North Woods is a monumental achievement of polyphony and humanity . . . I loved it.” —Maggie O’Farrell, New York Times bestselling author of Hamnet Hunters, fishermen, canoeists, rafters, bird-watchers, and hikers have been accustomed to having the run of much of this forest, with the tacit permission of most timber companies, many of which were founded here and have long historic ties to Maine’s woodland communities. But a lot has changed in recent years. One of the biggest factors has been the increasing value of lakefront property, which has made this land far more valuable as second-home property than as standing timber. Several parcels of formerly open land have been sold off and closed to visitors.

A young Puritan couple on the run. An English soldier with a fantastic vision. Inseparable twin sisters. A lovelorn painter and a lusty beetle. A desperate mother and her haunted son. A ruthless con man and a stalking panther. Buried secrets. Madness, dreams and hope.The plan was drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed by Chairman Lyman Lemnitzer and sent to the Secretary of Defense. Although part of the US government's anti-communist Cuban Project, Operation Northwoods was never officially accepted; it was authorized by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but then rejected by President Kennedy. None of the false flag operations became active under the auspices of the Operation Northwoods proposals. This idea of “stitching” seems to mirror Mason’s own work in writing this novel. All he is doing is describing the history of a small patch of woodland. Yet through some strange alchemy he shows how death is “not only the cessation of life, but vast worlds of significance”. Inevitably, as the story progresses the human impact on the natural world grows darker. But this is not a melancholy book. “To understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change.” No matter the extent of the destruction, “it all begins again”. This is a brave and original book, which invents its own form. It is both intimate and epic, playful and serious. To read it is to travel to the limits of what the novel can do. Lansdale Memo of 16 Mar 1962. This memo records a high-level meeting in the White House three days after McNamara was presented with Operation Northwoods. Botkin, B.A. (1989). A Treasury of New England Folklore. American Legacy Press. ISBN 978-0-517-67977-7. Having taught psychiatry at Stanford, Mr Mason writes evocatively about mental illness and ghosts. He has a naturalist’s eye for detail, such as “the thousand seasons—of frogsong, of thunderheads, of first thaws—that hid within the canonical four”.

Ambitious, alive, and lush . . . I emerged from this book as though from an enchanted forest, covered in leaves and changed by what I had seen there. . . . Electrifying.” —Tess Gunty, author of The Rabbit HutchEnthralling . . . the bigger point of North Woods is how much is forgotten or never known. This resonates at a time when Americans are arguing about what version of history students should be taught.” — The Economist

As you make your way down from the Ravine to the Glen Span Arch, you will immediately be welcomed to the small stream that you will begin to follow. US Joint Chiefs Of Staff Operation Northwoods Unclassified Document Bolsheviks NWO". Internet Archive. 1962.Each arc is beautifully, heartbreakingly conveyed, stitching together subtle connections across time. This astonishes.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) North Woods is the most original and spellbinding novel I’ve read in ages. Mason makes bramble, brush, and orchard come alive with the spirits of their unforgettable former inhabitants. Their lives . . . had me glued to my seat.” —Abraham Verghese, New York Times bestselling author of The Covenant of Water