Jerry C. Jenkins

This book is an amazing achievement. The list of topics is too long to cover, with over 250 pages of maps on population, recreation, health, industry, watersheds, crime, ownership, wildlife, history, land grants and land grabs, and even missile silo locations. The Syracuse University Press and Adirondack Museum, two great sources for excellent work on the region, teamed up to complete the amazing snapshots of an area that is unique, not just in our country, but in the entire world.
Land use and ownership in the Adirondacks have been fought over since before the Europeans arrived and still continues to this day. It had previously been settled with weapons but now continues in the courts. A map on page 264 looks particularly interesting with little jogs in and out of different counties, reminiscent of the gerrymandered political maps we have seen in the news so much lately.
Some of the maps need to be taken with a grain or two of salt. "Settlement dates", for example, are referring to "establishment" of towns and hamlets although there were Native and European people living in these places before these moments in time, occasionally for a long time.
The commentary was sometimes helpful and sometimes debatable so I stuck to the maps for the most enjoyable read. If you live there, have ever been to the Adirondacks, or just have an interest, this is well worth picking up from your public library or getting a copy for yourself.… (meer)