Battles of the North Country
292 pages, 6 x 9
9 b&w illus., 2 maps
Paperback
Release Date:01 Nov 2018
ISBN:9781625343642
Battles of the North Country
Wilderness Politics and Recreational Development in the Adirondack State Park, 1920-1980
University of Massachusetts Press
The Adirondack region is trapped in a cycle of conflict. Nature lovers advocate for the preservation of wilderness, while sports enthusiasts demand infrastructure for recreation. Local residents seek economic opportunities, while environmentalists fight industrial or real estate growth. These clashes have played out over the course of the twentieth century and continue into the twenty-first.
Through a series of case studies, historian Jonathan D. Anzalone highlights the role of public and private interests in the region and shows how partnerships frayed and realigned in the course of several key developments: the rise of camping in the 1920s and 1930s; the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics; the construction of a highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain; the postwar rise of downhill skiing; the completion of I-87 and the resulting demand for second homes; and the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Battles of the North Country reveals how class, economic self-interest, state power, and a wide range of environmental concerns have shaped modern politics in the Adirondacks and beyond.
Through a series of case studies, historian Jonathan D. Anzalone highlights the role of public and private interests in the region and shows how partnerships frayed and realigned in the course of several key developments: the rise of camping in the 1920s and 1930s; the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics; the construction of a highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain; the postwar rise of downhill skiing; the completion of I-87 and the resulting demand for second homes; and the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Battles of the North Country reveals how class, economic self-interest, state power, and a wide range of environmental concerns have shaped modern politics in the Adirondacks and beyond.
Anzalone skillfully describes complex legal, political, and real estate issues, presenting them as an engaging story of the evolving conflict between environmental protection and development interests.'—James C. O'Connell, author of The Hub's Metropolis: Greater Boston's Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth
'Anzalone's strength is a capacity for depicting all sides in the controversy around development clearly and dispassionately and in a broader context of regional economic stagnation and remoteness from centers of entrepreneurial opportunity.'—Richard W. Judd, author of Second Nature: An Environmental History of New England
'In this engagingly written book, Anzalone explores the efforts of residents, environmentalists, state officials, and developers to shape the ecology and economy of the Adirondacks. His case studies reveal uncomfortable truths about the economic limitations of recreational development in one of America's most contested and beautiful landscapes.'—David Soll, author of Empire of Water: An Environmental and Political History of the New York City Water Supply
'In this excellent history of Adirondack State Park, Jonathan Anzalone sheds important light on this topic . . . argu[ing] that by the interwar period, Adirondackers no longer fought the existence of the park; rather, they battled with Albany bureaucrats and wilderness enthusiasts over park management.'—Environmental History
'In this engaging new study of New York's Adirondack State Park, Jonathan D. Anzalone shows how the push and pull of economic development and environmental conservation shaped both the material landscape and the ideas by which it was managed.'—Journal of American History
'Anzalone traces the park's development by examining New York newspapers, state reports and documents, and several archives. The result is a thorough analysis of great interest to sport historians.'—Journal of Sport History
'Throughout Battles of the North Country Anzalone's writing is accessible and his analysis multidisciplinary and sophisticated.'—H-Net Reviews
Jonathan D. Anzalone is lecturer and assistant director at the Center for News Literacy in the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University.
