Tahoma’s big January news was the design of the book’s back cover. What’s the big deal about the back cover? What about the old saying, “You can’t tell a book by its cover?” The cover’s not that important, right? Actually, the cover is crucial. Sit in on a workshop at a writers conference or talk with anyone in the publishing industry, and they’ll argue that the cover can “make or break” your book.
Besides the book’s appearance, another key element is the back cover endorsements, known as the “blurbs.” These are the author’s responsibility to secure, and they assure readers that the book is worth their time—and their money. Here are Tahoma’s blurbs:
“We rise to see Mount Rainier looming on the horizon, calling. We cancel meetings, grab our gear, slip a copy of this book into our pack, and go. The mountain has many secrets…Antonelis-Lapp parts the mists for us to better see the history, legend, and nature of Tahoma.”
— Jonathan B. Jarvis, Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent 1999-2002, 18th Director of the National Park Service
“Antonelis-Lapp illuminates scientists’ work with excellent first-hand reporting…and he brings back stories that will change the way we think about our mountain and our Earth.”
— Tim McNulty, author of Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park: A Natural History
“A masterful natural history that includes an accurate and respectful rendering of the long-standing relationship of Indian people to Mount Rainier or, as my ancestors knew it, Taqó·bid.”
— Donny Stevenson, Tribal Council Vice-Chair, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
Now retired, Jon Jarvis continues as a tireless advocate for our national parks. His recent op-ed in The Guardian is a call to action in the face of the current White House Administration’s assault on public lands generally and the National Park Service specifically. You can read it at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/10/us-national-parks-dismantling-under-way.
Tim McNulty is award winning poet and nature writer of over 20 books, and his natural history of Olympic National Park helped inspire and shape Tahoma. He mentored me throughout the book’s entire process.
Donny Stevenson graduated from The Evergreen State College (as one of my students!) and is part of the “Youth Movement” of leadership in Indian Country in the Pacific Northwest. He serves on the Muckleshoot Tribal Council and as an accomplished artist, his work is showcased at the Muckleshoot Indian Casino.
The January news on the mountain was the snowy weather—lots of it. Paradise recorded 90 inches of new snow in the first two weeks of the month to push its total to 134 inches—120% of normal. Heavy snowfall in the lowlands forced closure of the park over the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday, as the road crew scrambled to clear downed trees and plow the roadway.
One of Mount Rainier’s newest residents, the fisher, is unfazed by the wild wintry conditions. These weasel family members were trapped to extinction in the Cascades in the early 20th century when a single pelt brought $300—equivalent to $3,500 in today’s dollars. Listed as a state-endangered species in 1998, biologists have reintroduced over 250 fishers in Washington’s forests since 2008. On January 10, biologists at Longmire set free four more animals into the Cascades. At a prior release, I had watched as kids, with the help of adults, opened crates to allow the animals to become part of the first fisher population at Mount Rainier in a hundred years. Sleek and low-slung, about the size of a house cat and trailing a tail longer than its body, each animal charged through the snow and disappeared into the forest. I’d never seen anything like it. This milestone, a momentous triumph, brought people of all ages together to return wildlife to their original territory.
The fisher’s story, and others like it, are key to Tahoma and Its People. Whether it’s the fisher reintroduction, ecosystem restoration, or an endangered species’ resurgence, I hope that these fieldwork highlights will connect readers to Mount Rainier in new and meaningful ways.