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Read in the Blue Line

The book that launched the Adirondacks’ vacation industry

As another Adirondack tourist season approaches, it bears noting that the industry’s beginnings, in the mid-19th century, can be attributed to books. Three pre-Civil War volumes in particular proved to be springboards for what became a revolution in regional economics — those by Charles ...

History series lacks essential context

I admit, I was wary of reviewing Erik Schlimmer’s 2023 doorstop diptych “With an Ax and a Rifle: Settler and Onomastic History of the Adirondacks.” For one, the word “onomastic” — which pertains to the history and origin of proper names — is grandiose. For another, I knew that it ...

A love letter to the Adirondacks

Joseph D. Dumoulin writes passionately, and with clear objectivity, about the Adirondack region in “Rocks, Roots, and Muck.” The Rouses Point native graduated from Plattsburgh State University College with a Bachelor’s degree, earned a Master’s degree in engineering physics, and ...

History, layers, compelling characters abound in last Russell Banks novel

North Country residents have mourned the January death of Russell Banks. We lost not just a great and famous writer, but a person who encouraged and supported artistic efforts in the Adirondacks. He served, for example, on the advisory board of the Adirondack Center for Writing, and was ...

Book on Adirondack mountain names educational, but not definitive

Saranac Lakers familiar with local history may know that Mt. Baker had a speakeasy at its base during Prohibition. But how many know for whom the gentle peak was named, and its connection to the famed British author Robert Louis Stevenson? Venturing further afield in the orbit of Adirondack ...

Murray preached the Adirondack gospel

One can’t delve long into Adirondack history without coming across the name William Henry Harrison Murray. His career in the ministry became well known during the mid to late 19th century, as did his love of the northern New York mountain region. Murray’s book “Adventures in the ...