Download or read book Percival Lowell s Big Red Car written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2002-08-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of one car --a 1911 Stevens-Duryea Model Y "Big Six" -- and its famous owner, Percival Lowell, the American astronomer best known for his studies of Mars and mathematical prediction of the discovery of Pluto. The narrative follows the vehicle, a product of Frank Duryea -- of the pioneering Duryea brothers -- through its time with Lowell and through subsequent owners to its present status as a moving landmark of history. Important developments in the early history of the gasoline-powered automobile are traced to establish the context in which this remarkable vehicle was created. The community in which the Duryea brothers labored, in short-lived teamwork, and their role in the evolution of the automobile industry are discussed. The text also provides an intimate look at the life of one of America's most important astronomers.
Download or read book The Puritan Ice Companies written by David Petry and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-27 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rise and fall of a California business in an era of rapid technological change—includes historic photos. The Puritan Ice Companies operated at Santa Barbara, California, from 1922 to 1986, opening the vegetable markets in the Santa Maria and Lompoc Valleys to wide distribution by pioneering the use of refrigerated railcars. Puritan ran the world’s largest poultry plant and, during the World War II homefront era of the 1940s, was pivotal in facilitating Mexican labor in California, expanding vegetable and melon markets at Blythe, and providing ice for General Patton’s Army Desert Training Center near Indio. The rise and fall of one company parallels stories of domestic ice usage and the impact of ice on the rail business, which declined with the rise of interstate refrigerated trucking. Join Santa Barbara historian David Petry as he examines the history of one unique Central Coast corporation’s impact on the national scene.
Download or read book The Lowells of Massachusetts written by Nina Sankovitch and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] stirring saga...Vivid and intimate, Ms. Sankovitch’s account entertains us with Puritans and preachers, Tories and rebels, abolitionists and industrialists, lecturers and poets ... Ms. Sankovitch has made a compelling contribution to Massachusetts and American History.”—Roger Lowenstein, The Wall Street Journal "Sankovitch has searched out these letters to write the powerful story of one of America’s most extraordinary families, a family that helped shape the course of American history in dramatic and decisive ways...By the final pages of this volume, one feels deeply attached to the individual Lowells, while also exhilarated at having experienced this grand sweep of American history." —Charlotte Gordon, Washington Post The Lowells of Massachusetts were a remarkable family. They were settlers in the New World in the 1600s, revolutionaries creating a new nation in the 1700s, merchants and manufacturers building prosperity in the 1800s, and scientists and artists flourishing in the 1900s. For the first time, Nina Sankovitch tells the story of this fascinating and powerful dynasty in The Lowells of Massachusetts. Though not without scoundrels and certainly no strangers to controversy, the family boasted some of the most astonishing individuals in America’s history: Percival Lowle, the patriarch who arrived in America in the seventeenth to plant the roots of the family tree; Reverend John Lowell, the preacher; Judge John Lowell, a member of the Continental Congress; Francis Cabot Lowell, manufacturer and, some say, founder of the Industrial Revolution in the US; James Russell Lowell, American Romantic poet; Lawrence Lowell, one of Harvard’s longest-serving and most controversial presidents; and Amy Lowell, the twentieth century poet who lived openly in a Boston Marriage with the actress Ada Dwyer Russell. The Lowells realized the promise of America as the land of opportunity by uniting Puritan values of hard work, community service, and individual responsibility with a deep-seated optimism that became a well-known family trait. Long before the Kennedys put their stamp on Massachusetts, the Lowells claimed the bedrock.
Download or read book A Tale of Two Passes written by William L. Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Tale of Two Passes, An Inquiry into Certain Alpine Literature, Light Technology Publishing's newest title, is devoted to treasuring the history of Mont Cenis and the Great Saint Bernard passages. Both of these passes were prominently and frequently used by the Romans in establishing and maintaining their empire. It is surmised that Hannibal and his troops found elephant-friendly passages through the Mont Cenis corridor. Both passes were adorned with hospices/shelters near their crest and both now have been by passed by modern tunnels. Despite these similarities, their historic prominence derives from distinctly different events and factors.
