A Thinking Person's Guide To America's National Parks [Paperback]

This centenary year of the National Park Service is the perfect moment for[A] provocative, seductively illustrated anthology of 23 essays... entriescovering communities and partnerships, new park resources, and the next 100 yearssoar with thought-provoking content.&provides considerable historical detail and a look at the parks as treasure of the American spirit.... an excellent armchair roadmap to the Park Services more than 400 sites and its many priorities and pursuits...This volume, and the issues raised by the some two dozen contributors,provide an important jumping-off point fora number of significant inquiries into the nature,meaning, and future of national parks. The book has an overall celebratory tone, but is very clear in its message that the national park system still has a ways to go before it can live up to its potential as our great public commons.... This is a book designed for repeated use and exploration, for readers who want to understand particular issues and questions about the system as a whole more deeply.[... this book brings together ecologists, historians, naturalists, landscape architects, and other specialists who have worked for or studied the National Park Service and the national park system to offer an engaging mix of history and personal reflection.On the centennial of the National Park Service, this richlyillustrated book offers invaluable advice on exploring Americas national parksystem. ?