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“An account both educational and perhaps surprisingly, thrilling,” is how Booklist described Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering in a recent review. Maurice Isserman, Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History, will be discussing his new book, published by W.W. Norton this month, in the Glen House Great Room tonight, April 7, at 8 p.m.

Author Joseph Taylor, professor of history at Simon Fraser University, visited Hamilton on Nov. 10 to deliver a lecture on “The Dawn Wall and the Golden Ages of Yosemite.”

An article titled “Good Tidings, Strenuous Life” by Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman appeared in the fall 2015 issue of the Alpinist magazine. The piece is a precursor to the release of Continental Divide – A History of American Mountaineering in April 2016 (W.W. Norton & Company) by Isserman.

In a Bloomberg Business article about famed mountain climber Reinhold Messner, Maurice Isserman, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History and author of Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering From the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes, commented on the climber’s accomplishments. 

Maurice Isserman, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of History, presented a paper titled “Purple Mountain Majesties” on May 6 at Thinking Mountains 2015, an interdisciplinary mountain studies conference sponsored by the University of Alberta. This year’s conference was held in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman presented “Americans Stand Atop Everest-50 Years Later” on Sept. 9 and 16 at Mohawk Valley Community College’s Utica and Rome campuses, respectively. The lecture marked the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent of Mount Everest.

Arlene Blum’s Feb. 21 lecture at Hamilton on “mountains and molecules” began with an autobiographical account of how she has built a remarkable career in otherwise unlikely circumstances.  Blum is founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute (GSPI), an organization that serves as a watchdog group for regulations that may have adverse health effects.

 “MAD, ILL-EQUIPPED AND ADMIRABLE: EVEREST 1962,” an article written by Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman appearing in Alpinist magazine, tells the story of an American-Swiss team of four climbers who attempted to climb Mt. Everest from the north side.  Isserman wrote about the climbers’ adventures, from their initial planning to their illegal entry into Tibet and their near-fatal accidents which ultimately caused them to turn back.

As final exams approach, many Hamilton students are facing one last mountain of work before they can head home for the holidays. Perhaps appropriate for this season and providing a welcome break from all the studying, Hamilton welcomed prize-winning author Wade Davis on Dec. 12 to discuss his award-winning work, Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest.

Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman discussed mountaineering on March 8 at the University of Michigan’s Mountaineering Culture Studies Group meeting. He was joined by Stewart Weaver of the University of Rochester with whom he co-authored the award-winning book Fallen Giants:  A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extreme (2008). Isserman and Weaver talked about the origin and evolution of their own work, as well as the future of mountaineering.