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Look to the Mountain
Look to the Mountain is one of the most popular and enduring American novels of the past century. Published first in 1942, it has remained in print―appearing in seven different editions with two dozen reprints―and has sold over a million copies. The book's history testifies to the continuing appeal of the novel. It is an enthralling epic of the men and women who settled the New England wilderness.
416 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1942
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
August 23, 2010
I assigned this to my U.S. history students for summer reading. Whit and Melissa are newlywed teens - he's 19 and she's 16 - in 1769 New Hampshire. They set out with all of their wordly goods and a canoe to pioneer in a new township in north central New Hampshire Province. Through seven seasons they clear land, build a log cabin, grow Indian corn and potatoes, hay and rye, add chickens, oxen and children to their family and slowly welcome neighbors to their wilderness home. The impact of the American Revolution is slight on these folks until General Bourgoyne takes Fort Ticonderoga and lets loose the Mohawk Nation on the settlers. Whit's war consists of one battle at Bennington in what was then part of New Hampshire. The quintessential "American character" is revealed as these tough, self-sufficient, independent people celebrate their ability to make it on their own. And always, the untamed mountain of the title looms above the township beckoning hunter and adventurer alike.
August 18, 2016
Look to the Mountain is the story of two young pioneers who were the first settlers in Tamworth, NH. Whit Livingston and his wife Melissa overcame hardship, hunger, and danger to clear their land and build a new town. It may have been written more than 50 years ago but I could easily picture the journey to Tamworth and I had the opportunity to drive along the rivers that Whit paddled to reach their new home. The author was accurate in his descriptions of the river falls, the swamps, and lakes of New Hampshire. I read every moment I could until I finished the book and it will be a book to re-read in the future.
October 29, 2019
My second to last state for my 2019 50-State plus DC challenge. New Hampshire. I picked this classic published in 1942 to try and experience more of the early settlement of this part of New England. It seems most of my education focussed on the Puritan colonies in MA. Last year I read A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 and found that non-fiction accounting of post revolutionary Maine described a very different New England than my school books did. Likewise, this epic novel captures a very different culture as it describes an early pioneering family as they settle in northern New Hampshire. The period is immediate pre-Revolution and into the first years of the war. The daily lives of these 18th century settlers are spared no detail. I think of it in comparison to the western plains settlers and there is quite a contrast. More rocks, more logs, no horses, and a lot of hard work. The paucity of talk, stoicism, reliance on signs and spells - no religion, seems to characterize the people. This was a unique place and culture and one I knew little about. In the 2 years I have completed 50-state challenges I have learned more about the Diversity of the United States than I ever did in school. I think I would adopt this challenge in schools to better teach American culture, history and literature.
I read this book after completing 2 books set just a little later in the history of American colonization (The Book of Night Women and She Would Be King). The first is about Jamaican slavery and the second the exodus of blacks from America to create/settle Liberia. Look to the Mountain and the settlement of New Hampshire, in contrast, is culturally isolated from the rest of the Americas and its history. Reading this book at the same time as the other two makes me just think about that diversity and how isolated groups were. In New Hampshire traveling 100 miles meant walking or canoeing and carrying 50-100 pound packs if you were going to settle in the wilderness. Pioneers, as they were called, were suspect because they were walking away from something - good solid families stayed put. The universe was small and limited to where you could walk and where you were lucky enough to survive, pretty much alone or as a small nuclear family. You could go your entire life and probably come in contact with less than 200 people. You did not get news or newspapers or much information at all that wasn’t dated, manipulated or just plain incorrect. Reading this well researched book, gives one a feel for what this would have been like.
For historical fiction lovers, this is a strong recommendation.
I read this book after completing 2 books set just a little later in the history of American colonization (The Book of Night Women and She Would Be King). The first is about Jamaican slavery and the second the exodus of blacks from America to create/settle Liberia. Look to the Mountain and the settlement of New Hampshire, in contrast, is culturally isolated from the rest of the Americas and its history. Reading this book at the same time as the other two makes me just think about that diversity and how isolated groups were. In New Hampshire traveling 100 miles meant walking or canoeing and carrying 50-100 pound packs if you were going to settle in the wilderness. Pioneers, as they were called, were suspect because they were walking away from something - good solid families stayed put. The universe was small and limited to where you could walk and where you were lucky enough to survive, pretty much alone or as a small nuclear family. You could go your entire life and probably come in contact with less than 200 people. You did not get news or newspapers or much information at all that wasn’t dated, manipulated or just plain incorrect. Reading this well researched book, gives one a feel for what this would have been like.
For historical fiction lovers, this is a strong recommendation.
October 17, 2020
In 2016 I took a solo trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and ever since I've been in love with everything New Hampshire.
