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Continental divide : a history of American mountaineering / Maurice Isserman.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2016]Copyright date: ©2016Edition: First editionDescription: x, 436 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780393068504
  • 0393068501
Subject(s):
Contents:
Pioneers, 1642-1842 -- Hardy mountain plants, 1842-1865 -- Good tidings, strenuous life, 1865-1903 -- Brotherhood of the rope, 1900-1946 : part I -- Brotherhood of the rope, 1900-1946 : part II -- Rucksack revolution, 1945-1963 -- Epilogue: 1964-2015.
Summary: In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Mountains were originally seen as obstacles to civilization; over time they came to be viewed as places of redemption and renewal. The White Mountains stirred the transcendentalists; the Rockies and Sierras pulled explorers westward toward Manifest Destiny; Yosemite inspired the early environmental conservationists. Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural, and political roles mountains played in shaping the country. He describes how American mountaineers forged a "brotherhood of the rope," modeled on America's unique democratic self-image that characterized climbing in the years leading up to and immediately following World War II. And he underscores the impact of the postwar "rucksack revolution," including the advances in technique and style made by pioneering "dirtbag" rock climbers.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 796.52 I86 Available 33111008172807
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In Continental Divide, a Banff Prize-winner tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Maurice Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural and political roles mountains played in shaping the country.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [345]-418) and index.

Pioneers, 1642-1842 -- Hardy mountain plants, 1842-1865 -- Good tidings, strenuous life, 1865-1903 -- Brotherhood of the rope, 1900-1946 : part I -- Brotherhood of the rope, 1900-1946 : part II -- Rucksack revolution, 1945-1963 -- Epilogue: 1964-2015.

In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Mountains were originally seen as obstacles to civilization; over time they came to be viewed as places of redemption and renewal. The White Mountains stirred the transcendentalists; the Rockies and Sierras pulled explorers westward toward Manifest Destiny; Yosemite inspired the early environmental conservationists. Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural, and political roles mountains played in shaping the country. He describes how American mountaineers forged a "brotherhood of the rope," modeled on America's unique democratic self-image that characterized climbing in the years leading up to and immediately following World War II. And he underscores the impact of the postwar "rucksack revolution," including the advances in technique and style made by pioneering "dirtbag" rock climbers.

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