Finding Katahdin: An exploration of Maine's past

by Amy Hassinger

This concise volume will benefit any reader who wants to learn about Maine’s unique heritage. Used as a textbook for Maine Studies classes in many schools, Finding An Exploration of Maine’s Past presents an articulate, thoughtful understanding of Maine history in a way that engages students and introduces them to the discipline of historical research and scholarship. Finding Katahdin explores Maine in its various as a land of prehistoric hunters and gatherers; a frontier where English, French, and Wabanaki cultures mix and clash; a mecca for a shifting mosaic of loggers, fishermen, farmers, shipbuilders, artists, tourists, and others. Brilliantly written by Amy Hassinger, the narrative is exciting and varied, with sections of dialogue, excerpts from primary source documents, short biographies, and other devices that illuminate the history. The design of the text is graceful and straightforward, augmented with many illustrations of paintings, photographs, maps, and document reproductions.

Genres: Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Amy Hassinger grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Barnard College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she received her MFA in fiction writing. She is the author of three novels: NINA: ADOLESCENCE, THE PRIEST'S MADONNA, and AFTER THE DAM, forthcoming in September 2016. Her writing has been translated into five languages and has won awards from Creative Nonfiction, Publisher’s Weekly, and the Illinois Arts Council. Her work has appeared in numerous venues, including The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, The Writers’ Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and teaches in the University of Nebraska’s MFA in Writing Program.

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps me learn about the past

[Brandicimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

basically a condensed and simplified version of Maine: The Pine Tree State. Easy informative read but lacks depth with many of the topics.