Into the Mountains: Stories of New England's Most Celebrated Peaks Book

For the first time in one volume, authors Stier and McAdow have gathered information hitherto scattered among old accounts, articles, the fine arts, and hard-to-find literature, into a graceful and fascinating account of New England's 15 significant and celebrated peaks. Here are tales of exploration and settlement, of commerce and conservation, of legend and lore. The stories form a rich tapestry that combines human endeavor and natural forces. The account of Mary Rowlandson, a colonial settler captured by Wampanoag warriors, then redeemed near Wachusett in 1676. The early history of Mount Monadnock, where wolves and fire altered the landscape two hundred years ago. The curious conveyances that brought tourists to dazzling 19th century hotels on mounts Tom and Holyoke. Vermont's Equinox, where a reclusive order of monks dwells in silent meditation to this day. Tales of Mount Washington, the grandest (and most hazardous) of New England's high peaks. Distant Katahdin, saved as wilderness by the efforts of one man. Cadillac, where the mountains meet the ocean in down-east Maine, and much more. Into the Mountains shows the past, present and future of these mountains - the long view, as from a summit, of New England life itself. Author Maggie Stier is the former curator of Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts. Ron McAdow is an educator and the author of The Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet Rivers, The Charles River, and New England Time Line. (6' x 9', 368 pages)