Sunrise to Paradise: The Story of Mount Rainier National Park (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This compendium makes a useful addition to the existing canon of personal accounts, age-yellowed histories, and helpful guidebooks to Washington State's Mount Rainier National Park. Kirk, who has written on both nature and history, lived in the park for five years, and has both climbed and circled Rainier. The book ranges widely, if not too deeply, into just about everything to do with a remarkable natural landscape capped by the highest mountain--from its base--in the lower 48 states.

Kirk ably considers all sides of the park: the local animals, the history and nature of volcanic activity, the politics of the name "Rainier," and the environmental changes wrought by a boom in the region's population. In the "Voices of the Mountain" sections of the book, first-person written and photographic accounts of Rainier experiences highlight human interaction with the mountain over the last century. Centenarian Floyd Schmoe writes about working in the park in the 1920s, and poet Denise Levertov, who never visited the mountain, writes of its effect on her each time she viewed its snowy peak from her home in Seattle: "always loftier, lonelier than I ever remember." Enlivened by photographs on each page, some from as early as the turn of the century, this book is a fascinating introduction to the mountain Native Americans called Tahoma. --Maria Dolan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With 200 square miles of forest, 34 of which remain snow-covered year round, plus 25 glaciers, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State is impressive by any standard. What makes the park most remarkable is Mount Rainier itself. Almost mystical in its appeal, Mount Rainier has been compared to Japan's Mount Fuji. Natural science and Pacific Northwest history writer Kirk lived in the park for five years and has climbed Rainier five times. She provides dizzying coverage of everything from the geologic history of Rainier to tales of turn-of-the century climbing expeditions. However, Kirk's stated goal to write a "something-for-everybody book" has resulted in a little-information-about-a-lot-of-things pastiche: interesting but not completely satisfying. The 200 color photos are often exceptionally beautiful, and Kirk has provided an annotated bibliography. Recommended for larger public libraries, especially those in the West.AJanet N. Ross, Washoe Cty. Lib. Syst., Sparks, NV
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press; First Paperback Printing edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029597771X
• ISBN-13: 978-0295977713
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #669,734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appeals to both mind and eye., April 15, 1999

By A Customer

Years ago I hiked at Mt. Rainier, took pictures in its flower meadows, and slid in its summer snow. I thought someday I'd climb its glaciers to the summit, 14, 410 feet. That never happened. But this book brings back all the old impressions and delights-and adds to them. Lots of photos (280!). Lot of information, most of it new to me. Richard P. Kratz, M.D. Clinical Professor, Ophthalmology Univ. California, Irvine

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book., April 27, 2005

By	Jon-Michael Noe "Seattle206" (Northern California.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sunrise to Paradise: The Story of Mount Rainier National Park (Hardcover)

This book shows the history of Mount Rainier National Park, from Sunset to Paradise. The photos are great and the paragraphs are informative and don't run on. The book also goes into the history of the 14,411 foot Stratovolcano, and how 5,600 years ago, the peak was at 16,500 feet, but a major eruption caused a massive collapse and created the peak we know, love and cherish today.

The Sleeping Giant... The Mountain...Mount Rainier...