“When do you edit a film that is in progress, with a story that is still being told?”
That’s the question that Captain Bill Zimmermann and Dr. Mark Donnelly had for me, as the two authors contemplating the perfect time to write, edit, and release a book about the Buffalo waterfront.
Bill told me that the hardest part about the process was deciding that the time had finally come to tell the story. Once they felt that the time was right, the two storytellers were determined that they were going to produce the best coffee table book – one that recounts the history and the rebirth of the waterfront.
The book covers the waterfront throughout the decades, while taking a look at what survived, and what is being built upon. The book is titled Celebrating Buffalo’s Waterfront.
Bill and Mark have been helping to pave the way along the waterfront for 35 years, by teaching, sailing, promoting, writing, celebrating, and now telling the story in a way that only these two could tell.
“We’ve been involved in the waterfront for decades,” said Bill. “Our partnership has helped to allow the Buffalo waterfront to shine. Mark is a great photographer and people person. He’s a great guy to write for too. We’re both so busy, but we felt that this book was too important to hold off any longer. In order to write, I would go to bed at 9:30pm and wake up at midnight, and then work all night long – the process is called ‘middle night.’ There are no distractions – it’s a great voyage into the mind and soul.”
Bill told me that he and Mark felt blessed to have their good friend, historian, journalist, and waterfront enthusiast – Mike Vogel – write the forward for the book. “The man knows more about the history of the Buffalo waterfront than anyone alive,” Bill told me. He is revered all over the world for his exceptional knowledge of lighthouse history.”
For anyone interested in the industrial heritage, the ships, the commerce… the people that made it happen, and a community that rallied behind them, this book is one that you need to get your hands on.
Celebrating Buffalo’s Waterfront is now available online, and will be in stores in days to come.
Published by RPSS Publishing in Buffalo NY | Hard cover