In time for those holiday gift purchases, here is a list of books about the Adirondacks I think would make great gifts. You can see all the book notices we’ve run at Adirondack Almanack here.

Before we get to the classics, I can’t help but make a bold-faced pitch for my own book, Historic Tales from the Adirondack Almanack. A compilation of my history essays from the last four years of the Almanack, the book is a great way to help support the work I’ve put into this site since 2005.

The Adirondack Reader – The new third edition of the seminal collection of works by writers of the past 400 years on the Adirondacks. Edited by Paul Jamieson and Neal Burdick.

Champlain’s Dream – David Hackett Fischer’s outstanding biography of Samuel de Champlain has been released in an affordable paperback. 2009 marks the 400th year of Champlain’s first encounter with the lake that bears his name, and the people who lived there.

Why the Adirondacks Look the Way They Do: A Natural History – Mike Storey’s guide to the Adirondack landscape describes ecological and geographical changes with a large number of images that illustrate remarkably well the processes that make our region what it is.

Short Carries: Essays From Adirondack Life – Adirondack Life turned 40 this year and Betsy Folwell, who has been with the magazine for 20 of those years, has compiled and enjoyable and engaging collection of some of her essays.

Guides of the Adirondacks: A History – A regular favorite on my list of Adirondack must-haves, Charles Brumley’s history of the region’s most famous profession is filled with anecdotes about local guides.

Adirondack Birding – I’m not a birder, that’s why I love this book by Gary Lee and John Peterson. It’s easy to use with great maps and photos, tips, trails, and times to see lots of birds.

The Great Forest of the Adirondacks – I think it’s fair to say that no one really knew the full history of the Adirondack forests until this book by Barbabra McMartin was published. With the insight of a forester and methodological rigor of a great science historian McMartin’s book is readable and reliable.

Contested Terrain – Philip Terrie’s cultural history of the Adirondack region is the most important historical narrative on the region in print today. Recently updated in a new edition, Terrie’s book gets inside the culture of the park in a way no other book does.

Adirondack Park: A Political History – Although it was first published in 1978 and is in serious need of revision, Frank Graham’s seminal history of the politics that shaped the park is still readable and relevant.

Oliver’s War: An Adirondack Rebel Battles the Rockefeller Fortune – Two years ago, Lawrence P. Gooley won the Adirondack Center For Writing’s Award for Nonfiction for Oliver’s War, his telling of Brandon Civil War veteran Oliver Lamora’s battle with William Rockefeller, brother of John D. Rockefeller. Someday, this book will be a movie and you can say you read the book first.