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Awards
Michigan Notable Book Awards
Michigan Notable Books is The Library of Michigan’s annual selection of up to 20 recommended books reflecting Michigan’s rich cultural heritage, featuring high-quality titles with wide public appeal that are either written by a Michigan resident or about a Michigan-related topic.
Award Categories: Recent Awards, Michigan Notable Books, State History Awards, Other Awards
2009 Award Recipients
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A Picturesque Situation
Mackinac before Photography, 1615-1860By Brian Leigh Dunnigan
From the author of the award-winning Frontier Metropolis, a comprehensive visual history of the straits of Mackinac in pre-photographic images.
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Summer Dreams
The Story of Bob-lo IslandBy Patrick Livingston
A definitive history of Bob-lo Island, a Canadian amusement park in the mouth of the Detroit River and a favorite recreation spot for generations of Detroit-area residents.
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When the Church Becomes Your Party
Contemporary Gospel MusicBy Deborah Smith Pollard
A look at the innovations of contemporary performers of modern gospel music and their roots in the African American Christian church.
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Who's Jim Hines?
By Jean Alicia Elster
A look at issues of race in Depression-era Detroit for young readers, aged 8 through 12.
2008 Award Recipients
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Connecting the Dots
Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg ProjectA collection of varied reflections on the Heidelberg Project, a Detroit art installation that has garnered international acclaim and has been the focus of local controversy.
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My Brave Mechanics
The First Michigan Engineers and Their Civil WarBy Mark Hoffman
Foreword by William M. AndersonAn important and little-known chapter of Michigan’s Civil War history, drawn from the letters, diaries, and regimental records of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics regiment.
2007 Award Recipients
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House of Fields
Memories of a Rural EducationBy Anne-Marie Oomen
The follow-up to Pulling Down the Barn, House of Fields is a collection of evocative personal essays that recall the many facets of a young girl’s formal and informal education in rural Michigan.
2006 Award Recipients
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The Dodge Brothers
The Men, the Motor Cars, and the LegacyBy Charles K. Hyde
The first comprehensive biography of John and Horace Dodge and the history of their company, Dodge Brothers.
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Under Michigan
The Story of Michigan's Rocks and FossilsBy Charles Ferguson Barker
An exciting trip below the surface of Michigan’s rocks and fossils.
2005 Award Recipients
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American Vanguard
The United Auto Workers during the Reuther Years, 1935-1970By John Barnard
Geared toward general readers and scholars alike, American Vanguard presents the first history of the UAW, one of America’s most significant workers’ organizations, from its origins through its period of greatest impact.
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A Different Image
The Legacy of Broadside PressEdited by Gloria House, Albert M. Ward, and Rosemary Weatherson
A collection of work from six of Broadside Press’s most influential poets during the 1960s and 1970s.
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Eight Steamboats
Sailing Through the SixtiesBy Patrick Livingston, Foreword by Neal Shine
Recounting his sailing and land roving expeditions during the tumultuous 1960s, Patrick Livingston presents a series of tales centered on ships of the Great Lakes and the men who sail them.
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Pulling Down the Barn
Essays on Growing Up in Rural MichiganBy Anne-Marie Oomen
Blending artful language and style with the dirt, blood, and sweat of farm life, this collection of essays tells a moving story of growing up in rural Michigan.
2004 Award Recipients
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A Hanging in Detroit
Stephen Gifford Simmons and the Last Execution under Michigan LawBy David G. Chardavoyne
The first historical study—and a riveting account—of the last execution in Michigan.
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Michigan’s Early Military Forces
A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil WarCompiled by Le Roy Barnett, Histories by Roger Rosentreter
The first extensive treatment of Michigan's early military forces, this book includes the names of all known Michiganians who answered the call to arms prior to the Civil War and explains the circumstances of each major conflict.
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Riding the Roller Coaster
A History of the Chrysler CorporationBy Charles K. Hyde
The first comprehensive history of the Chrysler Corporation, this book is intended for readers interested in the history of automobiles and of American business, and for fans and critics of Chrysler’s products.
2003 Award Recipients
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Windjammers
Songs of the Great Lakes SailorsBy Ivan H. Walton and Joe Grimm
Recognizing in the late 1930s, almost too late, that this rich oral tradition was going to the grave along with the last generation of schoonermen, Ivan H. Walton undertook a quest to save the songs of the Great Lakes sailors.
2002 Award Recipients
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Albert Kahn
Builder of DetroitBy Roger Matuz
This biography tells young readers how he overcame numerous disadvantages to make that indelible mark.
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Angels in the Architecture
A Photographic Elegy to an American AsylumBy Heidi Johnson, Introduction by Nancy Tomes
An intimate photographic journey into 115 years of history inside a nineteenth-century asylum.
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First Lady of Detroit
The Story of Marie-Thérèse Guyon, Mme CadillacBy Karen Elizabeth Bush
First Lady of Detroit is the spirited tale of an adventurous girl who grew up to commission and equip her own expedition to le Detroit, joining her husband there in the fall of 1700 —less than a dozen weeks after Fort Pontchartrain was carved out of
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Michigan Remembered
Photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, 1936-1943Ed/Intro by Constance B. Schulz, Introduction by William H. Mulligan, Jr.
Michigan Remembered contains 150 images, chosen to represent various geographic areas of Michigan and its people during the depression and wartime years of the 1930s and 1940s.
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The Reuther Brothers
Walter, Roy, and VictorBy Mike Smith and Pam Smith
In intimate detail, the author reveals the man who pioneered a guaranteed annual wage for the American worker, led the first nuclear-power protest, brainstormed the Peace Corps, civil rights demonstrations, and a host of humanitarian programs far beyond t
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Willie Horton
Detroit’s Own Willie the WonderBy Grant Eldridge and Karen Elizabeth Bush
Willie Horton: Detroit's Own "Willie the Wonder" takes this warm and generous man from his disadvantaged childhood through the excitement of a baseball career, and ends with an account of his ongoing work among today's youth.
2001 Award Recipients
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Frontier Metropolis
Picturing Early Detroit, 1701-1838By Brian Leigh Dunnigan
No other book so vividly depicts Detroit's growth from struggling agricultural community and trading post to industrial giant.
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Mail by the Pail
By Colin Bergel, Illustrated by Mark Koenig
A delightful story that illustrates the mail delivery system for Great Lakes freighters.