The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Hardcover
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Author: Dayton Duncan

ISBN-10: 0307268969

ISBN-13: 9780307268969

Category: Photography - Travel

The companion volume to the twelve-hour PBS series from the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Civil War, Baseball, and The War\ America’s national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation’s most magnificent and sacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men...

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The companion volume to the twelve-hour PBS series from the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Civil War, Baseball, and The WarAmerica s national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation s most magnificent and sacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite and the creation of the world s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, through the most recent additions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundred sites and 84 million acres.The authors recount the adventures, mythmaking, and intense political battles behind the evolution of the park system, and the enduring ideals that fostered its growth. They capture the... Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Duncan and Burns, who last teamed on Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, rejoin in this visually stunning guide to the unforgettable landscapes and fascinating history of America's national parks. A companion to the documentary miniseries, this book provides not only an armchair tour of the parks but lessons in American history and biography, as Duncan and Burns attempt to answer the question, "Who are we?" through the foundation and legacy of American conservation. From Yellowstone, the first national park, to Acadia to the Everglades, readers will learn the origins of many of the parks, monuments, and historic areas across the U.S., illustrated with more than a century's worth of photographs. A recurring theme throughout history has been the value and purpose of conservation and beauty, versus utility and tourism, and the story of the parks brings it into brilliant focus; readers will meet characters like John Muir, Horace Albright, Stephen Mather, Adolph Murie, and others who helped create the existing park system (with no shortage of attention paid to Theodore Roosevelt). Likely to inspire adventure-seekers of all generations, this broad, deep, evocative survey is just the kind of volume readers have come to expect from filmmaker and cultural historian Burns. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preface OUR BEST SELVES A Treasure House of Nature's Superlatives   Chapter One THE SCRIPTURE OF NATURE Homeland: An Interview with Gerard Baker   Chapter Two FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE Transcendence: An Interview with Shelton Johnson   Chapter Three EMPIRE OF GRANDEUR Stories of Discovery: An Interview with Nevada Barr   Chapter Four GOING HOME Redefining Beauty: An Interview with Paul Schullery   Chapter Five GREAT NATURE Democracy at Its Best: An Interview with Juanita Greene   Chapter Six THE MORNING OF CREATION This Is What We Loved: An Interview with Terry Tempest Williams   Afterword THE BEST DAY   Acknowledgments Selected Bibliography Index Illustration Credits Film Credits  

\ From Barnes & NobleThis spectacular full-color pictorial is the companion volume to Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan's much-anticipated 12-hour PBS documentary. In the book, as in the TV show, Duncan and Burns track "America's best idea" from its first inklings to the 1871 creation of Yellowstone, the world's first national park, to the truly wondrous proliferation of these natural sites to a total of 84 million acres.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. \ Duncan and Burns, who last teamed on Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, rejoin in this visually stunning guide to the unforgettable landscapes and fascinating history of America's national parks. A companion to the documentary miniseries, this book provides not only an armchair tour of the parks but lessons in American history and biography, as Duncan and Burns attempt to answer the question, "Who are we?" through the foundation and legacy of American conservation. From Yellowstone, the first national park, to Acadia to the Everglades, readers will learn the origins of many of the parks, monuments, and historic areas across the U.S., illustrated with more than a century's worth of photographs. A recurring theme throughout history has been the value and purpose of conservation and beauty, versus utility and tourism, and the story of the parks brings it into brilliant focus; readers will meet characters like John Muir, Horace Albright, Stephen Mather, Adolph Murie, and others who helped create the existing park system (with no shortage of attention paid to Theodore Roosevelt). Likely to inspire adventure-seekers of all generations, this broad, deep, evocative survey is just the kind of volume readers have come to expect from filmmaker and cultural historian Burns.\ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.\ \ \