Black Otter Bay
by Vincent Wyckoff
North Star Press • ISBN: 978-1-68201-026-6 • $14.95 Softcover
An element of local flavor adds interest to a well-written novel. In this complex story, Black Otter Bay resembles Beaver Bay on Minnesota’s North Shore, and part of the action happens in Duluth. Vincent is an emerging talent in the art of character portrayal and building suspense. This book is hard to put down except when you need relief from its tensions. If there’s a failing, it’s in the author’s hasty unraveling of the tortuous plot in the book’s final pages, but this matters little in the overall excellence of this riveting tale set on the rocky coast of Lake Superior. – Donn Larson
Hunting Camp 52: Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp
by John Marvin Hanson
Wisconsin Historical Society Press • ISBN: 978-0-87020-773-0 • $18.95 Softcover
In the middle of page 109, a few pages from the center of this book, the author reveals: “In my opinion, shack life is 80 percent of deer hunting … and nightly card games are 80 percent of shack life.” If you’re inclined to agree, or are curious about his reasoning, you’ll enjoy this book. Unlike some hunting-camp books, it is not ostentatious or laced with questionable humor. It is a clear description of a consummate example of how a small group of hunters in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, perfected a classic of its kind. The book is loaded with advice and ideas, the emotions of hunting and camp life, plus several appealing recipes, not only for dinner, but companionship. When Wisconsin discontinued leasing public land for recreational purposes in 2009, the author’s wife, Kathy, a reporter for the Sawyer County Record, wrote a requiem for Camp 52, perhaps the book’s most memorable pages. – DL
World War II Shipbuilding in Duluth and Superior
by Gerald Sandvick
Arcadia Publishing • ISBN: 978-1-4671-2581-9 • $21.99 Softcover
Gerald “Jerry” Sandvick is well-known within the maritime community of the Twin Ports and as an historian and having been chairman of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. He’ll be speaking this year at Gales of November (see page 48) about this book and it will be interesting to hear his journey of photo discovery. Anyone familiar with the Arcadia series knows that the historic images with extended descriptions make the bulk of the book, but Jerry has added good insight with his intro about WWII’s affect on local shipbuilding. The major item lacking is a good index. This is definitely a book for boatnerds or WWII history buffs. – Konnie LeMay