Joel Thurtell Books

Shoestring Reporter How I Got To be A Big City Reporter Without Going to J School and How You Can Do It Too presents Joel Thurtell’s argument that aspiring journalists do not need an expensive journalism degree to become professional reporters. Drawing on more than 30 years of newspaper experience, including 23 years at the Detroit Free Press, Thurtell explains how intelligent, literate, hardworking people can build real writing experience and enter the journalism field independently. The book encourages independent thinkers to pursue reporting through practice, persistence, and self-direction rather than formal journalism school.

Seydou’s Christmas Tree is a true story about a Muslim youth in Togo, West Africa, who helps two American Peace Corps volunteers understand the meaning of Christmas in an unexpected way. By leading them through what seemed like a barren wasteland and revealing a field that changed their perspective, Seydou shows them a new way to see what a Christmas tree can be in sub-Sahara.

The book imagines how field mice invented radio to protect themselves and other animals from the dangers of human development. As meadows are plowed and trees are bulldozed for human construction, Hannibal, a wise old field mouse, creates an early warning system for wildlife. His loyal disciple, Arthur Mouse, risks danger from hawks, snakes, owls, and a cat to gather books and materials from a ham radio operator so the mice can learn to build their radios.

Cross Purposes, Or, If Newspapers Had Covered the Crucifixion begins as a tongue-in-cheek satire, imagining how newspapers might have reported the Crucifixion. As the story develops, it turns more serious, exposing how prejudice, greed, and ambition can distort news gathering. Religion writer Daley Strumm faces obstacles created by the Filibuster as he attempts to report the story.

Wooden Sailboat, and What I Learned Along the Way

Plug Nickel Shoestring Boat Restoration; How I Turned an Old Fiberglass Boat Mold into a Beautiful Wooden Sailboat, and What I Learned Along the Way is Joel Thurtell’s collection of columns about restoring a wooden Lightning sailboat that began as a fiberglass boat mold. The mold, built by Nickels & Holman, was also the last wooden Lightning sailboat the company made; because male molds are called “plugs,” the project became known as “Plug Nickel.”

Up the Rouge!: Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River (A Painted Turtle Book) follows Detroit Free Press reporter Joel Thurtell and photographer Patricia Beck as they travel by canoe up Detroit’s Rouge River. Known for its heavy industrial presence, pollution, and difficult conditions, the Rouge is also shown to contain a hidden urban wilderness. Through Thurtell’s narration and Beck’s photographs, the book presents a surprising and educational journey into both the industrial and natural sides of one of Detroit’s most distinctive rivers.