Yellowstone National Park, a global icon of conservation and natural beauty, was born at the most improbable of times: the American Gilded Age, when altruism seemed extinct and society’s vision seemed focused solely on greed and growth. Perhaps that is why the park’s “creation myth” recounted how a few saintlike pioneer conservationists labored to set aside this unique wilderness against all odds, when in fact, the establishment of Yellowstone was the result of complex social, scientific, economic, and aesthetic forces. Paul Schullery and Lee Whittlesey, both longtime students of Yellowstone’s complex history, present the first full account of how the fairy-tale origins of the park found universal public acceptance, and of the long process by which the myth was reconsidered and replaced with a more realistic and ultimately more satisfying story.
Paul Schullery writes about nature, especially about the history of our relationship with it and the wonder it still holds for us today. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than forty books and hundreds of articles. Paul was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania, in 1948. He has an M.A. in American History from Wittenberg University, a B.A. in American History from Ohio University, and an honorary doctorate of letters from Montana State University.
At various times since 1972, Paul has worked for the National Park Service in Yellowstone as a ranger-naturalist, historian-archivist, environmental protection specialist, senior editor in the Yellowstone Center for Resources, and chief of cultural resources. He retired from the National Park Service in 2008, but continues to write, publish, and speak on a variety of topics.
Paul and his spouse, the artist Marsha Karle, have collaborated as author and illustrator on five of his books, most recently This High Wild Country: A Celebration of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Paul's other books about nature include The Bears of Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, American Bears, Mountain Time, Searching for Yellowstone, America's National Parks, Real Alaska, and Lewis and Clark Among the Grizzlies. He has written for dozens of popular and technical publications, ranging from the Encyclopedia Brittanica Yearbook of Science and the Future and BioScience to The New York Times and Outdoor Life.
During one of the times when he was not working in Yellowstone, Paul was executive director of The American Museum of Fly Fishing, in Manchester, Vermont, from 1977 to 1982. His series of books on the history and culture of fly fishing includes American Fly Fishing, Shupton's Fancy, Royal Coachman, Cowboy Trout, The Rise, If Fish Could Scream, and Fly-Fishing Secrets of the Ancients. He has received several honors for this work, including the Federation of Fly Fishers' Roderick Haig-Brown Award.
Among other awards, Paul is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of letters from Montana State University, the Wallace Stegner Award from the University of Colorado Center of the American West, a Panda Award for scriptwriting from Wildscreen International, and the Communications Award from the George Wright Society.
Paul wrote and narrated the 2002 PBS film "Yellowstone: America's Sacred Wilderness." He served as an advisor and interviewee for the Ken Burns film "The National Parks," broadcast in 2009.
Since 2009, Paul has been scholar-in-residence at the Montana State University Library.
For a recent interview, see Dayton Duncan's book The National Parks: America's Best Idea (Knopf, 2009), pages 252-255.
