Introduction

Astronomers all over the world study the universe with powerful telescopes situated on cold mountain summits where skies are clear. What is it like to live in such a faraway community for extended periods of time? What are the consequences of romance, extra-marital love, unwanted pregnancy, attempted murder and a dangerous forest fire for such a group? Are the expected personal and social effects exaggerated or muted? What is the impact of a major external event, such as the onset of a world war?

About the Book

Noted poet and author Julia Cooley Altrocchi portrays what life was like in a pre-television era for such an isolated cluster of fewer than forty people — academic stargazers, their families and support staff — during the months immediately before and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Themes and Setting

It becomes clear that walls and houses on such an isolated mountain top are made of glass. Everybody knows everything. Secrets cannot be kept. Life's emotions and theatrics are intensified, more vivid, more vitally felt. The intriguing cast of characters is indeed living on a Glass Mountain in this dramatically gripping, linguistically captivating and thoroughly entertaining historical novel.