As a young man, John developed a love of the White Mountains and spent many hours hiking, camping, photographing, and climbing the majestic peaks that surround his family's home in the White Mountains. Interested in anything and everything relating to the mountains of northern New Hampshire, John has accumulated a large private collection of images and information about the White Mountains. Using his vast knowledge of the White Mountains and their history, his own private collection, and his finely honed research skills, John, through his own company, Durand Press, has published the most important books about the White Mountains. John lectures extensively on the White Mountains and is a frequent contributor to the education programs run by the Appalachian Mountain Club and Mount Washington Observatory.

Readers will learn that Mt. Goose Eye . . . is reportedly a derivation of Goose High, meaning that the geese flew at this height when they passed the mountain and that Boise Rock is a large glacial boulder named after Thomas Boise . . . [who] found shelter under the boulder during a winter storm.

A collection of writing inspired by the Old Man of the Mountain, the granite outcropping that overlooks Franconia Notch and has become an icon that represents the State of New Hampshire.

The collection includes the address given by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the celebration commemorating the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Old Man of the Mountain, excerpts from The White Mountains A Handbook for Travelers (1891), and many more works including Daniel Webster's comments about the emblem of his native state:

Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades. Shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers, a monster watch; even the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the Franconia Mountains God Almightily has hung out a sign to show that in New England He makes men.