A Face in the Rock - by Loren R Graham (Paperback)

About the Book

"Loren Graham's steady vision and painstaking research result in a fascinating and poignant story. "A Face in the Rock" is very true, very touching."--Louise Erdrich, author of "The Bingo Palace"

Book Synopsis

Eight miles long and four miles wide, Grand Island lies off the south shore of Lake Superior. It was once home to a sizable community of Chippewa Indians who lived in harmony with the land and with each other. Their tragic demise began early in the nineteenth century when their fellow tribesmen from the mainland goaded them into waging war against rival Sioux. The war party was decimated; only one young brave, Powers of the Air, lived to tell the story that celebrated the heroism of his band and formed the basis of the legend that survives today. Distinguished historian Loren R. Graham has spent more than forty years researching and reconstructing the poignant tale of Powers of the Air and his people. A Face in the Rock is an artful melding of human history and natural history; it is a fascinating narrative of the intimate relation between place and people.

Powers of the Air lived to witness the desecration of Grand Island by the fur and logging industries, the Christianization of the tribe, and the near total loss of the Chippewa language, history, and culture. Graham charts the plight of the Chippewa as white culture steadily encroaches, forcing the native people off the island and dispersing their community on the mainland. The story ends with happier events of the past two decades, including the protection of Grand Island within the National Forest system, and the resurgence of Chippewa culture.

From the Back Cover

"Loren Graham's steady vision and painstaking research result in a fascinating and poignant story. A Face in the Rock is very true, very touching."--Louise Erdrich, author of The Bingo Palace

"A delightfully spirited and engaging book."--Leo Marx, author of The Machine in the Garden

"A Face in the Rock is a rare treasure--it reads like a legend or a fairy tale escaping from the passages of a textbook. This is American history at its best--an enthralling story that should not be forgotten."--Susan Power, author of The Grass Dancer

Review Quotes

"Graham has written a richly entertaining story of the Grand Island Chippewa Indians, one combining extensive oral histories, original documents, and his own well-informed musings to fill in the gaps."-- "New York Times Book Review"

About the Author

Loren R. Graham is a historian of science who holds a joint appointment in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University and the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous books including The Ghost of the Executed Engineer (1993).