"This book is a wonderful guide for dayhikers, naturalists, and people interested in history. It explains the forces of nature that resulted in the formation of Sugarloaf, the only mountain in the Maryland Piedmont, and explores the history of that mountain from the early American Indians through the incorporation of Stronghold to ensure the preservation of the mountain and its natural splendor for posterity." - Potomac Appalachian, the newsletter of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

"This slim volume offers a fascinating insight into not only the nature of Sugarloaf but also the passion with which Choukas-Bradley and Brown have embraced the mountain." - Audubon Naturalist News

"The book guides readers on a hike that depicts the mountain as a survivor of a violent geological past, an overexploited source of Industrial Age charcoal and the sanctuary of Henry Gordon Strong, a railroad tycoon's son from Chicago who bought most of the mountain and preserved it for posterity. Along the way, the book also tells of the mountain's importance as a lookout and signaling station during the Civil War, and of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's desire to transform Sugarloaf into a presidential retreat." - Washington Post "