Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections [Paperback]

Raymond Klass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the world's longest cave system, boasting over 350 miles of explored and mapped passageways. Geologists estimate that there could be many more miles of this vast subterranean world that remain unexplored. In addition to the renowned Mammoth Cave, the park also includes over 50,000 acres of hills, streams, and forests with nearly 70 miles of scenic trails. The Green River, which plays an integral role in the cave's ecosystem, winds through this impressive landscape. As an artist-in-residence at the park, nature photographer Raymond Klass was granted access to the cave and the surrounding wilderness. While living at the park, he took thousands of photographs of famous cave formations, such as Frozen Niagara and the Drapery Room, as well as scenery and wildlife not often seen by the general public. Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections is a record of Klass's unique visual exploration of the above- and belowground ecosystems within the park. The book includes more than 100 dramatic full-color photographs, which are accompanied by Klass's commentary and extracts from the journal he kept while living and working in the park. Klass captures the sounds and sights of the vast underground world of the cave system. He describes flowstone and other mineral formations that adorn the underground labyrinth of tunnels, collapses, and pits. The walls and ceiling of the Gothic Avenue room bear hundreds of signatures written with candle smoke by visitors and tour guides before Mammoth Cave became a national park. Bits of cane reed torches used by Native Americans still lie next to the walls that were mined for gypsum in ages past. Underground streams and rivers wind through the darkest reaches, hundreds of feet below ground, before emerging outside the cave as springs. Mammoth Cave National Park captures the breathtaking beauty and extraordinary diversity of one of our most popular national parks.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"More than a hundred photographs.... Covers everything from ancient lava flows to tree-covered hills to acorns, squirrels, and snails, along with excerpts from his journal." -- American Heritage

"This coffee-table book filled with pictures of Kentucky's most famous attraction is beautiful and is as much a personal reflection on time spent in the forest as it is a reflection of what Klass captured in his camera." -- Bowling Green Daily News

"Captures the breathtaking drama and extraordinary beauty of one of our most popular national parks." -- Chevy Chaser/Southsider

"The detail in the photographs lets the reader absorb the wonder of Mammoth Cave perhaps more than a dimple day trip to the park could ever provide." -- Kentucky Living

"A sumptuous collection of photographs of our native wonder.... Klass captures the wonderment and majesty of the cave system, to be sure, but he wisely does justice to the amazing sights above-ground, too." -- Louisville Courier-Journal

"For those who have journeyed above- and belowground at Mammoth Cave, this book will serve as a visual reminder of nature's splendor. For those who have yet to visit this national treasure, let this collection of images delight your imagination with what awaits you." -- Ronald R. Switzer, from the foreword

"Klass... captures the unique beauty of Mammoth Cave and its surroundings." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

About the Author

Raymond Klass, a freelance photographer, was awarded a North American Nature Photography Association scholarship in 2000 and is currently a photography instructor for the New York Botanical Garden, Natural Tapestries, and the Adirondack Photography Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; 1 edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813191939
• ISBN-13: 978-0813191935
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,850,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Feast for the Eyes, September 15, 2005

By 

Donald Weber (ALEXANDRIA, KENTUCKY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections (Hardcover)

Photographer Raymond Klass has done an outstanding job of capturing the beauty of Mammoth Cave National Park both inside the cave and out.
It is the best photo book ever published on the park.
The reproduction of the over 100 color photographs is outstanding.
If you have ever been to Mammoth Cave or are thinking about visiting the park, this book is a must.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Da Man, October 23, 2005

By 

M. LaBarbiera "Roch" (Rochester) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections (Hardcover)

This book holds amazing powers, the photos, the writing, and the caves. I love this book. I gave it to my 12 year old twins for their birthdays last year.


KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Job Well Done!, September 12, 2005

By 

Peter Kanyuk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mammoth Cave National Park: Reflections (Hardcover)

An amazingly thorough sensitive immersion in a captivitatingly unique geological ecology. Take A Bow!