FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2006
Katahdin: An Historic Journey
Legends, Explorations, and Preservation of Maine’s Highest Peak
By John W. Neff
Mount Katahdin stands as an extraordinary landmark, for centuries dominating the changing landscape of Maine’s North Woods. This magnificent mountain has inspired and challenged all who have encountered it, from the Native Americans whose trade routes rounded its base; to Henry David Thoreau and Governor Percival P. Baxter, who forged new approaches to nature and conservation; to the hundreds of people who enjoy its trails and waterways each year.
In his superbly researched new book, Katahdin: An Historic Journey, Maine historian John W.Neff takes readers on a journey through the mountain’s history, legend, and legacy. Neff collects widely scattered sources—from journals, papers, and articles to unpublished firsthand accounts—and assembles the first comprehensive history of this massive peak. Neff shares Native American traditions and stories, recounts colonial settlers’ first glimpses of the dramatic mountain, traces the histories of trails and campsites, conveys the impact of the remarkable lumbering era, tells of the bustling sporting camps that sprang up in the mountain’s shadow, and follows the footsteps of Thoreau and other artists who have been touched by the mountain. Neff also retells the extraordinary story of Percival P. Baxter’s dream, reflecting on the legacy of conservation and preservation he left in his wake.
Neff ’s history is infused with the lives of people intricately entwined with the mountain, bridging past and present opportunities for conservation and recreation in Maine’s spectacular North Woods.
About the Author
John W. Neff, a Maine resident and retired minister, has been involved with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club both as president and an active trail maintainer. He co-founded Friends of Baxter State Park, a nonprofit citizens group, and served as its first president. He has published articles for various local and regional Maine magazines and authored a book about Pemaquid Point, Maine.
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