Steve Lehto of suburban Detroit brings to the table a unique set
of qualifications: a legal "sharp eye," previous historical
writing experience, impressive Copper Country roots & a
long-standing, Finnish-American passion for getting to the
bottom of the "1913 Massacre" story.
Yes, that same "1913 Massacre" written & sung by Woody Guthrie
and later performed by his protégé, Bob Dylan ... and also the
subject of a great forthcoming film documentary by New York
filmmakers Louis Galdieri & Ken Ross.
"Death's Door" is, quite simply, destined to be crowned the
proverbial "Final Word" about what happened at Italian Hall,
Calumet, Michigan, why it's never been officially solved and why
it's still such a bone of contention within the local community.
Far more than just another "cute little book" about the
legendary copper mining center of the Upper Great Lakes, this
latest from Lehto adds much to our appreciation and deepens our
understanding of the area's history.
The author's insistence in keeping the discussion of the
incident within the framework of the brutal, bloody 1913-14
copper strike is nothing short of a stroke of genius, resulting
in a justifiable, pleasing mixture of up-tempo drama & that
ugly-but-necessary touch of meticulous (and all too often,
tedious) legalese. But of utmost importance is the author's
unveiling of a determined sensibility as he contemplated (and
often avoided) the use of mainstream newspaper reports to
untangle the mess; as I saw for myself a few years ago during
the editing of my own "Calumet: Copper Country Metropolis,"
Calumet was economically & politically a one-horse town with a
one-horse press, period.
What we have, in the end, is the first ever book to bring all
the aspects of the Italian Hall incident under one cover; and
the most important book about Old Calumet to be published in
over 20 years.
My personal exchanges with the author with regards to some of
the details also revealed a gutsy, genuine sense of humility
which could have only abetted his desires to "get the facts
straight." Steve Lehto, in the spirit of the late John Voelker,
is the Real Deal and I hope to hear more from him sometime soon.
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