Located in central South Carolina, only a few miles from the capital city of Columbia, Congaree National Park is the largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the country and one of the most biologically diverse parks within the national park system. Nearly 100 species of trees have been documented within the park, almost as many as in the entire Pacific Northwest. The park has one of the tallest hardwood forests anywhere in the temperate world and features numerous trees of record-setting proportions, a distinction that has earned it the name "Forest of Champions." This book discusses the early history of the area that later became the Congaree National Park, shows efforts to protect it from logging by a citizen's grassroots campaign, traces the park's early beginnings and development, and illustrates some of the park's notable flora and fauna.

John E. Cely, a native of Columbia, South Carolina, is a retired wildlife biologist and still-active naturalist who has been exploring the Congaree National Park for more than 40 years. He graduated from Clemson University, twice, and currently serves on the board of directors of the Friends of Congaree Swamp. He is also a member of the COWASEE Basin Task Force. He lives in Columbia with his wife, Margaret, and two Jack Russell terriers, Buster and Belle.