The Hour of Land

A Personal Topography of America's National Parks

By: Terry Tempest Williams

Narrated by: Terry Williams

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

For years, America's national parks have provided public breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why close to 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now, to honor the centennial of the National Park Service, Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoir When Women Were Birds, returns with The Hour of Land, a literary celebration of our national parks, what they mean to us, and what we mean to them.

Through 12 carefully chosen parks, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas, Tempest Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique, The Hour of Land is a meditation and manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America. Our national parks stand at the intersection of humanity and wildness, and there's no one better than Tempest Williams to guide us there.

©2016 Terry Tempest Williams (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[T]his is a uniquely evocative, illuminating, profound, poignant, beautiful, courageous, and clarion book about the true significance of our national parks." ( Booklist)

Cultural Cross Sections

This book needs to be adopted as required reading up among the ranks with Abbey, Carson, Leopold, Powell, and too many other great American authors who advocate for the necessary preservation of our cultures last stand for wholesome connectivity. A simply fantastic read.

A lullaby for the soul

The author brings the listener along on a journey through the history and (nearly) current day of the National Park Service and twelve of our national parks. Written while Barack Obama was still President of the US, some bits of the book speak to earlier times. The language is narrative but feels like poetry, captivating. The authors voice is gentle, evoking the sense of lullaby for the soul, a passage to peacefulness that many of us find when out in nature.

Powerful, critical, beautifully written.

This will quickly become one of the most important books about how we, as a human race must Chang how we live on this planet.

Twrry

Powerful

TTW knows how to speak softly and carry three big sticks of research, passion, and empathy. Beware, though; her soft voice and compelling narrative could activate the most latent activists for our national parks. Thank you, Ms. Tempest.

Best audio book I've ever experienced.

What did you love best about The Hour of Land?

The writing - Terry's words ring true in an incredibly poetic way

What did you like best about this story?

The emotional journey through so many places with different formats in each chapter.

Which character – as performed by Terry Williams – was your favorite?

Her father - at Big Bend and the superintendent that led them through the park.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Awe is the moment when ego surrenders to wonder.

Any additional comments?

This book is especially important to anyone who loves and wants to protect our environment.

Impactful thought

Williams’ poetic soul sees with rare clarity the value of wilderness and refuses defeatist or pessimistic thought in the face of the craven American government actions for the past two plus centuries. Her words are passionate and inspirational and descriptions of the American wilderness scape invite one to experience and be revitalized by it.

Lovingly Depressing

Beautifully written and read by the author, who takes us coast to coast, border to border on a national park odyssey that is both uplifting and sickly depressing. While I wished there might be a happy ending, I know that is pure fantasy. We are not leaving this world a better place than we found it. It’s all very sad.

For lovers of national parks, this book is for you

If you are passionate about national parks and protection of our natural assets in the US, you should love this book. I enjoyed some chapters more than others. The ones in which Terry gave some history, some personal stories, etc were great but some of the others were too preachy. She is a beautiful writer though.

Moving

I love hearing Terry Tempest Williams tell of her experiences in the national parks. Each has motivated me to get out and create my own experiences and share them with those around me. The book left me wanting more.

She knows a lot!

Ms. Williams has had a surprising life that has taken her many places. She fuses her personal experiences with those of a broad set of celebrated acquaintances. An interesting blend of history, spirituality and environmental advocacy. Worth hearing