Download or read book The Mountaineer s Pontiff written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2006-08-11 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ÿThe Mountaineer?s Pontiff by William Lowell Putnam
Download or read book The Great Glacier and Its House written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1982-06-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning forty years, this book recreates the spirit of a golden age of exploration and travel when adventure-seeking men and women made grand tours into an unknown wilderness and alpinists, scientists, photographers, and tourists discovered for the first time the secrets of a great and varied land. In the mighty Selkirk Mountains of Canada lies Rogers Pass which was the scene of three major events in the history of North America: in 1884, it presented an enormous obstacle to the Canadian Pacific Railway in its drive to connect the new nation coast-to-coast; it became the site of the first modern, European-style resort hotel in the mountains; and it was the first locality to attract the attention of serious mountaineers from around the world. Putnam blends these three events and weaves them into an accurate early history of the region. He shares with us the heroic, often tragic, tale of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He takes us into the magnificent surroundings of the Great Glacier and we see the modest Glacier House develop through the years into a world- famous luxury hotel. And as the Rogers Pass Glacier area becomes the focal point in the fledgling sport of alpinism in North America, we join the earliest expeditions undertaken in the Selkirk Range. The focus of the book, however, is on the people whose paths cross at Glacier House -- and the author lets them tell their own stories. The personalities of the railroad executives and the hotel staff emerge from correspondence and reports. As a basis of much of the book, Putnam has included many firsthand accounts from the Glacier House register. Known as "The Scrapbook," it contains the handwritten accounts of virtually every notable climber and mountain explorer of the early era. Magnificent historical photographs, many of them never before published, exquisitely illustrate the book. The forty-year saga is vividly retold through these rare photographs of the scenes those early adventurers witnessed when they first visited the Great Glacier and its house.
Download or read book The Education of an Alpinist written by William Lowel Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "My objective in setting forth this series of mostly autobiographical vignettes was not to inspire a rash of juvenile delinquency but to have something on paper before the age of involuntary repetition set in. I don't feel I owe much to Sir Walter Scott for cribbing the subtitle; he surely cannot have been the first grandfather to assemble stories for the benefit of a few young people of his acquaintance. Nevertheless, it's a good one and I'm grateful. Having been blessed with better than average opportunities throughout most of my years, I have made friends and enjoyed experiences, particularly in mountaineering, that are the stuff of romance. But being myself, and not George Henty or Jack London, I have compiled the bulk of what seems to be the most educational of them in an order that makes sense to me -- geographical, not chronological. Had I thought further ahead at the outset of these adventures in alpinism, I might have kept a fuller diary and certainly made better use of a camera. But in the beginning I was often too busy with life to think about this kind of future need, and a few of the reminiscences that follow are drawn largely from memory. However, the great majority of them can be verified by contemporary records in various mountaineering journals of North America and by several friends who helped make some of these memories as pleasant as they are. I offer them no thanks on this page, for their names and kindnesses are documented in the text following and though not every reference carries reverence or gratitude in its words, they certainly exist in my heart."
Download or read book The Case for Pluto written by Alan Boyle and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2009-10-22 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In support of Pluto-the cutest and most unfairly treated planet Pity poor Pluto: It's a planet that was discovered because of a mistake, a planet that turned out not to be a planet at all, thanks to a still-disputed decision made in 2006. And yet, Pluto is the planet best-loved by Americans, especially children, one that may have contained the building blocks of life billions of years ago and may well serve as life's last redoubt billions of years from now. In The Case for Pluto, award-winning science writer Alan Boyle traces the tiny planet's ups and downs, its strange appeal, the reasons behind its demotion, and the reasons why it should be set back in the planetary pantheon. Tells the compelling story of Pluto's discovery and how it became a cultural icon Makes the case for Pluto as planet, countering the books that argue against it Comes in a small, friendly package — just like Pluto — and features a handsome design, making it a great gift The Case for Pluto is the must-read tale of a cosmic underdog that has captured the hearts of millions: an endearing little planet that is changing the way we see the universe beyond our backyard. Alan Boyle is MSNBC.com’s science editor and the award-winning blogger behind Cosmic Log. He’s been a talking head on NBC’s The Today Show and the MSNBC cable channel, holding forth on scientific subjects ranging from the chances of an asteroid Armageddon to the 3-D wizardry behind the “Harry Potter” movies. But he writes better than he talks.
