shuns extremism. . . . My hope is that history will show he was closer to the mark than the Republican Party of today." ---Congressman Sandy Levin
"This is an outstanding and long-overdue biography of a man who set the standard for how a political figure should behave in a civilized society. Anyone who wants to understand modern Michigan history-or who wants to know how our politics and government could be better today-ought to read this book." ---Jack Lessenberry
William Milliken, Michigan's longest-serving governor, stands as an icon of decency even among the state's most cynical political observers. Often seen by the public as a man above politics, Milliken was in truth an astute deal maker who governed by crafting coalitions with politicians that spanned the gamut from Detroit's hard-left Coleman Young to the rural conservatives of his own Republican Party.
Born in Traverse City, Michigan, Milliken fought in World War II and returned home to run the family business, served as lieutenant governor from 1965 to 1969, and was then elected to four-year terms in 1970, 1974, and 1978. Milliken stepped down after fourteen years and a record of education reform, environmental protection, urban policy, and civil rights-and a series of bruising tax fights.
Twenty years after leaving office Milliken's legacy of civility and willingness to work with political opponents stands tall. But his outspoken defense of traditional Republican values has cast him into a political no-man's land that makes this story as intensely emotional as it is relevant to today's no-holds barred politics.
Dave Dempsey presents a fully developed picture of Milliken that reveals both his strengths and weaknesses while also providing the political and historical context of Milliken's time in office-and the lessons of his life and career for current and future politicians and the public.
Dave Dempsey serves as Communications Director for Conservation Minnesota and consults for other environmental and conservation organizations across Minnesota and Michigan. He is author of William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate and Ruin and Recovery: Michigan's Rise as a Conservation Leader.

William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Petoskey Pub

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Books by Dave Dempsey