Strangers in High Places: The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains

By Michael Frome

Book Overview

In this expanded edition of his classic Strangers in High Places, Michael Frome continues to capture the attention and admiration of nature lovers, environmentalists, and professionals as he reviews the last quarter-century in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Frome's superbly written account tells the story of the Great Smoky Mountains and their inhabitants--Eastern Cherokee, back-country settlers, lumbermen, moonshiners, bears and boars. Frome chronicles the power struggles, legislation, and land transactions surrounding the creation of the national park and discusses the continuing threats to the park's natural beauty.
Frome's recent conversations with residents, new and old, along with a complement of historic and contemporary photographs, confirm the views stated in the book's original 1966 edition.
The author brings his knowledge, experience, and insights to bear on "one of God's special places." He suggests alternatives to commercial overdevelopment and the destruction of the Great Smokies' flora and fauna, citing recent cases such as the Tellico Dam project and the continuing pollution of the Pigeon River. Always emphasizing our inevitable relationship with our surroundings, Frome relates the story of the Great Smoky Mountains with respect and affection for the region, its people, and their history.

Michael Frome ranks among the foremost American authors on travel and conservation. His interests are closely associated with national parks, national forests, and natural beauty in the United States and other countries. He has been a columnist and correspondent for major newspapers and magazines and a university lecturer. He is author of Conscience of a Conservationist: Selected Essays.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870498061
• ISBN13: 9780870498060
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press
• Length: 450 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

#1 book about the Great Smoky Mountains

This author's book is for me the #1 comprehensive book about the Great Smoky Mountains. The chapters encompass the history of the geology, flora, fauna, and peoples of this beautiful region, woven in a chronological fashion from the mountains formation to modern times. I do not know that I have read any other similar writings ever done as well before or since. Several years ago I had the actual honor of meeting the author in person at a gathering in the Great Smoky Mt. National Park and he was as engaging a speaker as he is a writer, about all ecological and environmental issues. Our country would do well to listen to knowledgable experts such as this author. For anyone who enjoys Appalachia, this is a MUST read!

A Definitive Work

This book is a must have for any library on Appalachia or the Great Smoky Mountains. Michael Frome does an admirable job balancing sensitivity for the mountain people, their customs, attitudes, and anomalies with historical research and insightful commentary about the creation of the Park and its future. Being a native of the region, from a long line of Appalachian families, I felt that I understood my home more after reading this book than I ever would have otherwise. With equal nods to conservationists and tourists alike, this book will educate, entertain, and enlighten anyone who cares about this most beautiful and mysterious of regions. Additionally, Frome implores the reader to know the Park intimately, to abandon the car and strike out on foot, to rejoice fully with Mother Nature in Her playground. The addition of Strangers In High Places to your collection will be one of the best decisions to be made.

History, traditions, and culture of the Smokies.

This book is a must for all who love the Smoky Mountains. In it you meet those players who made this magical place what it is today, including the wind and rain, early pioneers and geologists, loggers, whisky distillers, woodsmen and rangers. If you want to get beyond the slide shows and park brochures, read this book and learn what the Smokies are really all about.