John Clayton (9)Recensioni

interesting overview of intersections between muir and pinchot. An exploration of the philosophies of preservation and conservation and whther they can co-exist or even complement each other

This book provides a look at Yellowstone National Park and its history through a variety of cultural lenses. I found Clayton's treatment of these to be perceptive, even-handed, well-written, and enjoyable. I now look even more forward to visiting the park someday.

Clayton covers the natural, administrative and political history of America's first national park in a fine read. One chapter is dedicated to Ansel Adams who captured the park's beauty in his black and white photos, even though he preferred Yosemite National Park over Yellowstone. Another chapter covers the huge wildfires of 1988 and how what seemed so unusual at the time is now commonplace in the forested western United States. He points out the fallacy of early park supporters trying to portray the park as empty and rarely visited by Indians -- thus, no big deal making it off limits to everyone but visitors. We now know that assertion to be untrue, and the creation of the park displaced use of the area by several tribes.

I read this as a book club choice and liked it alright but found it at times to be plodding and confusing with all of the unfamiliar names and issues.

In the world of public land management and history, it is common to read that the preservationist John Muir did not get along with the conservationist Gifford Pinchot. Clayton does a nice job of showing that, at least prior to the Hetch Hetchy controversy, these two pioneers of natural resource management on federal lands shared much in common and inspired each other. The somewhat stiff Pinchot was enthralled by Muir's stories of the spirituality of being out in nature; whilst the rebel Muir came to appreciate the science of sustainable forestry as described by Pinchot. A good read for those interested in how the setting aside of public lands (national parks, forests, monuments, etc) plays an important role in America's history.

Read 2011