Alma Public Library Bookstore

Books may be purchased at the library or contact the library for purchase by mail.

Domestic shipping charges: $5.00 per book

Down Twelve Decades: A Pictorial History of Alma, Michigan

By David McMacken and Louise Davenport
Retail price: $8.00
112 pages; 28 cm.; opaque linen paperback binding
Over 250 illustrations & maps
Published in 1976

The photos are arranged by the following categories:
• The First Years • A Walk Downtown • Made in Alma • School Days • Townspeople
• Just for Fun • In God We Trust • Health Care • Next Stop, Alma • Serving the Nation
• Down on the Pine • Joining and Belonging • Fire! • Looking Down

Built on Pines: The Story of Ammi Willard Wright, Michigan Lumberman, Capitalist and Philanthropist

By David McMacken
Retail price: $20.00
210 pages; 28 cm.; gloss paperback binding
Over 50 illustrations & maps
Published in 2003

This book tells the story of one lumberman from Saginaw, who started with nothing yet became one of the prominent lumbermen of the state. His name spread far beyond the Saginaw Valley. As did many lumbermen, Wright branched out into other enterprises. His business stretched into twelve states, and he puzzled his Saginaw friends by moving to the small central Michigan town of Alma. This is the story of the challenges and rewards, tragedies and triumphs experienced by this remarkable man.

Flash and Fizzle: The Rise and Fall of the Republic Motor Truck Company of Alma, Michigan

By David McMacken
Retail price: $25.00
198 pages; 28 cm.; gloss paperback binding
Over 100 illustrations
Published in 2011

Almost any book on historical American trucks will mention the Republic Motor Truck Company of Alma, Michigan. Few of the sources, however, reveal much information on the company that at one time was building every ninth truck sold in America and was acknowledged as the largest exclusive manufacturer of trucks in the world. After the Great War, Republic Truck fell on hard times, and by 1932 it was defunct. This is the story of its flash into the automotive world and the fizzle with which it sputtered out.

Taming the Wilderness: The Amazing Story of the Settlement of Gratiot County

By David McMacken
Retail price: $25.00
244 pages; 28 cm.; gloss paperback binding
10 maps
Published in 2012

This is the untold story of Gratiot’s indomitable pioneers. The first twenty-five years of the settling of Gratiot County, Michigan saw the area transformed from a wild, forested wilderness to a tamed landscape of woods, farmland, and villages. While this change may sound mundane, a more gripping story of pioneering life is unlikely to be found elsewhere in the State of Michigan. This book tells the stories of the Gratiot pioneers, the people whose hard work, perseverance, and ingenuity turned a forested wilderness into a thriving Michigan community.