Customer Reviews

Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks

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I have always loved the Adirondacks, but after reading this astonishingly well-written book I have a new appreciation for this remarkable region. If you're a fellow Adirondacks-lover I HIGHLY recommend this book. Also, if you have time to read only one history of the Adirondacks, then this is the one to read.

This wasn't the most exciting history book I've ever read but it was an informative and concise history of the region. The region known as the Adirondacks is a huge tract of wilderness in northern New York that, as Terrie describes it, is "an unintended mix of private land, villages, and state-owned wilderness." In the opinion of this lifelong frequenter of "The Dacks," it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Terrie thoroughly explains the conflicting intentions for the region that have plagued it since it was first explored and settled in the 18th century. The conflict was between those who recognized it's unique natural beauty and wanted to preserve it as such, and those who saw it as just another land to be exploited for it's natural resources. More recently, the struggle continues as everyday residents of the region battle the bureaucratic Adirondack Park Agency for the right to grow economically, something which has been consistently denied to them, due to the stringent restrictions on any kind of development. Originally published in 1997, it is a bit dated, but for any fellow Adirondack lovers, I would say it's definitely worth checking out.

This book provides a good history of Adirondack State Park, an area three times as large as Yellowstone. Unlike Yellowstone, only about half of ASP consists of publicly-held land; the rest is private lands within the park's "blue line." Disagreements over how to keep the public land wild, and what developments are appropriate on private lands within the park boundaries, dominate this narrative.

Terrie is fair-minded, explaining the views of each side in their own words. He is a resident of the area, and would like to see more local influence in regional planning, within the context of an overall conservationist agenda. Since the region's political rhetoric pitches outsiders' strict environmentalism against locals' economic concerns, Terrie's narrative emphasizes the more complex battle lines, with insiders and outsiders on each side of every debate.

His account would be valuable for readers with a personal connection to the region. For the rest of us, it is best read in the context of debates over local control versus national control of national parks, national forests, and other preserved areas.

A new concluding chapter brings the book up to date, instead of changing the original text in light of later developments. This creates a rough transition and some overlaps between the original final chapter and the new final chapter, but otherwise serves the story well. It's not a perfect book but it's as good an overview of the Adirondacks as I've seen.

The book introduces concepts and ideas that you will have thought of before, but never had actually examined in real images and arguements.

Has some great historical facts and stories.

Tells New Yorkers about what has happened in their state.

This is truly fine work. The relatively new genre of environmental history has produced the usual amount of academic turgidity, but many of these young historyians clearly love the land that they write abot, and have the skills to make discussions of the history of human interacton with natural systems into literature. If you enjoy Terrie, you should also pick up Bullough's Pond by Diana Muir.