“May the Mountain Speak to You: A Collection of Snapshots and Quotations” by Ken Marcinowski, Sr., is almost 50 pages of photographs of beautiful scenes throughout the Adirondack Mountains.

The author, who lives in Ballston Spa, provides lots of quotations by various writers, poets, nature lovers and environmental activists. Several of the poems were written by the author himself.

If you are an enthusiastic hiker, like Marcinowski, you may recognize some of the well-known locations and perhaps some of the lesser-known ones. The photos show views from Cascade, Saddleback, Algonquin and Crane mountains. There are also photos of Heart Lake, Mount Van Hoevenberg, the MacIntyres, the Dixes and Mount Marcy. Butterflies, a variety of flowers, and even turtles make appearances throughout the book too. Marcinowski does caution that his photographs are not photoshopped, only cropped or enlarged so that the snapshots focus more on capturing the memories than on creating “perfect” images.

While I found it a little tedious flipping back and forth from photographs to the Image Guide page, I was glad to have the identifying information. The quotations from people connected to the Adirondacks seemed to resonate the best with the selection of photos. For example, Grace Hudowalski was the first woman to climb the 46 Adirondack Peaks and was a co-founder of the 46ers of Troy, which later became the Adirondack 46ers. Another example is Verplanck Colvin, a topographical engineer, who was instrumental in the creation of the Adirondack Park. I would like to have seen some information about each of the authors quoted, just for context.

“May the Mountain Speak to You” is comprised of the author’s snapshots of his many memorable moments spent in nature among the mountains in the gorgeous Adirondack Mountain range. The breadth of his experiences is enviable.