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| Great Camps of the Adirondacks | 
 enlarge | Author: Harvey H. Kaiser
Publisher: David R Godine
Category: Book
List Price: $55.00
Buy New: $25.79
You Save: $29.21 (53%)
Buy New/Used from $25.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  (4 reviews)
Sales Rank: 443324
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 11.6 x 8.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 156792073X
Dewey Decimal Number: 647.9474753
EAN: 9781567920734
ASIN: 156792073X
Publication Date: July 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Adolph Lewisohn, requiring a staff of forty to minister to his guests' comfort in the wilds of the Adirondacks, imported to his camp a major-domo, barber, caddy, chess-player, singing teacher, and two chauffeurs, Majorie Merriweather Post made do with eighty-five servants for the sixty-five building of Topridge, which was approached by a private funicular railway and graced by a Russian dacha a token of affection for her third husband, a former ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Equally magnificent was J.P. Morgan's Camp Uncas, Julius Bache's Wenonah Lodge, and William Seward Webb's Nehasane. These 'Great Camps' were to the beautiful and secluded Adirondack region what the 'Cottages' were to Newport: contradictions in terminology, but marvels of construction and architectural imagination. Truly fabulous structures, built primarily of wood and stone and set deep among the great forests, they are at once relics of a bygone age and prototypes for the contemporary architect, amateur builder, and historian.
Harvey Kaiser traces the history of the Adirondacks from their first sighting by a European in 1535, through the eras of trapping, iron mining, and lumbering, to the development of railroad and steamboat lines that led to the influx of tourists and the building of the 'Great Camps.' The sixty years from 1870 to 1930 were the heyday of these camps, the 'Gilded Age' of the Adirondacks, and Kaiser give a fascinating account both of the personalities who engineered and financed these fabulous structures and of the buildings themselves...
More than forty years after the Depression put an end to this princely life-style, the camps themselves are threatened by the forces of politics and nature. In Great Camps of the Adirondacks, Harvey Kaiser make a strong case for preservation: the obliteration of these remarkable structures would be an irreparable loss not only to our architectural heritage but to every individual to whom they are a resource and an inspiration.
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| Customer Reviews:
For Fans of Rustic Buildings and the Adirondacks, A Find November 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Brings you the history and images of the Great Camps that help make the Adirondacks the Adirondacks. Well illustrated and well written, relating more history than a coffee table book and so more likely to hold your interest and provide insight. The history is social as well as architectural/formal, and puts the region and its unbelievable heyday in perspective. A good gift, or would be fun as a guide or trip planning tool for a visit to the region to get the most out of what there still is to see.
Beyond The Gilded Age Of The Adirondacks! June 4, 2001
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
From the 'opening' of the Adirondacks in the 18th Century to the present, Harvey Kaiser delivers a premier photographic history of the Great Camps of the Adirondacks. Exploring the architectural history from an owner's whinsey to the details of a porch railing, Kaiser guides the reader through a history of gorgeous excess and an age of bountiful richness that few knew. Camp Uncas (owner J.P. Morgan), Topridge (Marjorie Merriweather Post) and Nehasane (Dr. William Seward Webb) are just a few of the detailed highlights showcased in this volume. Many of the larger hotels and lesser known camps (and castles) are photographed and discussed here at length. This book is not just for the architect, builder or historian. It is a display of architectural beauty build into a unique and mysterious landscape. It is a history never to be repeated and never to be forgotten.
The seminal work on rustic architecture September 30, 1999
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
The discovery of this book made me set aside all the others on rustic architecture. The author does a marvelous job in explaining the beginnings of rustic architecture and why it has a permanent place in our culture. The mix of social background and the history of the early Adirondack camps with superb photographs provides a designers guidebook. The arguments for historic preservation are skillfully written and should be read by anyone in the field.
What's that --- MY HOUSE MENTIONED IN A BOOK! July 31, 1997
5 out of 39 found this review helpful
I'm giving this the best review - but, I admit, I am the son of one of the owners of a house mentioned in the book! The house is Kildare Club. However, I'm unbiast! (SORT OF)
Anyway, I think it is an interesting book that is certainly worth reading and it revealed alot to me that I hadn't discovered about the Great Camps of the Adirondacks. (NOTE HOW I CLEVERLY INSERTED THE TITLE IN ORDER TO DELIVER A SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE. HEHE!
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