Book excerpt: The lakes of the Adirondack region are explored in this superb collection of masterful images, most of which are previously unpublished. The photographs in Adirondack Lakes were taken by well-known and lesser-known photographers of the region, including Seneca Ray Stoddard, George W. Baldwin, H. T. Hull, Katherine E. McClellan, William Kollecker, William L. Distin, and Henry M. Beach. Dating from 1858 to 1948, they are clear, focused, visually engaging, and historically significant. They show the men and women who developed the Adirondacks, from monied entrepreneurs to manual laborers, from hoteliers to roadside attendants, from vacationers to year-round residents-a cast of characters reflecting nearly a century of Adirondack activity.