Too High and Too Steep by David B Williams

Too High and Too Steep by David B Williams

Residents and visitors in today’s Seattle would barely recognize the landscape that its founding settlers first encountered. As the city grew, its leaders and inhabitants dramatically altered its topography to accommodate their changing visions. In Too High and Too Steep, David B. Williams uses his deep knowledge of Seattle, scientific background, and extensive research and interviews to illuminate the physical challenges and sometimes startling hubris of these large-scale transformations, from the filling in of the Duwamish tideflats to the massive regrading project that pared down Denny Hill. In the course of telling this fascinating story, Williams helps readers find visible traces of the city’s former landscape and better understand Seattle as a place that has been radically reshaped. Too High and Too Steep was made possible in part by a grant from 4Culture's Heritage Program.

"Williams does a marvelous job of evoking the cityscape that used to beHe clues us in to the spirit of civic ambition that drove Seattle’s geographical transformations. He methodically chronicles the stages by which its regrade, canal and landfill projects were accomplished. And he’s meticulous about placing his readers on present-day street corners where they can, with some sleight of mind, glimpse the hills, lake shores and tide flats that vanished."

-- Michael Upchurch * Seattle Times *

"A great story about the beginnings of Seattle. The focus is the topography of our city, but Williams fills in all the details on politics, the economy, our original neighbors, and much more. A very good read."

-- Tim Burgess, former Mayor of Seattle

"[An] absorbing and accessible book. . . . [A] fascinating guided tour that residents and visitors can utilize to envision a changing place. I plan to carry it the next time I visit Seattle, and I hope that both its library sales and holiday gift sales will be brisk."

-- Carl Abbott * Western Historical Quarterly *

"Run, don’t walk to buy it."

-- James Crossley, Mercer Island Books

"Williams is a brilliant writer who combines an intense and scholarly curiosity with in-the-field research, and has a gift for explaining—[he] offers a detailed yet sweeping overview of the way Seattle’s landscape has literally been reshaped."

-- Knute Berger * Crosscut *

"This engaging and informative history will surprise many readers, providing them with a glimpse of how Seattle looked not too long ago. ... Williams's book is a comprehensive study of the early settlers' relationship with Seattle's unique landscape and of how that early relationship continues to influence the city."

* Pacific Northwest Quarterly *

"[M]asterful...history of Seattle topography."

* Seattle Times / Pacific NW Magazine *

David B. Williams is the author of several books, including Cairns: Messengers in Stone and The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City. He lives in Seattle.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780295999401
ISBN 10	0295999403
Titel	Too High and Too Steep
Autor	David B Williams
Serie	Too High And Too Steep
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	University of Washington Press
Erscheinungsjahr	2017-03-01
Seitenanzahl	264
Preise	Winner of Virginia Marie Folkins Awards 2016 (United States)
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar