For over 85 years The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has worked to safeguard and maintain the more than 58 federally protected national parks, as well as many of the more than 400 locations supervised by the National Park Service. With more than 340,000 members and 24 regional offices nationwide the NPCA represents the strength of national conservation action, with everyone working to “protect and enhance America’s National Park System for present and future generations.”
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 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.
This extensive travel planner covers not just the 58 official National Parks but also the nearly 350 additional properties in the Park Service’s domain. The premier Parks are described in detail, but equal attention is given to the National Monuments, Memorials, Preserves, Historic Sites, Battlefields, Cemeteries, and Seashores, not to mention a network of "National Trails" and even the intriguingly referred to "Affiliated Areas." From Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, from the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park to the Pacific waters shrouding Hawaii’s U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, this catalog spans American history and territory both, with practical advice on how to reach each park, when to go, and what to do there.
FEATURED PARKS:
EAST: Acadia - Shenandoah - Great Smoky Mountains - Biscayne - Everglades SOUTHWEST & ROCKIES: Big Bend - Petrified Forest - Grand Canyon - Bryce Canyon - Zion - Capitol Reef - Mesa Verde - Canyonlands - Arches - Rocky Mountain - Wind Cave - Badlands - Theodore Roosevelt - Yellowstone - Grand Teton - Glacier PACIFIC: Mount Ranier - Olympic - Crater Lake - Redwood - Yosemite - Channel Islands - Sequoia & Kings Canyon - Death Valley - Joshua Tree - Hawaii Volcanoes - Haleakala
This extensive travel planner covers not just the 58 official National Parks but also the nearly 350 additional properties in the Park Service’s domain. The premier Parks are described in detail, but equal attention is given to the National Monuments, Memorials, Preserves, Historic Sites, Battlefields, Cemeteries, and Seashores, not to mention a network of "National Trails" and even the intriguingly referred to "Affiliated Areas." From Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, from the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park to the Pacific waters shrouding Hawaii’s U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, this catalog spans American history and territory both, with practical advice on how to reach each park, when to go, and what to do there.
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