Download or read book The Guiding Spirit written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1986-01-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first professional mountain guides to be employed in North America were all Italians: Guiseppe Petigax and Lorenzo Croux of Courmeyer, Antonio Maguinaz and Andrea Pellissier of Valtournanche and Erminio Botta of Beilla, all in the retinue of Luigi Amadeo of Savoia, Duke of the Abruzzi whose successful expedition to Mount Saint Elias in 1896 became an Alaskan and mountaineering legend. The next summer, Professor H.B. Dixon followed his example and engaged Peter Sarbach to accompany him on several weeks of climbing in the "Canadian Alps". It was the obvious success of this particular act which prompted the Vaux brothers, distinguished amateur scientists of Philadelphia, to suggest again in 1898 that the Canadian Pacific Railway should engage some Swiss guides to be available for their patrons in the mountain regions the company was seeking to exploit. This is the story of those men, who prided themselves not merely on being guies, but on being Swiss guides. These men carved out a unique niche in the loyalties they both earned and gave. Their words often indicated conflict, hardship and unhappiness; but their actions were those of persons engaged in a rewarding vocation, who had found an emotional satisfaction in life that few of us are privileged to enjoy. Here then is the story of the CPR's Swiss guides as written by Andrew J. Kauffman and William L. Putnam. Over many years of mountaineering adventures in Canada, they interviewed Edward Feuz Jr., (Uncle Ed) and researched the archives for the facts and stories of which this book is composed. This is a story of mountain adventure in a newly awakening country -- western Canada -- a story which will be hard to put down once begun!
Download or read book Torquemada Revisited written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2006-06-13 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the origin of the forces and personalities that brought about the Spanish Inquisition and its impact on the larger world. It dwells extensively on the causes and principal figures of the Protestant Reformation and explains how those attitudes came to influence the evolution of modern American politics and bigotry. A careful reading of this narrative explains how political and religious leaders, often being somewhat interchangeable, have been able to devise "enemies" that can be used to convince sufficient of the populace to elect or retain in high office whose who portray themselves as opposed to such "enemies"; ignoring, in so doing, the sage advice of Benjamin Franklin that "those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."
Download or read book K2 and the 1939 Tragedy written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1993-09-01 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the 1939 American K2 expedition is well known among mountaineers: world-class German-born climber Fritz Wiessner and Pasang Dawa Lama came within 800 feet of attaining the world's second-highest unclimbed summit before turning back for more supplies. Rejoining them on the descent was Dudley Wolfe, who had stayed not far below. Upon reaching the lower camps, the party found them stripped of supplies and deserted. Wiessner decided to descend further to investigate, and left Wolfe behind -- alone. Later, unable to descend solo, Wolfe had to be rescued; but the attempt failed, and Wolfe and Sherpas Pasang Kikuli, Pasang Kitar, and Phinsoo died. Initially, Wiessner was held responsible, but in time the blame shifted to climber Jack Durrance and another Sherpa. The disaster was considered one of the worst accidents in the climbing history of the Himalaya. It was also the subject of much speculation for years afterward. For some historians, the speculation would not rest. There were too many missing pieces, inconsistencies, and unanswered questions for a disaster of this scale. Unfortunately, reliable documentation was scarce. So was the cooperation of the remaining expedition members, who did not want to rekindle the controversy that arose from the expedition's failure. They echoed the neutral statement issued by the investigating committee of the American Alpine Club in 1940, which said, in effect, let sleeping dogs lie. When Andrew J. Kauffman and William L. Putnam later began work on Wiessner's biography, they found discrepancies in the account of the K2 incident. Intrigued, they dug deeper and began to uncover a larger tangle of events than had been previously suspected. The recent availability of Jack Durrance's own trip diary further enabled them to unravel the events of the ill-fated adventure on K2. K2: The 1939 Tragedy retraces the expedition's key elements -- the debilitating weather, the personalities and weaknesses of party members, Wiessner's "romantic vision" uncharacteristic of the climbing era --and reveals the steps that led toward catastrophe. K2: The 1939 Tragedy attempts to balance the accounts of this fifty-year-old saga.
