Description: This evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative--the companion volume to the 12-hour PBS series--delves into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 through to the most recent additions to a system that now encompasses nearly 400 sites and 84 million acres.
Review Quotes: Praise for the PBS series:
"Stunning and restorative, like the parks themselves." --The New York Times "A masterful historic document, a vivid portrait of the land set against the stories of those who worked to acquire it and then protect it against those who still would dismantle or compromise it." --New York Daily News "Beautiful and erudite...Underneath its wonder, The National Parks is really about how Americans learned (or failed to learn) proper stewardship of nature." --The Washington Post