Madeline Island. Just the words conjure up images of a magical place. For thousands of years the largest of the Apostle Islands has drawn people to its Lake Superior shores. For more than a hundred years summer residents have been shaping places for a relaxed pace of life shared with friends and family and immersed in nature.
Over the course of two summers architecture writer Linda Mack and her daughter photographer Kendra Mack plied the island's roads to capture the stories of twenty-seven wildly different retreats. They include century-old cottages contemporary houses designed by Minnesota architects a rustic fishing cabin a reassembled 1812 Vermont barn and the author's own beach house.
"Readers of this delightful book will be so enchanted with Linda Mack's stories of the island cottages that they will want to catch the next ferry from Bayfield Wisconsin." - Bette Hammel author of Legendary Homes of the Minneapolis Lakes and Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka
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Linda Mack writes about architecture historic preservation and urban design. As architecture crititc for the Minneapolis Star Tribune she traced the arc of Twin Cities development and design for more than than twenty years. She and her husband Warren live in Minneapolis but spend as much time as possible at their beach cottage on Madeline Island.
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"This book by the noted architectural writer Linda Mack and her photographer daughter Kendra Mack makes you want to curl up by a window and savor its stories about Madeline Island's summer houses and their colorful owners. With luscious photos and engaging prose the book captures a way of life wonderfully out-of-sync with our fast-paced world. Madeline Island isn't just a place but a state of mind and this isn't just a book but reminder of how to live a good life: more slowly closer to nature with family and friends." -Tom Fisher Dean of the College of Design University of Minnesota
"Readers of this delightful book will be so enchanted with Linda Mack's stories of the island cottages that they will want to catch the next ferry from Bayfield Wisconsin. Linda has always written so clearly and concisely about architecture but here she is writing with deep affection for the place she and her husband Warren so enjoy." -Bette Hammel author of Legendary Homes of the Minneapolis Lakes and Legendary Homes of Lake Minnetonka
"This wonderful book explores the island's architectural history in a fresh new way- through the families year &lsquorounders and summer folks alike who for generations have made Madeline Island their very special off-the-beaten-path home." -Steve Cotherman Wisconsin Historical Society
