Book Review-

On Christmas Eve I received a copy of the reissued "The Great
Lakes Car Ferries" by George W. Hilton.

The original 1962 version by Howell-North was 282-pages,
hardbound with a dust jacket, and measured in at 6-1/4" wide,
9-1/4" high and 1" thick. It was printed on a medium
weight, non-glossy paper.

Publisher Dean K. Fick of Montevallo Historical Press did a
first-rate job on the reissue, made even more challenging by a
major relocation, job change, and recent marriage. That's the
reason for the delay in the previously announced release of the
book.

To his credit, Fick did a complete makeover on the book's layout
and typeface, which was a welcome surprise. I was expecting a
one-to-one photo reproduction of each complete page. There is
a redesigned, high-gloss, dark green dust-jacket covering the
hardbound volume. The type font of the main text is reduced to a
more compact form, and this, with dimensionally larger pages,
helps to shave off over 40 pages from the original. Purists need
not worry - the content is true to the original version,
illustrations included.

The photos were painstakingly reproduced, eliminating the
original dot-pattern of the screen used during the 1962 printing
process. This attention to detail assures a reproduction of the
highest quality.

Dimensionally the new book measures 7-1/2" wide, 9-1/2" high,
and 11/16" thick. The pages are a high-quality glossy stock.

All of the errors that were found in Hilton's original text have been
corrected, and the newly reset type makes the book inviting for a
complete cover-to-cover reread, for those of us diehards who
already own a well-worn, dog-eared 1962 version.

On pages 215 to 217 of the new edition, Hilton includes a short
addenda, where he states that he feels it would be impractical to
do a comprehensive update to the original text, and would, "if I
were a younger man...consider doing...a second book on the car
ferries, organized topically, followed by shorter corporate
histories, with the treatment extended down the St. Lawrence to
Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and the Strait of Canso.
Rather than attempt a full revision of this book, or undertake a
new one, it seems preferable to let this one stand essentially as
a document of its time, when the car ferries were doing well."

This statement is followed by a very brief description of the
reasons for the decline of the car ferries, and a bibliography of
later works.

This highly anticipated new version of The Great Lakes Car
Ferries will be well-received, and will undoubtedly introduce a
new generation of enthusiasts to what was a remarkable era in
North American railroad and maritime history.

The Great Lakes Car Ferries, Copyright 2003
Montevallo Historical Press, Inc.
1727 West 17th Street
Davenport, Iowa 52804 USA
1-800-808-8030
www.mhpress.com
ISBN 0-9658624-3-7

Reviewed by Art Chavez
Milwaukee, Wisconsin