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The National Parks: America's Best Idea - Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
by: (author) (author)
5.00 35
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... show more
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 importance and splendors of the individual parks: from Haleakala in Hawaii to Acadia in Maine, from Denali in Alaska to the Everglades in Florida, from Glacier in Montana to Big Bend in Texas. And they introduce us to a diverse cast of compelling characters—both unsung heroes and famous figures such as John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ansel Adams—who have been transformed by these special places and committed themselves to saving them from destruction so that the rest of us could be transformed as well.The National Parks is a glorious celebration of an essential expression of American democracy.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780307268969 (0307268969)
ASIN: 307268969
Publisher: Knopf
Pages no: 432
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
jbarrett5 book reviews, etc
jbarrett5 book reviews, etc rated it
5.0 The National Parks: America's Best Idea
have visited many, can't wait to see more of them in our travels
The Drift Of Things
The Drift Of Things rated it
5.0
This may appear to be just a "coffee table" book, but it's much more than that. This is a comprehensive history of our national parks, from the first molecule of an idea right up to the present. I learned about many of the key figures here and there in my university degree program. This book pull...
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