Waterfalls of the White Mountains

Reviewed by Dean Goss

The second edition represents an improvement over the first, with one exception. The chapter on waterfall bushwhacks is missing from the second edition. Admittedly, the bushwhack section is NOT for the casual hiker, so there might be some legitimacy to the omission. The book has a few extra waterfalls added by Daniel, the son of Bruce and Doreen. In addition, Robert Koslow has provided his very good photographs to this edition.

The Bolnicks are both talented, he's a Professor of Economics, and she's a renowned artist. Both are obviously bright and talented people whose passion for waterfalls is plainly evident throughout this book. Her sketches are liberally sprinkled throughout the book and are well executed. It's nice to have drawings and sketches that aren't fluff or space fillers.

The book is well organized by watershed. It has relevant and important adjunct information, a treatise on photographing the falls, trail etiquette, safety concerns, a brief but thorough geology of the falls, and a master list of falls in the appendix. This appendix accounts for much of my early "master list" that became the embryonic first version of my website about 15 years ago.

The Bottom Line: If you explore the White Mountains, you should have a copy of this book. It's a good read, very well written, with much more than simple descriptive narrative. The enthusiasm of the Bolnicks is infectious.