A Place Called Yellowstone
The Epic History of the World's First National Park
1 of 1 copy available
Explore how Yellowstone’s remote Western landscape became a symbol of our country—and an integral part of our understanding of the natural world.
It has been called Wonderland, America’s Serengeti, the crown jewel of the National Park System, and America’s best idea. But how did this faraway landscape evolve into one of the most recognizable places in the world? As the birthplace of the national park system, Yellowstone witnessed the first-ever attempt to protect wildlife, to restore endangered species, and to develop a new industry centered on nature tourism.
Yellowstone remains a national icon, one of the few entities capable of bridging ideological divides in the United States. Yet the park’s history is also filled with episodes of conflict and exclusion, setting precedents for Native American land dispossession, land rights disputes, and prolonged tensions between commercialism and environmental conservation. Yellowstone’s legacies are both celebratory and problematic. A Place Called Yellowstone tells the comprehensive story of Yellowstone National Park as the story of the nation itself.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 8, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781640096660
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781640096660
- File size: 17222 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2024
Wilson, professor of environmental studies at Gettysburg College, traces Yellowstone's history back some 13,000 years--a period during which some 27 Indigenous tribes called the region home--but he focuses primarily on the period from the first European "discovery" of this fantastical expanse in the early 1800s to the present day. Encompassing a mere 300 years, that history is fraught with high-wire clashes, from battles between Europeans and Indigenous tribes to determine sovereignty over the land to the congressional fight to make Yellowstone the country's first national park; from the development--pushed by the railroads and by human greed--of the tourism industry ("Please don't feed the bears!") to the dawning impact of the environmental movement and the reintroduction of wolves and the keystone bison to the American West; and finally to advances in scientific research that would lead to, among other things, the "gold-standard test" for COVID-19. Tensions will always exist between the tourism industry and the conservation movement over Yellowstone's precious resources, but Wilson's account shows an unfolding awareness and sensitivity on both sides to the treasures that lie within those 2.2 million acres.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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