Download or read book John Peter Zenger and the Fundamental Freedom written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1997-06-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1733, John Paul Zenger began to print the New York Journal, the newspaper that was to change Zenger's life and the direction of journalism in colonial America. The material published in the Journal so incensed Sir William Cosby, the royal governor, that Zenger was arrested for seditious libel. Zenger's case was taken on by Andrew Hamilton, the foremost lawyer in the colonies, and after several months in prison the printer was found innocent. The case became a landmark of journalistic freedom, establishing that truth was the ultimate defense against charges of slander or libel, and was both emblem and incitement of America's belief in a free press. This work traces Zenger's life, the development of what was to become the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment freedom in the colonies, and its subsequent evolution on both sides of the Atlantic.
Download or read book Green Cognac written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Impetuous College Undergraduate ... A Nation at War ... A New Unit Seeking "Experienced Mountaineers ... Men of Good Physique ... Who Have Lived and Worked in the Mountains ... " Three letters of recommendation later, in early 1943, William Lowell Putnam joined what was to become the 10th Mountain Division, the first and only mountain warefare unit of the U.S. Army. Green Cognac: The Education of a Mountain Fighter is a superb account of the mountain and ski troops as seen from Putnam's often wry perspective. What transpired during the brief, eventful years of war is the story of Green Cognac, as told by one who was well acquainted with the mountains and mountaineering before he became a mountain fighter. Putnam applied this knowledge while serving in the infantry regiments of the 10th Mountain Division. The elite Mountain Troops were sent to break the German Gothic Line in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Brilliantly led, they fought their way northward with magnificent dash, seizing control of ten mountain crests. Their determined drive broke the German resistance and brought on the first large-scale enemy surrender of World War II. Much celebrated and studied after the war for their striking success and spirit in the field, the Mountain Trrops presented an awe-inspiring picture of camaraderie and courage. From the bold ski-tropper concept, first suggested in 1940, to the final days of demobilization at the end of 1945, this is their story.
Download or read book The Worst Weather on Earth written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 1991-06-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "There may be worse weather, from time to time, at some forbidding place on Planet Earth, but it has yet to be reliably recorded." So begins The Worst Weather on Earth: A History of the Mount Washington Observatory. Mount Washington, at 6,288 feet above sea level, is one of the highest elevations in the eastern United States and is subject to some of the fiercest weather patterns in the world. Situated close to major centers of population, it has been an accessible objective for travellers. The curious, the intrepid, the scientific -- Mount Washington has attracted them all. In this age of satellites and advanced instrumentation, the intricacies of weather observation are now taken for granted. However, not so long ago, weather was a blank on the scientific map of understanding. The Worst Weather on Earth chronicles the social and scientific milieu of those who have recorded the weather on the mountain for over one hundred years. Included are chapters such as "Radio on the Rockpile," which covers the pioneering days of radio broadcasting from the Summit, and "Rime and Reason," which presents a fascinating discussion of rime and the problems of icing that were researched extensively on the Summit. The Worst Weather on Earth is rendered more immediate by the liberal use of contemporary accounts; excerpts from letters, reports, and the log notes of the Summit observers abound, giving the flavor and the excitement of over a century of scientific observation and discovery.
Download or read book Arctic Superstars written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2001-02-01 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arctic Superstars is a thoroughly researched account of the fascinating lives and harrowing journeys of Adolphus Washington Greely and George Wallace Melville, career military officers and Civil War heroes who explored vast reaches of the Arctic during the early 1880s. Greely was best known for commanding the ill-fated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition and Melville for exploring the bitter-cold reaches of Siberia. Both men were among the first five Honorary Members elected by The American Alpine Club shortly after the organization was founded in 1902.
