The land: Great Lakes and wild weather, trumpeter swans and wildlife conservation -- The first Michiganders: dreamcatchers, canoe-making and village life -- Explorers and settlements: missions at Sault Sainte Marie and the Straits of Mackinac, the fur trade and freedom from Great Britain -- Growth and change: fighting the War of 1812 and becoming a state, the underground railroad and facing Civil War -- More modern times: ending the great depression and fighting World War II, labor unions and the great migration -- People: big cities and small towns, how Michiganders talk and eat, singers and writers, artists and athletes -- Government: legislature in Lansing, youth in government, and the state flag and seal -- Economy: running farms and making breakfast cereal, building cars and booming business -- Travel guide: the upper and lower peninsulas, museums and Mackinac Island.