The national parks America's best idea : an illustrated history

Duncan and Burns have produced a magnificent companion to the documentary film series bearing the same title. This six-chapter book, well illustrated with effective photos and eloquent essays, is enhanced by personal interviews to exemplify how national parks matter to American people as a source of peace, inspiration, and knowledge. The authors effectively communicate a key message: the idea of national parks is never static, nor is it perfect. Instead, the idea continually undergoes evolution and refinement, reflecting changes in America's demographics and social values. Unlike many general readings on national parks that focus on beauty and accomplishments, this book cautions readers about the current challenges facing national parks to remind Americans that continual engagement in national park issues is essential if this "best idea" is to stand the test of time and generations. Overall, this volume is a good contribution to the national park and conservation literature. It will serve very nicely as general reading for public libraries, supplementary reading for undergraduate classes, and substantive training material for park interpreters, educators, and managers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic, public, and professional readers, all levels. Y.-F. Leung North Carolina State University

This large-sized, lavishly illustrated book accompanies a 12-hour PBS series by Burns, who has made such remarkable documentaries as The Civil War, Baseball, and The War, and by Duncan, Burns' collaborator in producing documentaries and accompanying texts. Approximately 400 current sites are designated national parks in this country; the point of the series and the book is to document the history of the national park system as well as the history of individual parks. As cited here, national parks were an invention by Americans; the concept of setting aside large tracts of land for public use arose in the U.S. The works of various individuals that stood behind the creation of the park system are detailed and celebrated. Adamant that this book is not a tour guide but a history of a vastly important trend and feature of American civic and ecological thinking and planning, the authors nevertheless have done a great service in arousing reader and viewer interest in making some travel plans.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2009 Booklist

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. (Sept.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.