A history of American mountaineering that, along the way, tries to discover what prompts the human spirit to seek great heights on earth, often with great exertion, sometimes at great peril…[F]ascinating.—Wall Street Journal

Chilling tales of are-you-serious ascents, daredevil traverses, and tragic falls by legendary figures…the enterprising and sometimes foolhardy people who opened Americans’ eyes to the rigors and rewards which can be found in the world’s high places.—Natural History

Maurice Isserman—scholar and historian, engaging storyteller, and a climber of mountains to boot—has produced a gem.—Tom Hornbein, co-pioneer of Everest’s West Ridge

Maurice Isserman looks at the history of American through the lens of a sometimes misunderstood endeavor…Continental Divide is in part a philosophical examination of attitudes toward mountains and wilderness, in part a blow-by-blow account of American climbing accomplishments. —New York Times Book Review

A thrilling and nuanced history that expands our view of exploration, revealing how mountain adventures have transformed America.—Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan, authors of Buried in the Sky

Epic…Maurice Isserman takes us on this journey with equal amounts of meticulously researched facts and understated humor, critical historical context and heartbreaking human stories.—Bernadette McDonald, author of Freedom Climbers and Brotherhood of the Rope

The most comprehensive account yet of America’s mountaineering history. Isserman guides us across three centuries of the most significant scrambles and ascents around the world in lively and incisive prose.—Joseph E. Taylor III, author of Pilgrims of the Vertical

Maurice Isserman helps us understand why we venture into the inhospitable places we love. This well-researched overview of mountaineering in the United States is essential reading for anyone with a connection to mountains.—Conrad Anker, rock climber, mountaineer and author