Celebrated as the American Rhine, the majestic Hudson River flows more than three hundred miles from its source high in the Adirondack Mountains to New York Harbor. Lining its banks are the marks of the four hundred years of history that have transpired since Henry Hudson piloted the Half Moon north from New Amsterdam in 1609. Today the river and the surrounding valley are protected as a National Heritage Area by the National Park Service. This stunning photographic journey explores the Hudson River's historic riverfront towns, stately mansions, public parks, and pristine wilderness. The images follow the course of the river and are paired with writings and poetry by such distinguished writers as Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, and Robert Caro. First published in a deluxe edition in 1996, this unique presentation is now accessible to all who admire the beauty and power of this magnificent landscape. Photographer Jake Rajs has traveled across America and throughout the world, capturing the image and spirit of place. His work is widely published, and his books include the highly acclaimed America and New York: City of Islands.

Frances F. Dunwell presents a rich portrait of the Hudson and of the visionary people whose deep relationship with the river inspires changes in American history and culture. Lavishly illustrated with color plates of Hudson River School paintings, period engravings, and glass plate photography, The Hudson captures the spirit of the river through the eyes of its many admirers. It shows the crucial role of the Hudson in the shaping of Manhattan, the rise of the Empire State, and the trajectory of world trade and global politics, as well as the river's influence on art and architecture, engineering, and conservation.

Offers a history of the Hudson River, looking at explorers and traders, the arrival of the colonies, how it was transformed, and the landscape.

Winner of the 2012 Award for Excellence presented by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network The diverse contributions to Environmental History of the Hudson River examine how the natural and physical attributes of the river have influenced human settlement and uses, and how human occupation has, in turn, affected the ecology and environmental health of the river. The Hudson River Valley may be America's premier river environmental laboratory, and by bringing historians and social scientists together with biologists and other physical scientists, this book hopes to foster new ways of looking at and talking about this historically, commercially, and aesthetically important ecosystem. Native people's influences on the ecological integrity of aquatic and shoreline communities were generally local and minor, and for the first 12,000 years or so of human use, the Hudson River was valued mainly as a source of water, food, and transportation. Since the arrival of European colonists, however, commerce has been the engine that has driven development and use of the river, from the harvesting of beaver pelts and timber to the siting of manufacturing industries and power plants, and all of these uses have had pervasive effects on the river's aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the meantime, aesthetic movements such as the Hudson River School of painting have sought to recover and preserve the earlier pastoral landscape, anticipating the more recent efforts by environmentalists that have led to dramatic improvements in water quality, shoreline habitats, and fish populations. Despite the pervasive forces of commerce, the Hudson River has retained its world-class scenic qualities. The Upper Hudson remains today a free-flowing, tumbling mountain stream, and the Lower Hudson a fjord penetrated and dominated by the Hudson Highlands. The Hudson's unique history continues to affect current uses and will surely influence the future in remarkable ways.

Examines art from the Hudson River School, nineteenth-century artists whose work captured the American landscape, including selections from Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, and others; and featuring one hundred reproductions and fold-out pages.

The first comprehensive guide to the Hudson since the works of Ernest Ingersoll were published in the early 1900s, this guidebook arrives to fill the need for a detailed, point-by-point guide to the river from its intersection with the Atlantic to its source in the Adirondacks. Adams offers his reader five routes by which to tour the region. The traveler can venture directly up the main steamboat channel, or choose road and rail routes on the east and west shores of the river. Maps for each route are included, together with suggestions for excursions to many points of local and historical interest along the way. Over 250 photographs and paintings, and excerpts from American authors pepper the book, giving multiple perspectives of the region's long history. For the armchair as well as the actual traveler, from the Abyssal Plain to Doodletown and Chevaux de-Frise, past Anthony's nose, Burden's ironworks, and the Saratoga Battle Field to the Hudson's source at Lake Tear of the Clouds - this is the perfect traveling guide to the Hudson River region, rich in its history and culture, and ever-plentiful in its breathtaking sights.

Since 1996, The Hudson has been an essential guide to the full sweep of the great river's natural history and human heritage. This updated third edition includes the latest information about the ongoing fight against pollution, plus vibrant new full-color illustrations showing the plants and wildlife that make this ecosystem so special.