With humor and perceptive candor, the twenty-six short stories in this anthology build upon the author's earlier works on Michigan small town life. Set during different time periods from the early twentieth century to twenty years into the future, often in spectacular outdoor settings, the stories pursue such themes as the innocence of youth, ethnic customs, the troubled state economy, fear of those who are different, dubious claims of morality, heartbreak, the corrupt side of academia, career options, and the loneliness of old age. Anyone who has ever lived in, or even visited at some length, an American small town will identify with many of the not so common situations depicted in this collection.

Tales of Two Peninsulas – Gary Swagart takes readers back to days of yesteryear in his tales about Michiganders from the Northcountry. Many of his characters are from the ranks of the poor and downtrodden who are just trying to survive one way or another. Aside from the mention of snow with cold weather and the names such as Toivo, Einard, Gutsu and Laakaniemala that may sound a bit strange, these tales could have happened anywhere. Real “characters” are not unique to Northern Michigan. They are scattered throughout the country and are much more plentiful than you might think if you just pay a little attention. In these folksy tales, Gary has captured several of these poor and downtrodden characters on paper where they can survive and go on sharing their joys and sorrows forever, though they would fall through the cracks left by the history books.

In Tales of Two Peninsulas and an Island, Gary Swagart recalls some of his experiences as a semi-Yooper kid before he changed to a Troll and later became a Yooper again. Many of these experiences revolved around subsistence living farm life, which contained a lot of hard work, drudgery, even. Some of the stories are about some real characters, simply because that is just what they were. His love of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Lake Superior, and Isle Royale shows through despite some hair-raising, near-miss incidents that easily could have resulted in catastrophe (including putting his wife in jail.) In this sometimes harsh, but always beautiful part of the world, Death can slip its icy fingers around the unwary without warning. Something as simple as getting a wet foot or forgetting to put car flaps down can be fatal. As can be getting lost in a Lake Superior fog, going downwind, or dropping a wrench in a boat. Simply underestimating the amount of time it will take to get from point A to point B can be fatal. The person who escapes the icy fingers learns to appreciate just how tenuous the thread of life can be.

Explores what it takes to create, destroy, and inhabit peninsulas.

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Publisher description: This volume presents a detailed study of the climate strategies of ExxonMobil, Shell, and Statoil. With an innovative analytical approach, the authors explain variations at three decision-making levels: within the companies themselves, in the national home-bases of the companies, and at the international level. The analysis generates policy-relevant knowledge about whether and how corporate resistance to a viable climate policy can be overcome.