Beauty in wildness
Books celebrate 100 years of national parks
The National Park Service celebrates its centennial on Thursday — it’s been 100 years since Congress established a federal agency to preserve natural places and make them available to the public for hiking, camping and enjoying nature.
The publishing industry has taken notice of the anniversary, churning out books that celebrate the beauty and history of our national parks. Here’s a sampling of the new books that commemorate the park service:
‘The National Parks: An American Legacy’
Photos by Ian Shive Earth Aware Editions, 240 pp., $50
Award-winning nature photographer Ian Shive offers unbelievable images from parks across the country; they’re accompanied by essays from naturalists, scientists, nature lovers and artists. This is a coffee-table book that will inspire you to lace up your shoes and enjoy nature.
‘The Wonder of It All: 100 Stories From the National Park Service’
Yosemite Conservancy, 320 pp., $18.95 This book combines park photos — always beautiful — with personal stories from 100 current and former National Park Service employees and volunteers, who share their own experiences of falling in love with nature and the parks.
‘The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks’
By Terry Tempest Williams Sarah Crichton, 416 pp., $27
This is a literary celebration of the national parks; author Terry Tempest Williams explores why these wild spaces mean so much to us. She reports an encounter with a London tourist in Big Bend National Park in West Texas. He tells Williams, “In London, there’s 9 million of us in a very tiny space. Here, there’s a handful. That’s it. I keep looking for people and instead, there are cactus and space. … It just puts everything in perspective.”
‘Under the Stars: How America Fell in Love With Camping’
By Dan White Henry Holt, 416 pp., $28
“In case you haven’t noticed, campouts hardly ever go the way you want them to go,” writes author Dan White in the prologue to this entertaining volume. “It doesn’t matter if you’re glamping or backpacking, on a guided exploration or alone. Chaos finds a way.” He goes on to explore (and embrace) that chaos, celebrating the unpredictable beauty of sleeping under the stars.
‘Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks’
By Mark Woods Thomas Dunne Books, 320 pp., $26.99
Author Mark Woods spent a year visiting at least one national park per month. He intended to rediscover nature and recreated his childhood memories of family station-wagon trips to national parks. But when his mother got a diagnosis of terminal cancer, his journey became more urgent and more important. Here, he tells a story about national parks and family, and how they intertwine in so many of our lives.