UNC Asheville Professor's Book is Inaugural Selection for Tennessee Reads Book Club

"The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park," a book by Dan Pierce, UNC Asheville assistant professor of history, was recently chosen as the inaugural selection for Tennessee Reads, a book club featuring titles from the University of Tennessee Press. The book will be discussed at book club meetings throughout Tennessee over the next six months. The selection was announced at a University of Tennessee symposium in September.

Pierce is pleased that his book was chosen as the first Tennessee Reads selection. "It’s exciting to me. I never expected that something I wrote would be published and be so well received," said Pierce. "Being a part of this book club is especially gratifying and amazing."

Now in its second printing, "The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park" was published in 2000. It examines the politics of the park’s creation with a special focus on the period from 1920 to 1940. Pierce documents the campaign to establish the park and purchase the land, the legal battles between park boosters and timber interests, and the process of removing established residents from the land once the park bill was passed. The book also examines the broader context of environmental change in the Smokies, from the impact of prehistoric hunter-gatherers to the effects of global warming.

Pierce, an Asheville native, is the son of Archie Pierce and the late Rev. C.R. Pierce Jr. He holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in history from the University of Tennessee. Pierce is currently working on a book which focuses on the Piedmont working class roots of NASCAR.

Media Contact:

• Dr. Dan Pierce, UNCA Assistant Professor of History, 828/232-2996
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526