Residents and visitors in today’s Seattle would barely recognize the landscape that its founding settlers first encountered. As the city grew, its leaders and inhabitants dramatically altered its topography to accommodate their changing visions. In Too High and Too Steep, David B. Williams uses his deep knowledge of Seattle, scientific background, and extensive research and interviews to illuminate the physical challenges and sometimes startling hubris of these large-scale transformations, from the filling in of the Duwamish tideflats to the massive regrading project that pared down Denny Hill.
In the course of telling this fascinating story, Williams helps readers find visible traces of the city’s former landscape and better understand Seattle as a place that has been radically reshaped.
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af51FU8h HLI
Too High and Too Steep was made possible in part by a grant from 4Culture’s Heritage Program.
About the author
David B. Williams writes about science and history. His many books include Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound, Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography and Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, and Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology. He lives in Seattle.