The first-ever biography of an American journalist and travel writer who brought the world alive for readers a century ago through her intrepid journeys to little-known places. Eliza Scidmore was a "Forrest Gump" of her day who bore witness to many important events and rubbed elbows with famous people, from John Muir and Alexander Graham Bell to U.S presidents and Japanese leaders. Scidmore's pioneering writings on Alaska in the 1880s helped spark the birth of its cruise industry. She educated readers about Japan and other places in the Far East at a time of expanding U.S. interests across the Pacific. At the early National Geographic, she made a lasting mark as the first woman to serve on its board and to publish photographs in the magazine. Around the same time, she played an activist role in the burgeoning U.S. conservation movement. Her published work includes books on Alaska, Japan, Java, China, and India, and a novel based on her reporting on POW camps during the Russo-Japanese War. In her most tangible legacy, Scidmore was the earliest champion of planting Japanese cherry trees in Washington's newly created Potomac Park. Despite resistance from powerful men, she finally prevailed--after almost thirty years--by teaming up with First Lady Helen Taft. Deeply researched and briskly written, this groundbreaking biography draws heavily on Scidmore's own writings to follow major events of a half-century as seen through the eyes of a remarkable woman who was far ahead of her time.