2020 I had hoped to return go back to that area, but with COVID-19, travel plans had to change. Luckily, I remembered a book sitting on my shelf which I had found years before for free on the side of the road: "Look to the Mountain" by LeGrand Cannon Jr.
This book is beautiful in a simple way, yet descriptive so I can picture myself in the beauty of the wilderness. The story begins in 1769, before Whit and Melissa are married, and goes on to when Whit sets out to find a place to build a home in the mountains. Once married, Whit takes his new wife on the pilgrimage to their home, trekking over rivers and streams, meeting folks who have ventured out before them along the way.
There are some struggles, but Whit and Melissa are a strong couple who care deeply about each other. I loved aver page of this book.
"After she'd eaten, they would go out and look round. The sun would be up ...and it would all be before her, everything shining and the sky bluer than summer. She would stand in front of the doorway and see the whole thing at once - just as he had from the hilltop. He would tell her, of course, that the soil there in the interval was deep and was good, and point out the direction he would go to get hay. But she would see why he'd chosen it.
Then they'd go round in back - and there'd be the mountain."
2020 I had hoped to return go back to that area, but with COVID-19, travel plans had to change. Luckily, I remembered a book sitting on my shelf which I had found years before for free on the side of the road: "Look to the Mountain" by LeGrand Cannon Jr.
This book is beautiful in a simple way, yet descriptive so I can picture myself in the beauty of the wilderness. The story begins in 1769, before Whit and Melissa are married, and goes on to when Whit sets out to find a place to build a home in the mountains. Once married, Whit takes his new wife on the pilgrimage to their home, trekking over rivers and streams, meeting folks who have ventured out before them along the way.
There are some struggles, but Whit and Melissa are a strong couple who care deeply about each other. I loved aver page of this book.
"After she'd eaten, they would go out and look round. The sun would be up ...and it would all be before her, everything shining and the sky bluer than summer. She would stand in front of the doorway and see the whole thing at once - just as he had from the hilltop. He would tell her, of course, that the soil there in the interval was deep and was good, and point out the direction he would go to get hay. But she would see why he'd chosen it.
Then they'd go round in back - and there'd be the mountain."
October 25, 2021
I started this on my trip to New Hampshire. I loved being able to picture the areas described in the book-I drove through them! I now understand better the people who established themselves in the wilderness of this nation.
July 31, 2022
Look To The Mountain is a masterpiece. Told in deceptively simple language, following right along with Whit as he ventures to new frontiers in NH. I laughed and I cried and I love this story so much.
November 29, 2022
Such an interesting book - a well written story about the hardscrabble life of settling back when New Hampshire was the wilderness.
July 2, 2019
There are a few scenes in this book that I remember vividly from my first reading of it over 20 years ago. So it stays on the favorites list! When I googled it I learned it had been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
It's about young Whit and Melissa Livingston, their courtship trials before finally being married and heading north to be the first pioneers to settle the town of Tamworth, New Hampshire. It's got an authentic ring to it, from old customs and beliefs, to how they traveled and hunted and built homes, even how they fought the British. I really got a feel for what life was like in colonial times (the book covers 1769 to 1777). The characters of Whit and Melissa were genuine, so real to me. It's a great tale, told with love. If you love New England, as I do, you will appreciate Look To The Mountain.
It's about young Whit and Melissa Livingston, their courtship trials before finally being married and heading north to be the first pioneers to settle the town of Tamworth, New Hampshire. It's got an authentic ring to it, from old customs and beliefs, to how they traveled and hunted and built homes, even how they fought the British. I really got a feel for what life was like in colonial times (the book covers 1769 to 1777). The characters of Whit and Melissa were genuine, so real to me. It's a great tale, told with love. If you love New England, as I do, you will appreciate Look To The Mountain.
December 21, 2016
I read this book every few years. My great-grandmother gave me a copy when I lived in Oregon and she lived in New Hampshire. Now I live in New Hampshire, within 10 miles of her grave. The book is a fictional account (maybe based on fact?) of a young man in pre-Revolutionary War New Hampshire. He travels north from around Concord perhaps, to Tamworth/Sandwich area, going right through the area where I live. He homesteads, clearing land, building a home, raising a family. Well-written (in 1942), lots of local landmarks and history.
September 11, 2015
The story centers around teen newlyweds who in 1769 set out on a canoe laden with their worldly possessions to pioneer in a new township in north central New Hampshire (then) province. A bit long and slow moving, the book is unsparing in its description of the hardships of pioneer living and I was left with a feeling of great respect and admiration for these hard-working, self-sufficient people.
March 7, 2008
My father liked this book (originally published 1942 but reprinted frequently over the years) and I read it years ago but reread it recently paying more attention to the historical elements. A wonderful depiction of early settlement on the New England frontier.
