In the 1960s, an audacious ad campaign asked whether Americans would flood the Grand Canyon just to get a better view of its walls. The man who approved that message was David Brower, a world-class mountaineer who transformed a regional hiking club into a national environmental powerhouse and repeatedly got fired from the very organizations he built.

This deep dive traces Brower from over 70 first ascents in the High Sierra and combat with the 10th Mountain Division to his leadership of the Sierra Club, his landmark photography books, and the battles over Echo Park, the Grand Canyon, and Diablo Canyon. We explore why his absolute refusal to compromise made him both a visionary and an exile.

• His mountaineering roots and 63 summits in a single ten-week expedition
• Using lavish photography books to build a national conservati ...