Park University Books

Didn't feel too impressed with this little book when it first arrived but did use it right away for a camping trip to Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys. The info helped me to choose the best camp site of the three different areas availale at this Park and to see this park to the fullest. I also read about and visited two other parks in the Keys area to explore them for future trips. After my first trip I felt as though I had gotten my monies worth, and enjoyed the trip more fully because of this book.

I have scheduled a second trip for next week for NE Florida through this book..

I have always enjoyed the beach, and when I saw Johnny Molloy's book I bought it immediately. It did not disappoint. With the book as my guide I made a grand tour of Florida's marvelous coastline. First, I started at St. Joe State Park, where I walked the wilderness beach backed by huge dunes. Then I headed south to Cayo Coasta State Park, whsere the ferry took me out to the quiet island getaway. After that, I crossed the peninsula and went to Sebastian Inlet, where the surfers entertained me as much as the excellent fishing. My final stop was at Fort Clinch, up near the Georgia border, where I toured the brick fort and enjoyed the beach here and on nearby Big Talbot Island. The best part was the smoothness of my vacation-it went off without a hitch, mostly due to the accurate research of Johnny Molloy. I plan to make another beach tour soon. Francisco Meyer, Atlanta, GA

I found this book to be for the birds. Extremely wordy and only a handful of black and white prints of birds. The format does not allow for quick and easy access to identifying bird species at a glance. It does not serve my need if I have to search through lengthy text to get information about a species that I can't identify until I see a color photo.
I'm sure the author spend much time in gathering information for this book such as which birds are found in what areas... however, unless you are an experienced bird watcher or ornithologist, this book may be difficult to follow without prior bird knowledge.

This book is an all-around treasure, for the beginning birder or the experienced ornitholigist, living in or near the Blue Ridge, planning to visit the Appalachian region, or even simply interested in this world-class region. The first fifty pages constitute an introduction to the Appalachian province and birding in general. The rest of the book profiles the birds of over 300 locations, where to go to see them, and how to get there. The book contains over two dozen maps, and even information about birding spots with handicapped access; an annotated checklist of birds; and a guide to contacts and resources for particular areas. It also features the drawings of H. Douglas Pratt. Part travel guide, part natural history, part handbook, this book is above all a joy.

As one who has traveled, and will continue to travel and explore, the Colorado Plateau extensively, I find all of Mr. Baars' works both useful and entertaining. This one is no different. Mr. Baars has an excellent grasp of the geological complexities of this wonderful area and shares his enthusiasm and keen insights well. I would like to see more photography, especially color, because I believe it is important to visualize an area before seeing it in real life, if for no other reason than to enhance photographic opportunities. Even in this minor absence, the book is a great read,and heartily recommended for any student of the Plateau.

This book is definately worth the money. I bought it while at Arches N.P. because I was amazed by the rock formations of the area. It was so varying that I wanted to learn more. This book definately helped me to understand in laymans terms. This book is definately for the novice. It will make you want to study the subject even more.

Experience the California Coast is a guide to the beaches and parks along the northern Californian coast. This book is divided into five parts according to county: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin. Each of these sections includes a coloured topography map labelled with all of the major roadways as well as all of the national parks in that particular region. Each chapter then goes on to detail various parks, trails, and recreational areas including their location and a little about what is found in this location. All options are also summarized in an easy to view chart for convenience.

Interspersed amongst the chapters are several very attractive features. Colour pictures of various natural sites, animals, and plants are found in every chapter. Moreover, some of these photographs are accompanied by blurbs giving some description of the location or a little background on the species. There are also textboxes discussing the history or historic significance of various locations.

North of the Golden Gate Bridge, the California Coast becomes much more rural and rugged. Many state parks, beaches, tourist towns, and rivers invite exploration, but there is so much out there it is hard to know where to begin. Enter the California Coastal Commision which has somehow strong-armed the University of California Press into printing a guidebook listing all parks, beaches, public access points, private nature preserves, hostels, and many whale watching tours. (When was the last time a major university press published a travel guide?) If you are unsure where to go, this book is a good place to look for ideas.

