The Interrupted Forest: A History of Maine's Wildlands

by Neil Rolde

Add to this the thousands of farms that have grown back to
woods since the Civil War, and you have the most forested state, by percentage,
in the United States. But the “uninterrupted forest” that Henry David Thoreau
first saw in the 1840s was never exactly that. Loggers had cut it severely,
European settlers had gnawed into it, and, much earlier, native people had left
their mark. This book takes you deep into the past to understand the present,
allowing you to hear the stories of the people and events that have shaped the
woods and made them what they are today.

Genres: Nature, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jim Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in New Brunswick as I do, it is only inevitable that any access to the U.S. from here must come through the state of Maine. Over the years, my wife & I have enjoyed many vacations in Maine whether it was “Down East” (Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island) or in the western mountain and lakes region (Rangeley, Moosehead). On a recent trip to Rangeley, I was quick to stop into Books, Lines and Thinkers, an independent bookseller with whom I have visited on a previous trip. I asked Wess (the owner) about a book on Maine history that he might recommend. He immediately presented me with this book, which is sub-titled “A History of Maine’s Wildlands”. While it is not just a history of the Maine Woods, it does touch on the settlement of Maine by the Puritans and Pilgrims, the push into the forests (pushing the Native Americans out) and the inevitable logging that would soon follow upon which the economy of Maine was based – and controlled by- for so many years.

The author, Neil Rolde is a Maine historian and former state legislator, putting him in a perfect position to relate history and the legalities of who exactly owned and controlled what when it came down to sorting out all the issues regarding the Maine North Woods, issues which are still ongoing today.

The book is laid out in a present/past/future arrangement which makes sense as you progress through the chapters. Written in 2001, it starts with issues regarding the Maine Woods currently in the news then (“Nowadays”), then proceeds on to geologic and prehistoric times, through discovery of North America, settlement, the French-Indian Wars, the American revolution, industrialization, clear-cutting and so on, until we come full circle and Mr. Rolde, from his unique perspective, assesses the future of the Maine Woods.
Read the rest of this review at: http://miramichireader.ca/2015/05/the...

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the Wabanaki people are not the primary focus of this book, it provides excellent information about them. It discusses the history of the Maine woods
But the early history - 1600-1700's was more detailed than the 1800's & 1900's, but still provided a good overview.
It helped me understand the Maine Land Claims Settlement in ways I previously had not grasped.
A must read for anyone interested in Maine history!