**The companion volume to the twelve-hour PBS series from the acclaimed
filmmaker behind The Civil War, Baseball, and The War.
**
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.
