Reviews for White Mountains Hotels, New Hampshire (Images Of America Series)

The average rating for White Mountains Hotels, New Hampshire (Images Of America Series) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-05 00:00:00 Ian Fridy I'd first heard about this book on the NPR Fresh Air program 26 May 2008; however, it was as a pass-along from my Mom that I finally had a chance to sit down and read it. I visited the Niagara Falls area back in 1999 and remember clearly the disparity between the US and Canadian sides - now, thanks to this book I want to go back to explore the nooks and crannies a bit more thoroughly. Inventing Niagara reads a bit like a Sarah Vowell book - Strand explores the history and sociology of the Niagara Falls area, from Native American times to modern day. She covers its history of exploitation quite well - I was particularly fascinated by the struggle between the hydroelectric contingent and the nature lovers during the late 1800's and their compromise. I wish there had been more info about Tesla's involvement - tho I was surprised to learn that Frederick Law Olmstead played such a huge part in the development of Niagara Falls as a tourist location (and how much landscaping went into making it look so "natural"!) And much like Vowell, Strand digs into the less savory elements of the area's history - such as Love Canal, and the post Manhattan-Project radioactive dumping. She even veers off into a history of the Red Hat Club (they held a national convention at the Falls while Strand was there) as well as follows the remains of one of the original Niagara Falls tourist attractions - a museum of natural history - to its current owner in New York City. Strand puts a lot of herself into this book - discussing how she performed the research, as well as some of her own conclusions about the area's current situation. If you enjoy nonstandard place histories, where the author plays an active part in the narration (again, see Sarah Vowell), I can recommend this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-02-13 00:00:00 Scott Bohe The central premise of this book is that the natural wonder we know as Niagara Falls is in fact an example of how nature is manipulated for man's own purposes but still sold as "nature." The author's love of the subject is obvious--this is as much about her own voyage of discovery as it is about Niagara Falls. We follow her as she meets interesting people associated with the Falls. She describes her many visits to the region, the many people she meets, what she uncovers at the library, the local records, etc. It all comes across in a way that is interesting to read. What we learn in this book is how the power of Niagara was harnessed and then ultimately re-shaped for the benefit of tourism, making it more user-friendly rather than literally just letting it run its course. The history of industry in the area is explored; how manufacturing once thrived until it mostly left for places with cheaper power and lower taxes. The toxic history is presented, from the region's unwitting role in the development of the atomic bomb to Love Canal and beyond. The last chapter is about the state of the American side of the falls, which has not fared as well as the Canadian side, partly due to the fact that the Canadians had casino gambling to draw people over to their side. Apparently now there is a casino on the American side, but is it really enough to save the region? And should a beautiful natural treasure like Niagara Falls ever need "saving?" The history of the American side reads like a horror story of something that has happened to a lot of once-great American cities. Over all, this is a good read. It is more of an exploration of the author's curiosity than it is a call to action for the environment, which is probably a good thing, cause, well, I'm pretty lazy.