On the whole, this is a decent book. Every park, tourist center, or beach has a one to three paragraph description focusing on the basics: fees, directions, natural features and the like. Destinations are listed from north to south with facing maps showing their location. The book is further divided into six major chapters: one for each county north of San Francisco. Interspersed throughout the text are feature articles covering everything from techtonic plates to birding and common coastal flowers. The color photos are stunning, but don't expect that much blue sky on your vacation. The north coast receives a lot of rain.

My main concern with the book is that park descriptions are sometimes too brief. In some ways, this is an unfair criticism because comprehensive guides cannot get bogged down in details. Still, I thought hiking was definitely shorted in this book. Day hikers will want to supplement it with John McKinney's California's Coastal Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide. If you want to spend several days, or weeks, exploring the wilder sections of the coast on foot, consider getting Bob Lorentzen and Richard Nichols Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume 1: Oregon to Monterey. State parks also often publish their own literature and maps. That said, this book is a valuable resource for planning your north coast vacation. Get it and go enjoy California's wild and scenic coastline.

I enjoyed this book very much. It gave a lot of info on the Native Americans in Yellowstone.

This book provides a straightforward introduction to the interaction of Indians with what is now Yellowstone National Park. It begins with the land and the peoples who lived there before European contact. After this, Janetski moves to tribes from the historic period, especially the Sheepeaters (Bannock) who lived year-round in the park. Three chapters discuss Indian wars that took place, in part, on Yellowstone land, and then topics such as the Bannock Trail and the relationship between Indians and the thermal features. The book concludes with five pages on Indians and Yellowstone in the twentieth century.

Overall, Janetski gives us a basic introduction in a short, readable volume. There are no exciting story lines here, and as Sgt. Joe Friday might suggest, he gives us "just the facts." He could have written a lot more about modern relations between Indians and the park. Many tribes - - too many, in honesty - - are recognized as having traditional ties with the park. Some have played an active role in the bison brucellosis controversy as hunters or as recipients of surplus, brucellosis-free bison. The Treaty of Fort Laramie gave Indians hunting, fishing and foraging rights in the region that they lost with the creation of the national park - - some have tried to reassert those rights. There are some sacred sites in the park to which tribes have renewed access after having lost those rights for decades. Janetski does not discuss any of these contemporary issues, emphasizing instead the pageantry associated with the opening of the West Yellowstone entrance in 1925.

Those remain real issues, but Janetski prefers to see the park as Indian-free once the wars were over and there were no more permanent residents in the park. I think that's a mistake. On the historical issues, though, this book will give you a good introduction to the tribes. If you're planning a visit to Yellowstone and want a brief background book on the historic Indians, this will serve you well.

This book was a joy to read. Janetski paints such a thoroughly engaging picture of the entire Yellowstone area and it's human history that putting this book down was difficult. This is not just another story of the "popular" history of the region (ie the Plains Indian wars), nor is it wrapped-up in any particular "political" agenda. This is just a academic presentation of factual history of the nations and peoples that lived in and traveled through the Yellowstone National Park and it's region.

The entire archeological record is discussed: Paleoindians (10,000-6,000 B.C); the Archaic period (6,000 B.C. - A.D 1); Late Prehistoric (A.D. 1 - 1,500); and of course the Historic period (A.D. 1,500 to the present). The Crow, Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Paiute, and especially the Shoshone and Bannock peoples are discussed in great detail. The information about the SheepEaters (a branch of Shoshone who lived and hunted on foot amidst the grand alpine landscapes of the region) was especially informative and a subject matter that very few Americans know anything about. Another facet that is relatively unknown is the "wild" state of the park at it's inception in 1872. Many Native Americans continued to use the Yellowstone area as both a hunting ground and sanctuary even as late as the 1890's and early 1900's.

Although it's written with an academic tone, it is anything but dry. Janetski's writing style is very readable and presented in a non-scholarly manner that makes it perfect for the average reader- but it's so packed with insight and information that even well-read history buffs will find something new and exciting. This book is one of those rare gems that despite little press and media attention deserves to be in the library of everyone interested in the history of the American west.

