Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering

by Maurice Isserman

Overview

This magesterial and thrilling history argues that the story of American mountaineering is the story of America itself.

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.

Climbing began in North America as a pursuit for lone eccentrics but grew to become a mass-participation sport. Beginning with Darby Field in 1642, the first person to climb a mountain in North America, Isserman describes the exploration and first ascents of the major American mountain ranges, from the Appalachians to Alaska. He also profiles the most important American mountaineers, including such figures as John C. Frémont, John Muir, Annie Peck, Bradford Washburn, Charlie Houston, and Bob Bates, relating their exploits both at home and abroad.

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.

A magnificent, deeply researched history, Continental Divide tells a story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393068504
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/25/2016
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 6.60(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Maurice Isserman is the author of Continental Divide and coauthor of Fallen Giants, a history of Himalayan mountaineering that won the prestigious Banff Prize for best mountaineering history in 2008, as well as that year’s National Outdoor Book Award. He is Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments 1

Chapter 1 Pioneers, 1642-1842 5

Chapter 2 Hardy Mountain Plants, 1842-1865 56

Chapter 3 Good Tidings, Strenuous Life, 1865-1903 100

Chapter 4 Brotherhood of the Rope, 1900-1946: Part I 161

Chapter 5 Brotherhood of the Rope, 1900-1946: Part II 219

Chapter 6 Rucksack Revolution, 1945-1963 269

Epilogue 1964-2015 339

Notes 345

Selected Bibliography 411

Illustration Credits 419

Index 421

Editorial Reviews

…Continental Divide is in part a philosophical examination of attitudes toward mountains and wilderness, in part a blow-by-blow account of American climbing accomplishments. For aficionados, it covers mostly familiar terrain. But to the uninitiated, it can serve as an informative, dutiful omnium-gatherum.

The New York Times Book Review - Gregory Crouch

02/15/2016
In this book “about American history, as seen through the prism of mountaineering,” Isserman starts with the Pilgrims in 1642; he then climbs his way through the years to 1963, which he calls “perhaps, the greatest year in the history of American climbing,” because of the groundbreaking routes being ascended in Yosemite and James Whittaker becoming the first American to summit Everest. There are tales of explorers such as Lewis and Clark; mountain men such as John Colter and Jedediah Smith; renowned nature-lovers Emerson, Thoreau, and Muir; and climbers Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins. Isserman brings these diverse stories together in a cohesive narrative with a strong combination of in-depth research and welcoming prose that even a climbing novice can understand. Though Isserman glosses over issues of the last 50 years (competitive climbing, sponsorships, ethics, the sport’s fragmentation), his passionate scholarship turns this specialized sporting history into an easily accessible account of the exploration, subjugation, conservation, and appreciation of the great peaks of the U.S. and the world. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Continental Divide represents over 300 years of American climbing history in one epic volume…Maurice Isserman takes us on this journey with equal amounts of meticulously researched facts and understated humor, critical historical context and heartbreaking human stories—all of which make for a fascinating read."

Bernadette McDonald

"Maurice Isserman is the hidden jewel of mountaineering historians. He brings a scholar’s eye to the wonder and passion of the sport. Continental Divide is a sweeping chronicle of what America contributed to an adventure long dominated by the Swiss and the British, the French, Poles, Germans, Austrians, and Italians…This is a story of mountains as dreams, of land as destiny, of summits as the pinnacles of all human desire."

Wade Davis

"Maurice Isserman—scholar and historian, engaging storyteller, and a climber of mountains to boot—has produced a gem. Continental Divide is the story of climbing by Americans, both in North America and in the great ranges of other continents. For me, what takes this story from good to great is that it is told within the frame of the history of our country as it has unfolded from 1642 to the 'Golden Age of Mountaineering' in the twentieth century."

Tom Hornbein

★ 05/15/2016
Isserman (history, Hamilton Coll.; coauthor, Fallen Giants) brings masterly storytelling and an eye for detail to the history of American mountaineering, beginning with the colonialists' first encounters with mountains in the 17th century and ending with the golden age of climbing in the mid-1960s. Chapters are all-encompassing narratives of prominent climbers and first ascents, allowing Isserman to pinpoint the emergence of modern mountain climbing, notably the Belknap-Cutler expedition in July 1784 on New Hampshire's Mount Washington. Additionally, the author traces the geologic history of America's mountain ranges and considers the changing nature of climbing, including the construction of hiking trails, the introduction of the sport's gear, and the expansion of adventuring beyond East Coast enclaves. Isserman's deft use of resources, archives, and firsthand accounts make this a wonderful gem of a work that readers can mine for inspiration. VERDICT This broad sweep of American mountaineering history will satisfy general history readers and outdoor adventurers alike.—Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Lib., IN

Library Journal

"Maurice Isserman helps us understand why we venture into the inhospitable places we love. This well-researched overview of mountaineering in the United States is essential reading for anyone with a connection to mountains."

Conrad Anker

"Chilling tales of are-you-serious ascents, daredevil traverses, and tragic falls by legendary figures…the enterprising and sometimes foolhardy people who opened Americans’ eyes to the rigors and rewards which can be found in the world’s high places."

Natural History

"The most comprehensive account yet of America’s mountaineering history. Isserman guides us across three centuries of the most significant scrambles and ascents around the world in lively and incisive prose."

Joseph E. Taylor III

"Maurice Isserman looks at the history of American through the lens of a sometimes misunderstood endeavor…Continental Divide is in part a philosophical examination of attitudes toward mountains and wilderness, in part a blow-by-blow account of American climbing accomplishments."

New York Times Book Review

"A history of American mountaineering that, along the way, tries to discover what prompts the human spirit to seek great heights on earth, often with great exertion, sometimes at great peril…[F]ascinating."

Wall Street Journal

"A thrilling and nuanced history that expands our view of exploration, revealing how mountain adventures have transformed America."

Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan