First published 2009
This book accompanies the twelve-hour PBS documentary by the filmmaker who created The Civil War, Baseball, and The War. Burns and Duncan explore how America's national parks emerged from a radical concept: preserving the nation's most magnificent places for all citizens rather than just the wealthy or powerful. The authors trace this history from 1851, when white explorers first saw the valley that became Yosemite, through the establishment of Yellowstone as the world's first national park in 1872, up to today's system of nearly four hundred sites covering 84 million acres. They chronicle the political fights and adventures that shaped each park's creation. The narrative spans locations from Haleakala in Hawaii to Acadia in Maine, from Denali in Alaska to the Everglades in Florida. Readers meet key figures like John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ansel Adams, plus many unsung heroes who fought to protect these landscapes. The book reveals how these special places transformed the people who championed them, inspiring lifelong commitments to conservation so future generations could experience the same transformation.
Genres: history, nature, 20th-century, environment, 21st-century, conservation, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical
Setting: Yosemite, Yellowstone, Haleakala, Acadia, Denali, Everglades
Period: 1851, 1872
432 pages · Hardcover · Alfred A. Knopf