I have to admit, although beautifully produced, this slim book about one of America's greatest urban parks left me a little disappointed. It consists of four main sections followed by four appendices, interwoven with photographs, paintings, sketches, and a few maps. The first section presents a brief, broad overview of the park's history. The second section focuses on the highly influential 1902 McMillen Plan, and discusses some of the backroom politicking surrounding it. The third section is a brief overview landscape architecture pioneer Frederick Law Olmsted and his family firm. The fourth main section consists almost entirely of excerpts from the Olmsted's 1918 report on the park. The appendices include a brief chronology of park administration (buried in here is a lovely little anecdote about Teddy Roosevelt skinny-dipping!), a brief overview of the park flora, a little on bridges across and within the park, and some basic visitor information.

The material isn't bad, it's just somewhat dry, and reads somewhat like an official history or publication. It would have been nice to get a little of the social history of the park, more on how people actually used it, possibly culled from newspaper archives and the like. It also would have been nice to hear a little more on some of the problems faced by the park, such as homeless squatters, pollution, and safety and crime (the most famous example being the discovery of Chandra Levy's corpse). Another area not touched upon is the fauna, for example, there's a huge deer problem in the park, as well as numerous red foxes, and recently, confirmed coyote sightings. There's definitely room for a more comprehensive book on the park, for example, the section on bridges was great -- but there are plenty more interesting examples that could have been included. Similarly, while the photos and illustrations were all very nice (most were drawn from collections at the Library of Congress and DC Public Library), there wasn't a whole lot of variety to them -- they tend to show similar sun-dappled views of the creek surrounded by foliage. It would have also been nice to get an orienting map at the very front of the book, instead of toward the end.

In sum, it's not a bad book, just a little thin for such an important part of Washington's cultural and geographic history.

A meticulously researched, beautifully written treasure, filled-with fascinating photographs, plans, drawings and paintings as well as apt quotations. Even includes a map of plant associations and lists of the different species as well as places to picnic, golf, ride and play ball to be found in Washington's planned city wilderness. A fitting tribute to the positive impact of the Olmsted family of landscape architects on the nation's capital.

Having read many books on Yosemite, I always find a new take on the material to be refreshing. And while there are other books which use rephotography (taking a new photo in the exact same location as an old photo), the photos in this book are nonetheless spectacular. There are several tri-fold pullouts which are pieced together panoramic views incorporating both new and old photos. The book isn't all photos, as there are quite a few pages of text, telling the story of how the book came to be and about the history of yosemite's photographers.

I liked the idea of re-doing Eadweard Muybridge photos. I was amazed at how the photos were re-done. To see how they looked years later was very interesting. Sadly, History is always written by those who won the war...or those who helped with that war. In the book it states that the Miwoks were the original Native Americans of Yosemite Valley. That is really not correct. The Miwoks were the ones who were the guides and helpers of James Savage. Chief Bautista of the Miwoks and James Savage were actaully allies. Other groups that later became Miwoks helped James Savage scout out the Yosemites and guide them to the hidden camps of the Yosemites, who were in fact Mono Paiutes.

That is a sad chapter of the TRUE history of Yosemite. That now the Miwoks are claiming to be the original Indians of Yosemite when they were the ones who assisted James Savage and the Mariposa Battalion.

That is the truth and you can read that in Lafayette H. Bunnell's book "Discovery of the Yosemites". Bunnell was the only man to meet Chief Tenaya.

Read that book first, but get an unabridged first print or older print of that book.

This book provides a history of Yosemite National Park with a particular focus - Runte's ongoing complaints about activities in the park that can be done elsewhere. These would include `resort" activities in Yosemite Valley such as swimming pools or bike and raft rentals, skiing at Badger Pass, or golfing at Wawona. He takes a strongly preservationist position, and emphasizes protection of wildlife.

I'm sympathetic to all those positions but in Runte's hands it all comes across as elitist. Unlike Joseph Sax's "Mountains without Handrails," Runte does not try to make the principled argument about why camping is good while swimming pools are bad; instead, he simply asserts this repeatedly.

