The Wild East is a delightful book that explores the social, political, and environmental changes in the Great Smoky Mountains during the 19th and 20th centuries. You might say it is the story of wilderness vs. “wildermess” (my term). The history of The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a study in the contrasts of a multifaceted milieu: bears and boars, flowers and farms, peace and politics, ruins and roads, trails and trials, vistas and visitors. It is mostly a study in what invasions of all kinds can do to an island wilderness, ironically stemming from a desire to preserve it.