Landscape is much more than scenery to be observed or even terrain to be traveled, as this fascinating and many-layered book vividly shows us. Etched into the land is the history of how we have inhabited it, the storms and fires that have shaped it, and its response to these and other changes.

In The Granite Landscape Tom Wessels synthesizes history, geology, biology, and personal narrative to enhance our understanding and appreciation of these high, wild places -- the granite summit balds of North America. He explores the unique and fragile ecosystem that is common to exposed granite expanses from Acadia to Yosemite -- how it evolved slowly over millennia, and how it is threatened today by foot traffic and overuse. Wessels' wonderfully informative and accessible text combine with his dramatic photographs and Brian Cohen's beautifully detailed illustrations to bring the denizens of...