This fabled district-America's first tourist playground- boasts the highest peaks in the Northeast and the world's worst weather. Rising above the forests, lakes, and rivers of northern New Hampshire and western Maine, this storied range is the centerpiece of the 770,000-acre White Mountain National Forest. These mountains have witnessed centuries of change, from Native Americans through early European settlers, the arrival of railroads and automobiles, and the rise of the grand hotels during the region's heyday.

Randall H. Bennett is assistant director and curator of collections at the Bethel Historical Society. He has written and lectured on the history of the White Mountains for 25 years and his family has lived in the area for six generations. Many of the rare and unusual images in this new book come from his private collection, which he has assembled over the past 30 years.