Download or read book How We Survived in UHF Television written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2011-12-04 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This personal narrative is co-authored by two of the best-known names in American UHF television broadcast management: Kathryn Kitty Broman Putnam and William Lowell Bill Putnam. During the first two decades of Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) television, when the established VHF (Very-High Frequency) stations dominated the TV marketplace, the Putnams built and operated three successful UHF outlets: WWLP-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts; WKEF-TV in Dayton, Ohio; and KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kitty and Bill recall how they labored for survival during the dozen lean years between 1952 and 1964, and the events along their way to leadership in the world of advertiser-supported analog television. Included are several original poems written by Bill, and tantalizing recipes created for Kitty's long-running local cooking show.
Download or read book A Century of American Alpinism written by William Lowell Putnam and published by Light Technology Publishing. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Ernest Fay (1846?1931), the ?Mr. American Mountaineering? of his day, was chairman of the meeting that led to the foundation of the Appalachian Mountain Club in 1876. Thereafter he served several terms as that club?s president and was the editor of its Journal, APPALACHIA, for 40 years. In 1902 he was elected as the first president of The American Alpine Club, and reelected for a second three-year term. In 1917, he was elected president once more, thus becoming not only the Club?s first president but also its longest serving. During all this period he was Professor of Modern Languages at Tufts College in Medford, Massachusetts, where he shared offices with the junior editor ? albeit with a hiatus of 18 years between their respective occupancies. Allen Herbert Bent (1867?1926), a native of Boston, Massachusetts, started his life of scholarly research into alpinism by dropping our of college ? anything but a promising beginning. Soon, however, he began the serious study of the history of mountaineering, ultimately writing extensively on this topic. He became the first person elected to The American Alpine Club, during its days of ?exclusivity,? under the ?or the equivalent? clause of membership prerequisites, for he was never a serious alpinist ? always contenting himself with the study of its literature. Howard Palmer (1883?1944), a lawyer by training, inherited the management of his family?s mattress manufacturing business in New London, Connecticut. Starting in 1907, he compiled an enviable record of first ascents in the mountains of western Canada and in 1914 published the North American classic, MOUNTAINEERING AND EXPLORATION IN THE SELKIRKS. He served as editor of the Club?s first guidebook and several editions of its JOURNAL. He also furthered the organization as its secretary, a director and as its president. James Monroe Thorington (1894?1989), of Philadelphia, was an ophthalmologist by profession, following in the footsteps of his father. After the end of World War I, Roy, as he was known to his intimates, spent most of his vacation time in the mountains of western Canada and served as editor of the Club?s guidebooks to that region for several editions. A diligent student of alpine literature, he compiled a number of scholarly researches into the history of American alpinism, served many years as a director of the Club, one term as its president, then for 10 years as editor of the AMERICAN ALPINE JOURNAL, and gave the Club some of the most valuable items in its museum. In 2000, the UIAA gave its first award for research into the history of alpinism under the name of James Monroe Thorington. After graduating from Harvard in 1942, Andrew John Kauffman (b. 1921) the son of two distinguished American literary figures, spent his entire working career in various diplomatic capacities. Between State Department assignments in Washington, Paris, Managua and Calcutta, he spent weekends and holidays in the Alps and the mountains of Peru, Colombia, Alaska, Canada, and finally in the Karakoram, where he demonstrated a high level of acromania by becoming one of the only two Americans to make the first ascent of an 8000 meter peak. He also served the Club as a counselor and as vice-president and was elected to Honorary Membership. William Lowell Putnam (b. 1924) has been an official of the Harvard Mountaineering Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, then The American Alpine Club and finally the International Association of Alpine Societies (UIAA), and has been honored by several other mountaineering societies. His major employment was in television broadcasting, but his heart remains in the mountains of western Canada. At this writing he is the sole trustee of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. While many have wished for the opportunity, people have not yet read his obituary.
