Wonderlandscape

Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon

By: John Clayton

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

An evocative blend of history and nature writing that tells the story of Yellowstone's evolving significance in American culture through the stories of 10 iconic figures.

Yellowstone is America's premier national park. Today Yellowstone is often a byword for conservation, natural beauty, and a way for everyone to enjoy the great outdoors. But it was not always this way. Wonderlandscape presents a new perspective on Yellowstone, the emotions that various natural wonders and attractions evoke, and how this explains the park's relationship to America as a whole.

Whether it is artists or naturalists, entrepreneurs or pop-culture icons, each character in the story of Yellowstone ends up reflecting and redefining the park for the values of its era. For example, when Ernest Thompson Seton wanted to observe bears in 1897, his adventures highlighted the way the park transformed from a set of geological oddities to a wildlife sanctuary, reflecting a nation that was concerned about disappearing populations of bison and other species. Subsequent eras added Rooseveltian masculinity, democratic patriotism, ecosystem science, and artistic inspiration as core Yellowstone hallmarks.

As the National Park system enters its second century, Wonderlandscape allows us to reflect on the values and heritage that Yellowstone alone has come to represent - how it will shape the America's relationship with her land for generations to come.

©2019 John Clayton (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Fascinating blend of history and storytelling

This was a fascinating blend of history and storytelling about Yellowstone National Park. It spans both early and recent history. It includes a good deal of information about science.

National Park and Ecology History

I loved how much I learned about the history of national parks and the study of ecology. This book was fascinating.

Excellent book, wonderful storyline

I’m a great fan of Yellowstone, I’ve only visited the park once and plan to visit again very soon. In this book I found great information, things I had not known nor had I ran across in my research of Yellowstone information. The narrator did an excellent job.

Great history of Yellowstone

Great listen especially after just visiting Yellowstone. it was nice to be able to visualize the locations that the author was describing.

If it’s wrong from the beginning, it’s way off course

Terrible book
Many of the pretenses are so far left, the book is painful to listen to.

broad and interesting history, not adventure story

started slow but ended up being a very interesting read. the narrator was clear and easy to listen to. a very broad range of topics were covered regarding Yellowstone. this book is not a collection of adventure stories in Yellowstone as I originally expected, but turned out to be well worth it.

Interesting and Informative

This is a good book. It has a lot of interesting history about Yellowstone. As someone who has visited the park several times, I still learned a lot.

It is interesting how Yellowstone has been managed--and often mismanaged--over the years. I thought the accounts were well told and balanced, and tried to give the reader a perspective of the time in which some of the bad decisions have been made.

Does the Park Service have it "right" now? Probably not completely right, but maybe closer than in other times. Anyone who visits Yellowstone will undoubtedly experience at least a little irritation at some point in addition to the wonder.

Good just a little eh

Loved the book and history lesson but the reader was a little meh. I guess I didn't vibe with his voice. bot over all the whole book was interesting.

Interesting, but some parts a bit dry.

Very immersive historical overview of different aspects of the park from the time of explorations in the 19th century. Very thorough and well researched. Some chapters were more interesting than others, but overal the book kept my attention.