The Hudson

A prolific writer of prose, poetry, and regional history, Carl Carmer first gained national attention with Stars Fell n Alabama, a book about Alabama folkways. But it is his writings about upstate New York, where he was born and lived for much of his life, that firmly established him as a folk historian and master storyteller. The Hudson, originally published in 1939, is the most popular of these writings. Best of the Rivers of America series, The Hudson is less a formal historical account of the discovery and development of the river that a personal, anecdotal view of it. Included are tales of white-sailed sloops and steamboats racing from Albany to New York; of old whalers and trader sea dogs of the Catskill shore; of showboats playing anti-rent meoldramas to inctie farmers against their landlords; of great disasters and heroic deeds; of the efforts of the Hudson River School to capture sublimityon canvas; of the quarrelsome, rough-and-tumble life of the Dutch along the river's banks, and many more. This commemorative fiftieth anniversary edition features 16 new drawings by Hudson River artist Edward J. McLaughlin, a foreward by New York historian Louis C. Jones, and an afterword by Roger Panetta, professor of history at the College of New Rochelle.

Reprint of the 1939 Holt book (in the series Rivers of America.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Carl Carmer was author of Stars Fell on Alabam, The Hudson available from Fordham University Press), and many others. Much of his writing reflects his life-long pursuit of the folklore and history of New York state. He was Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the New York State Historical Association and was Honorary Trustee of the New York State Folklore Society.