Forest and Crag: A History of Hiking, Trail Blazing, and Adventure in the Northeast Mountains, Thirtieth Anniversary Edition
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Book Overview
Thirty years after its initial publication, this beloved classic is back in print. Superbly researched and written, Forest and Crag is the definitive history of our love affair with the mountains of the Northeastern United States, from the Catskills and the Adirondacks of New York to the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the mountains of Maine. It's all here in one comprehensive volume: the struggles of early pioneers in America's first frontier wilderness; the first ascent of every major peak in the Northeast; the building of the trail networks, including the Appalachian Trail; the golden era of the summit resort hotels; and the unforeseen consequences of the backpacking boom of the 1970s and 80s. Laura and Guy Waterman spent a decade researching and writing Forest and Crag, and in it they draw together widely scattered sources. What emerges is a compelling story of our ever-evolving relationship with the mountains and wilderness, a story that will fascinate historians, outdoor enthusiasts, and armchair adventurers alike.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1438475306
ISBN13:9781438475301
Release Date:March 2019
Publisher:Excelsior Editions/State University of New Yo
Length:978 Pages
Weight:3.90 lbs.
Dimensions:2.3" x 7.0" x 10.0"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
A Surprisingly Interesting Read!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Shortly after starting to hike as a past time I became curious about the history of hiking. There were very few books on the subject and this seemed like a good one to start with. It has answered many of my questions as well as provided hours of entertaining stories about people and places in the Northeast US. The book is big, well researched and interesting....
Scholarly, lively, and fun
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
It looks big, scholarly, and intimidating. It is big, scholarly, lively, fascinating, and fun. (I had it on the shelf for several years, afraid to bring it down because it was so thick. But once I started reading it -- short chapters, lively prose, cogent discussions -- I wished it were longer because I didn't want it to end.) Although obstensibly a history of trail-building in America's northeast, it is just as much a story of humanity's relation with the environment -- and in this role it is far more trenchant and closely reasoned than Simon Schama's "Landscape and Memory". When I started, I thought I would like only those chapters about mountain regions where I had already hiked, but in fact I found the chapters on regions I hadn't yet hiked to be even more fascinating.
Simply the best book on Hiking in New England!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
A friend turned me on to this book. I had passed on it a few times due in part to it's huge size. However I found that it was everything I ever wanted to know about the mountains and forests of New England. It's written in a very accesible manner that never leaves the reader without a smile for long. It's very obvious that the text contained in this book was researched with an artists attention to detail. And it shows in the nearly 200 pages of appendix!To those in the North East the name Guy Waterman and his wife Laura have long been synonymis with hiking and climbing in the the region. A lot of hulabaloo was made over his death and the poetic yet puzzling statement it makes. In any case, after reading this book it becomes easy to see why he was so well loved, respected, and admired by so many of his peers. If this book was $100.00 it would still be worth it. The amount of labor that went into this book is priceless. It was very obviously a labor of love. Buy it and read it.
Forest & Crag
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This book is a great indepth look at mountainiering in the northeastern United States. It has to be the most complete history of the northeast mountains. It starts back when Darby Fields and many others started to explore the area, and runs through the nineteen eighties. Laura and Guy Waterman researched for ten years in order to put this book together. They are both acomplished writers and have a way of making a history exciting and humorous. It is a great tribute to the early settlers of the area and how hearty they were. I recomend this book to anyone who has done some hiking in the northeastern United States or are just interested in the history of the land. This is a must buy for all serious northeastern mountainiers.
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