Compiled by the staff of AMC Books
Edited by Katharine Wroth
Hardcover $39.95
224 Pages 12x9 ISBN 978-1-934028-08-7
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2007
The Appalachian Mountain Club today announced the publication of White Mountain Guide: A Centennial Retrospective. This elegant hardcover book celebrates the nation’s oldest continuously published hiking guide, considered by many to be the “hiker’s Bible” to New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Rare photographs, biographical items, and original essays trace the history of the Guide from its first inception in 1907 as a modest guide to “paths” in the Whites to a modern, comprehensive guide to over 500 trails, supported by detailed, digitally rendered color topographical maps to the region. Recognized by the National Outdoor Book Awards as a “Work of Significance,” the White Mountain Guide has generated a loyal following of hikers and outdoor lovers, with over a half-million copies sold.
White Mountain Guide: A Centennial Retrospective offers collectors, historians, and avid hikers an in-depth photographic and narrative record of the evolution of this important work over the past century. Inside are black-and-white historic photographs—many of which are published for the first time here—as well as a full-color folded insert featuring all 28 White Mountain Guide covers and statistics on each edition. The book includes biographical notes on the people who shaped the Guide, including Ralph Larabee, known for his thorough and exacting style during his 54-year involvement with the Guide, to Howard Goff, a longtime club leader who oversaw development of eleven editions of the Guide. Personal essays by the Guide’s most recent co-editors, Gene Daniell and Steve Smith, shed light on more recent issues impacting hiking in the Whites. The Retrospective is rounded out by an examination of the history of mapmaking in the region, including the influence of cartographic luminaries Louis Cutter and Brad Washburn.
These and other stories bring to life the people behind the Guide, and also reflect shifts in the public’s attitude toward recreation, stewardship, and conservation as each successive edition was published, including the creation of the White Mountain National Forest and the Appalachian Trail, passage of the Wilderness Act, and introduction of stewardship guidelines like Carry In, Carry Out and Leave No Trace.
White Mountain Guide: A Centennial Retrospective is a look inside a piece of AMC history at a time when the Guide poises to enter the next 100 years of hiking in The Whites. In August 2007 the Appalachian Mountain Club launched the online edition of the White Mountain Guide at www.outdoors.org/wmgonline. This new tool allows users to access over 500 up-to-date map and trail descriptions from the Guide, create a custom trip itinerary, and view other members’ trip and trail reports.
Special Features
Never-before-seen photos and memorabilia from the AMC archives; first-person essays that bring to life the people who not only created the Guide, but also built and mapped many of the earliest trails in the White Mountain National Forest; a full-color, folded insert featuring the covers of and statistics on all 28 editions; historic perspectives on conservation and recreation in the White Mountains.
Visit http://www.outdoors.org/amcstore for more information.
Also available
AMC White Mountain Guide, 28th Edition
Edited by Gene Daniell and Steven D. Smith
Paperback $24.95
624 pages 5x7 ISBN 1-929173-34-1
Celebrating 100 Years in Print!
The centennial edition of the "hiker's Bible" has been completely revised and updated with over 500 trail descriptions and detailed pull-out, full-color trail maps. The new Guide also includes tips on safety and trip planning, the latest trail data, and detailed information on Mt. Washington.
AMC White Mountain Tyvek Map Kit
Tyvek Map Kit $29.95 (A 25% savings over individual map prices)
Four maps at 18x24 inches
ISBN 1-934028-04-9
Completely revised and updated, these new, larger scale maps include mileage references for trail segments and are GIS-rendered for the most up-to-date, accurate trail information. They are made of waterproof, tear-resistant Tyvek paper. The maps in the kit include: Presidential Range, Franconia/Pemigewassat, Crawford Notch-Sandwich Range/Moosilauke-Kinsman, and Carter Range-Evans/North Country-Mahoosucs. The map kit includes waterproof versions of all the White Mountain Guide Maps, as well as more detailed maps of three popular hiking areas. The Presidential Range map includes a detailed map of the Northern Presidentials on the reverse, and the Franconia-Pemigewassat map includes a detailed map of Franconia Notch State Park and Waterville Valley on the reverse.
Individual Tyvek maps are also available.
Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the U.S. With 90,000 members throughout the Northeast, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of the mountains, rivers, and trails of the Appalachian region.
Print version