October 16, 2014
An amazing story sent from 1769-1776 in colonial New Hampshire. It is a story of settlers in the back country and portrays their lives and struggles and thoughts, words, and deeds. Probably one of the best books I have read this year.
November 2, 2024
This book was written in 1942 and the nearly 600 pages of this story are set in New Hampshire during the 1700s. (Whew! What a mouthful!)
Imagine being newly wed teenagers settling in a place in the New Hampshire woods: there are no roads, no bridges, no infrastructure at all. And these teenagers have nothing to begin a life and winter is upon them.
Not only that, but the "Agents" who allotted the 100 acres require that a house must be built on the site, the land must be cleared, and a garden must exist all within seven years. And all the young man has is an ax and himself.
It was a very interesting storyline and I zipped through it because it was that good.
Imagine being newly wed teenagers settling in a place in the New Hampshire woods: there are no roads, no bridges, no infrastructure at all. And these teenagers have nothing to begin a life and winter is upon them.
Not only that, but the "Agents" who allotted the 100 acres require that a house must be built on the site, the land must be cleared, and a garden must exist all within seven years. And all the young man has is an ax and himself.
It was a very interesting storyline and I zipped through it because it was that good.
July 27, 2018
There were parts of this I really enjoyed and parts that were a struggle to get through. We just discussed it in our book group and some enjoyed the details of the journey up the Pemi and walking to their destination in Tamworth. I liked the characters quite a bit and a taste of what life was like for pioneers in the Lakes Region. If you want to understand the history of the area, it's a good read.
October 25, 2019
I really enjoyed seeing a picture of Revolutionary War-era New England from a pi0neer's perspective. The dialect, tools, work, medicine, and civic structure are so different from today. How inspiring to read about a couple who builds a farm (in the untamed woods of New Hampshire) from nearly nothing.
July 20, 2021
This book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize back in 1942.
There is danger. There is drama. Whit Livingston and Melissa Butler, quite literally, carve out a new life together on the American frontier. This story proves the lasting fortitude it took for our forefathers to settle this land. It is a captivating portrait of those who settled this nation.
There is danger. There is drama. Whit Livingston and Melissa Butler, quite literally, carve out a new life together on the American frontier. This story proves the lasting fortitude it took for our forefathers to settle this land. It is a captivating portrait of those who settled this nation.
October 28, 2023
I really thoroughly enjoyed this book. Maybe because I live in New Hampshire. Maybe because I crave simpler, quieter times. Maybe because I continually crave connection with the woods and streams. Life was hard then, but it was true. Maybe I’m romanticizing that time, but then again, maybe that’s okay. Maybe I need that right now.
November 24, 2024
A little slow for my taste. The beginning 100 pages dragged quite a bit. In enjoyed the end much more than the beginning. I would have liked a bit more history and the characters were so stoic and clipped in conversation that I didn’t feel very connected to any of them. The descriptions of travel and the wilderness were good but again it felt like a slog through the book.
October 24, 2019
I had this book on my shelf forever because it was about New Hampshire settling I never got rid of it. I really loved this book. It was a story of courage and tenacity. Interesting that the settling was done before the British were defeating thus creating the United States.
October 29, 2019
Loved this historical novel of centered around mt Coraway (Mt Chocorua) in harsh pioneer days of 1770s where newlyweds Whit & Melissa Livingston forge their homestead/life. Book received from Kath & Craig b-day 2018 (&leant back to them 8/19). Read.
February 3, 2022
I enjoyed reading this book. It was slow moving at times, but the story was good. I love books that are written like people would have talked. This slowed down my reading, but really added a lot of flavor to the story. Great read!
September 19, 2023
The story was an incredible telling of settling the New Hampshire frontier before the American revolution. The writing was a little spare, but I think the people of that time were also spare with little extra to say and do, everything centered around the idea of survival.
December 26, 2023
A really wonderful tale of young homesteaders in New Hampshire. Published in 1942 the book is written in the older style and is an epic tale of Whit and Melissa and their lives together in the early 19th century up through the War Between the States.
July 25, 2017
Wonderful book to read in New Hampshire!
September 20, 2019
Loved this book!!!! From page 1 to the end you feel as if you are there.
March 10, 2020
So happy to have finally stumbled upon this novel. Every New Englander should read it. Extra special if you are from New Hampshire.
October 23, 2021
I love this old book. My second or third time reading it. I'll do it again in five or six years.
December 9, 2021
Wonderful story!
April 15, 2022
Loved it. History, characters, writing, dialects! And it's gentle...
May 12, 2022
A real pleasure to read. 4.5 stars! Being from VT and living in NH, I'm sorry it took me this long to discover this book! A must-read for any New Hampshire native.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews