Books for the Nature Lover in Your Life

The history of American whaling is most frequently associated with Nantucket, New Bedford and Mystic. However, the state of Maine also played an integral part in the development and success of this important industry. The sons of Maine became whaling captains, whaling crews, inventors, investors and businessmen. Towns along the coast created community-wide whaling and sealing ventures, outfitted their own ships and crewed them with their own people. The state also supplied the growing industry with Maine-built ships, whale boats, oars and other maritime supplies. For more than two hundred years, the state forged a strong and lasting connection with the American whaling industry. Author and historian Charles Lagerbom reveals why Maine should rightly take its place alongside its more well-known New England whaling neighbors.

The Old Man of the Mountain once cast a steady gaze upon the slopes of Franconia Notch. Its profile drew writers, explorers and presidents, delighting all who glimpsed its features. But when it collapsed on May 3, 2003, the Old Man seemed forever lost. Veteran historian Bruce Heald and the last caretaker of the Old Man, David Nielsen, have gathered 101 images from the profile's long history. These one-of-a-kind photos from Nielsen's private collection depict four decades of preservation work, seismic testing by national experts, visits from dignitaries and rare memorabilia. With Nielsen's personal reflections on his life's work and Heald's notes on the history of the Old Man, this volume recaptures the wonder of New Hampshire's great stone face.

J.H. Hall has been fishing most of his life and fly-fishing Maine rivers and ponds for over thirty years.

In his book, he has brought together some of his favorite fly-fishing experiences that go beyond morning excursions on a river's banks. He uses his fishing trips as the platform to introduce the reader to the people and the rivers that color his life and Maine, bringing all of us engaging life lessons and new experiences.

Walkers, bikers, paddlers and snowshoers can encounter relics of the past and their incredible tales from Keene to the Seacoast. Exploring Southern New Hampshire" takes history off the page, out of the car and into the welcoming pine-scented woods and pristine waters of the Granite State. Hike Mount Monadnock, paddle the Nashua River and retrace Lincoln's footsteps down Exeter's streets. Experience the legacy of a women's sawmill at Turkey Pond from the waters that powered it. Visit Cathedral of the Pines, a beautiful outdoor altar built with stones from historic sites around the world. Set sail on the Piscataqua River onboard a gundalow and learn about the region's rich maritime history. Local history explorer and nature lover Lucie Bryar leads readers through the Monadnock, Merrimack Valley and Seacoast regions. Granite State natives and transplants alike will explore trails and waterways to gain a new appreciation for the history hidden in natural New Hampshire."

When Pres. John F. Kennedy established the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, it was acclaimed as the "finest victory ever recorded for the cause of conservation in New England."

When erosion and overdevelopment threatened the Cape, the idea of a national seashore took hold, forever protecting this treasured place. The park preserves 44,000 acres of forest, marsh, bog, and ponds, and a 40-mile stretch from Provincetown to Chatham, which Henry David Thoreau called the "Great Beach." Unlike other national parks at the time, the Cape Cod National Seashore was created from a combination of private, town, state, and federal lands. Cape Cod National Seashore: The First 50 Years captures the political drama of the creation of this extraordinary seashore. Images detail an early Native American presence and the romance of whaling, shipwrecks, lighthouses, windmills, and dune shacks.

Baxter State Park and the Allagash River covers two spectacular areas in the northern Maine woods. Baxter State Park, with more than 200,000 acres, is the largest park in the country purchased by one individual, former governor Percival P. Baxter. The park includes Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and the highest peak in Maine. Breathtaking photographs portray the scenic Allagash River, which was designated a wilderness waterway in 1966 by the Maine legislature. It was the first state-managed river area in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1970. Included in this volume are stereoscopic photographs of Mount Katahdin from the early 1870s. This mountain, sacred to the Native Americans, has an atmosphere that is masterfully conveyed in the extraordinary photographs used in this history. The Allagash River is portrayed as it was before the wilderness waterway was created. Baxter State Park and the Allagash River chronicles the progression of the river and park from lumbering, hunting, and fishing to its eventual preservation and tourism.

Baxter State Park is the guardian of this vast wilderness area for all to enjoy. Baxter State Park and Katahdin draws on rich collections of archival images dating back to the 19th century.

The character of Baxter State Park and the great mountain at its heart can be powerfully conveyed through two words: forever wild. The mountain was known as Ktaadn, or ""the greatest mountain,"" to native peoples who first frequented Maine's interior northern forest. They were followed by colonial adventurers who explored its cirques and massive granite walls, by those who studied its geology and flora and fauna, and later by loggers who came to extract the virgin timber from nearby valleys. Finally, recreational climbing and camping led to an effort to protect the rugged beauty of these mountains, lakes, and valleys. When calls for preservation went unheeded, former governor Percival P. Baxter, beginning in the 1930s, purchased some 201,000 acres over a period of 30 years and gifted them to the state.