It took 21-years to pass legislation creating the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The process was not a pleasant one. Long time property owners, resorters and developers strenuously objected, and did everything they could to scuttle the proposal. For their part, government representatives were often lacked finesse, acting arrogantly and employing heavy-handed tactics to achieve what they understood as their mandate. The vitriol and suspicion that developed during those troubled times persists even today. Both sides have a story to tell, and their stories are evenhandedly presented in this well-researched illustrated history.