The American Wilderness: Journeys into Distant & Historic Landscapes [Paperback]

Stephen Gorman (Photographer), David Quammen (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 1999

Covering the United States from coast to coast and beyond, photographer and writer Stephen Gorman has followed the footsteps of some of America's most historic and intrepid trekkers. The result is a stunning visual travelogue-- complete with unsurpassed color photography, maps, and rich, detailed descriptions-- that showcases the American outback in all its extremes and reminds readers of the enduring relationships connecting people to the land. An appendix with practical travel information invites readers to rediscover the American wilderness for themselves. Gorman's engaging text and photography are eloquently introduced by fellow outdoorsman and writer David Quammen, who thoughtfully examines America's renewed rapport with nature at the turn of the millennium.

Gorman is your guide through these vast reaches of the American wilderness:

Allagash River Headwaters, Maine
Everglades National Park
Minnesota's Boundary Waters
Montana's Missouri Breaks
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Greater Yellowstone Region High Country, Wyoming & Montana
Utah's Escalante National Monument
Death Valley National Park, California
Prince William Sound, Alaska
Hawaii's Midway Atoll

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some people can take a trip to the gas station and make it sound wild, so surreally alive, that you can see it as a feature-length film. Others could journey to a distant sun and you'd find yourself nodding off, thinking their descriptions make the McNeil-Lehrer Report seem outrageous and riveting. Author-photographer Stephen Gorman, earnest, enthused, and talented though he is, sometimes falls into the second category of adventurer whose storytelling becomes snoreytelling. Where the exact problem lies is anyone's guess. There's nothing wrong with the writing of this journalist, published in Audubon, Outside, and Men's Journal. In this book he travels through wilderness areas from Maine to Hawaii, some so isolated he feels guilty writing of them. There's nothing wrong with following the trails of others before him--be they of Hudson Bay traders, Lewis and Clark, or the Nez Perce--that take him through abandoned canyons, across the Everglades, into pristine waters, or old mountain "towns" so isolated that outlaws by the hundreds once went there to disappear. He canoes, he hikes, he swims; he shadows his text with historical insights and today's environmental woes.

Maybe it's the font. But so many of his "adventures" come off flat regardless of the terrain: "The gully is deep and sports an impressive set of sharp, oil-pan-ripping stones.... For perhaps the tenth time this morning, Dan jumps out to do some road work.... After he clears the path, I depress the accelerator ever so slightly, trying to gain purchase without spinning the wheels..... Fortunately, Dan has the good sense to stand off to the side."

Thankfully, the book is peppered with photos--some stunning, especially those of birds--to keep you alert whenever unmoving text weights your eyelids. Another plus: the travel planner in back, which gives essential info about each of these 10 trips. Maybe there's nothing wrong with this book. Perhaps nature is by nature boring. At least that's the impression you may get when you doze off reading this take on it. --Melissa Rossi --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...The most remarkable photographs and captivating narratives... a rare combination of writing and photography skills... Gorman's work is incomparable." -- Jessica Smith, Portsmouth Herald Sunday

"A collection of vivid locales in which history itself adds to the meaning, the genius loci, and the charm..." -- David Quammen, author of The Song of the Dodo and editor at large for Outside Magazine

"Gorman captures the heroic voices of our heritage... His journeys are an affirmation of essential beauty." -- Annie Getchell, Author & Co-Host Anyplace Wild, a PBS Television Series

"Gorman delves into the natural and social histories of the lands he visits, uncovering the soul of wilderness..." -- Lisa Gosselin, Editor-In-Chief, Audubon Magazine

"Sublime photography... Gorman's travelogue promises to send you into a daydream or running out to follow in his footsteps." -- Sophie Sjholm, Sports Afield Magazine

An explorer who delves into the natural and social histories of the lands he visits, uncovering the soul of wilderness. -- Lisa Gosselin, Editor-in-chief, Audubon Magazine

If you really want to know what it's like to be in the backcountry,you'll enjoy this book. -- John Atwood,Editor-in-Chief, Sports Afield --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Universe (September 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789302748
• ISBN-13: 978-0789302748
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,626,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful, timely work about the American wilderness., November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: American Wilderness (Hardcover)

Usually, I am leery, at best, about people who regard themselves as qualified to attempt to shape, influence, or form broad opinion about art. I find that more personal critiques of art (such as opinions shared by friends who have common interests) usually prove more palatable and valid. This is especially true when the art form in question is literary. An individual's collected experiences lend to a unique, and completely valid vantage or perspective when surveying literary terra incognita. Hence, more often than thinking about a book as being "bad or "good," I tend to think of books and their readers as being well- or ill-paired. After reading Ms. Ross's review of Mr. Gorman's book, The American Wilderness: Journeys into Distant and Historic Landscapes, I immediately thought Ms. Ross an ill-suited audience for this book. In her critique, I felt a significant injustice had been committed and felt that I would be committing a greater disservice to my fellow outdoorsmen, conservationists, and environmentalists, if I did not speak in favor of this book.

Succinctly stated, Mr. Gorman's book is brilliant! The photographs are, at least, gallery quality and the prose, quite near sublime. The book is an epiphany for the wilderness aesthete, for those few who are still capable of being profoundly moved by the beauty of the simple façade and the complex underpinnings of nature. I imagine Mr. Gorman as a modern-day Thoreau, complete with zoom lens, extolling the virtues of one of our last true Public Goods (the American wilderness). Often, it seems that Wilderness Advocates, like Mr. Gorman, speak to an indifferent or hostile audience. Having said all this, I believe that one must approach such a book with some intellectual curiosity and preferably the potential for appreciation, maybe even some great love or admiration of nature. Otherwise, one's comments are strictly academic, only as valid as the observations of an atheist on the nature of faith. Those who tend to agree with Ms. Ross's assertion that "... Perhaps nature is by nature boring," would probably be better-off proceeding to the "murder-mysteries" aisle. For everyone else, this is an insightful, well-conceived survey of the American wilderness.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, and beautifully written book., November 22, 1999

By 

Jonathan Lax (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Wilderness (Hardcover)

I couldn't disagree more with the negative comments of your first reviewer. I devoured the text of this book and only hope that Mr. Gorman will continue to provide us with his thoughtful insights into the beautiful and historically important places this book makes accesible. His prose captures the imagination, and demonstrates Gorman's appreciation of and respect for the wonderful locations he has chosen for his subjects. The photographs Mr. Gorman has taken are, in a word -- spectacular. Any collector of photography, or anybody who shares Mr. Gorman's evident passion for nature and history will cherish this book. I am planning on giving copies of this book to all of my friends and family who are outdoor enthusiasts this holiday season.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great American Storytelling, November 10, 1999

By 

David Borah - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Wilderness (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book. Unlike many other photo-essay/coffee table books, the prose is of the same high quality as the photographs. Indeed Mr. Gorman's writing is as light, airy and fresh as the snow beneath his skis during one of his midwinter telemark expeditions. His narrative is peppered with poignant historical sketches on the people and events that breathe so much life into the places he visits. These diversions add life and serve to frame his writings. Witness his harrowing descriptions of valorous US servicemen staring death squarely in the eye during the Battle of Midway. Similarly, his lively profiles of the picaresque outlaws and wanderers who have found refuge in the harsh landscapes of the Everglades and the Missouri Breaks add a heartbeat to such inhospitable regions. That Mr. Gorman finds wonder and beauty in these places and their people and so successfully communicates these feelings with pen and camera is a testament to his abilities as a writer, photographer, naturalist and historian.