This material in his narrative is valuable, and you'll learn a lot about this park even if you already know quite a bit. If you like your RV, this book will annoy you; if you're a backpacker, you'll agree with most of his complaints. The overall argument would have been more persuasive if he'd provided a stronger foundation for his value judgments.

Alfred Runte, a renowned environmental historian, argues in this volume that no other national park more dramatically reflects the United States' alleged failures to reconcile nature protection with the demands of a visiting public. The volume does not trace the entire history of Yosemite National Park, but instead focuses on the environmental aspects of the park's history. The book, gratefully, does not repeat familiar themes like the Hetch Hetchy Dam controversy. The author notes in the introduction that he wants to break new ground.

Yosemite, being the first land set aside for preservation by the U.S. government, has become the longest-running evidence of the tension between preservation and use and the symbol of the National Park idea at its finest and worst (7). One of its less-than-stellar moments came in 1868, only four years after its designation, when the House of Representatives passed legislation that would have given two Yosemite Valley squatters clear title two their land claims. Luckily, the bill did not carry in the Senate and the park was spared a move that would have greatly undermined the original Yosemite grant. In this presentation of early park history, Runte retreads territory established in his previous volume, National Parks: The American Experience, arguing that Yosemite is the real birthplace of the national park idea because it had been established, publicized, challenged and upheld before Congress designated Yellowstone in 1872.

Much of the volume discusses in detail how the major foundation of the national park experiment is a contradiction. For example, individuals, such as the 1868 Yosemite squatters, could profit by promoting development in parks; they simply could not acquire the attractions themselves (27). The presence of development in Yosemite Valley, in effect, broadcast that no natural resource was distinctive enough to merit unswerving protection (219). Runte's narrative argues that the doctrine of visitor accommodation is too firmly entrenched in park management. Administration of natural resources, which has always taken a backseat to tourism, has been reformed in Yosemite usually only after heavy public outcry or scandal. The author makes a compelling case that the NPS, throughout its history, has shown it is too prone to making quick, emotional decisions instead of educated decisions made on the basis of sound scientific research.

Runte presents problems of park service management and also offers a few possible solutions. He advocates public transportation in national parks, something that Yosemite management instituted in the Eastern third of Yosemite Valley in the 1970s because of traffic gridlock and lack of adequate parking space and what Zion National Park embraced in 2000 to control congestion in its most popular stretch of road, Zion Canyon. He also encourages non-profit foundations taking over park concessions, arguing that such a move would be more compatible with preservation, education and cooperation (223).

Runte's narrative, while insightful, is somewhat dated. A second edition would be a welcome addition to a story that uses Yosemite as a lens to show the bigger picture, that NPS management needs to encourage scientifically based resource management to ensure the national parks are preserved for the enjoyment of posterity.

I have owned a copy of Bayou Salado for many years. I spent a lot of time around South Park as a child, and took many off-road trips to sites of old mining towns.

As an adult, I have run into many books on Colorado mining history, but none that captures the flavor of a time period and way of life, like this book. South Park is remote even today - those who live there year round still live a hard life, with the weather, altitude and lack of facilities. . . This book captures what must have been the spirit of those who settled the area those many years ago when it was yet more difficult to live there, the strength of character necessary to endure, the transience of the mining towns, vulnerability of remote ranches to outlaws, and the fight to make a living and somehow stay in this beautiful place.

Those who have never seen the real South Park will read the book with interest, and those who have been there will after reading this history long to revisit it with new eyes.

Ms. Simmons writes in a conversational, easily accessible style that is at the same time well-researched. Her work shows her love of South Park and its history - its mystery, remoteness and charm come through. If you enjoy history of the real west - not the myths but the more fascinating truths - you'll like this book.

Park Service pamphlet treatment of Washington's times, life, and influence. Nicely illustrated introduction to Washington touches on the controversy surrounding his "Tom-ism" and overpowering control over white perception and political leadership on racial issues.

Read in conjunction with Up from Slavery (Dover Thrift Editions).