An Elegant Wilderness

An Elegant Wilderness: Great Camps and Grand Lodges of the Adirondacks, 1855 - 1935 by Gladys Montgomery, recounts the story of the private retreats of the Gilded age industrial rich who traveled north from New York City to experience wilderness. Light

The author does a thorough job in explaining the beginnings of rustic architecture and why it has a permanent place in the culture. The mix of social background and the history of the early Adirondack camps provides a designers guidebook.

"Reading this poignant volume again emphasizes to me how crucial it is to keep exploitation out of this extraordinary part of our planet, so that it can serve as a lasting beacon for America's wilderness."--Edgar Wayburn, M.D., five-time president of the Sierra Club and author of Your Land and Mine PRAISE FOR THE SECOND EDITION: "A book for every man and woman who loves the wilderness. One who reads this volume walks with Bob Marshall on treacherous trails, climbs with him to the top of unnamed mountains, struggles with him to escape the swift rise of dangerous rivers, faces grizzly bears unarmed, feels the joy of being alone in an empty wilderness, and sees through the poet's eyes the great glories of the Alaskan mountains."--William O. Douglas

The power of story as God's word to the community of faith is never more clear than in the books of Samuel. Emotion, drama, complexity of character, and mystery fill the pages of these two biblical books. Eugene Peterson's commentary emphasizes the resonance and interplay between these stories of kings and prophets and the social and cultural issues that concern us today. Books in the Westminster Bible Companion series assist laity in their study of the Bible as a guide to Christian faith and practice. Each volume explains the biblical book in its original historical context and explores its significance for faithful living today. These books are ideal for individual study and for Bible study classes and groups.

A study of America's changing attitude toward wilderness, discussing efforts to protect the Alaskan wilderness, trends in wilderness management, and the international perspective.

Howard Zahniser (1906–1964), executive secretary of The Wilderness Society and editor of The Living Wilderness from 1945 to 1964, is arguably the person most responsible for drafting and promoting the Wilderness Act in 1964. The act, which created the National Wilderness Preservation System, was the culmination of Zahniser’s years of tenacious lobbying and his work with conservationists across the nation. In 1964, fifty-four wilderness areas in thirteen states were part of the system; today the number has grown to 757 areas, protecting more than a hundred million acres in forty-four states and Puerto Rico. Zahniser’s passion for wild places and his arguments for their preservation were communicated through radio addresses, magazine articles, speeches, and congressional testimony. An eloquent and often poetic writer, he seized every opportunity to make the case for the value of wilderness to people, communities, and the nation. Despite his unquestioned importance and the power of his prose, the best of Zahniser's wilderness writings have never before been gathered in a single volume. This indispensable collection makes available in one place essays and other writings that played a vital role in persuading Congress and the American people that wilderness in the United States deserved permanent protection.