Customer Reviews

National Geographic Complete National Parks of the United States

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While called the "Complete National Parks of the United States", it covers everything managed by the National Parks Service; the cover boasts "Featuring 400+ Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Historic Sites, Scenic Trails, Recreation Areas, and Seashores". While it may get a "A" for completeness, at a little over 500 pages don't expect comprehensive coverage of over 400 sites.

Many of the entries are covered in half a page, often without a photo. Even the major parks and monuments only get a few pages. (Yosemite and Yellowstone get about four pages each.) While it may be useful for finding out about a site near where you live or are planning to visit, for anything but quick stops you'll want to find a more comprehensive guide. Think of this book as a compendium of abstracts of sites you might want to learn more about rather than a guide to those sites and your expectations should be met.

This book lives up to its billing as it covers all properties managed by the National Park service. Of course it is time locked in that sooner or later it will be obsolete. But for now, this is as good a reference book as you will find on this subject. I agree with other reviewers that it is lacking in photographs. Since National Geographic is famous for its photos, a few more pages and a lot more photos would have been nice, but then the cost would be more. However, National Geographic isn't bashful about what it charges for other books they put out so the lack of photos is a bit confusing.

But if a picture is worth a thousand words, the lack of pictures forces good descriptive text. Here is where this book shines. The author has written just enough text to give the reader sufficient information about the site. But in most cases that is adequate to determine whether that site appears on one's travel agenda or not.

Several of the major national parks have much more coverage, and the accompanying photos that bring those entries to life. These are what makes this book worth the money. One can reader about the park and get detailed information on any driving or hiking tours the site may offer. One could really plan an itinerary from the information provided by this book.

So from the obscure (I had never heard of some of the sites listed) to the well known, this book does live up to its title. It is, at least for the time being, the "complete" national parks reference book.

Complete National Parks of the U.S. is a 'must' for any collection catering to domestic travelers. While many competing books on the nation's parks are in print, this one differs with its inclusion of monuments, battle sites, scenic trails, and seashores with in-depth visiting details paired with color photos. Discussions of how to best view the park offer details not just on the park, but surrounding natural attractions. A powerful pick.

Not too in-depth on each site, but I purchased the book because of how inclusive it was of more than just national parks. I was not disappointed. Overall, I am still very satisfied. It is a great resource to have.

An excellent synopsis of all United States national parks and historic trails/national monuments. It allows you to plan your visits to those Parks. The regional selection allows you to group them in such a way to make your trips more focused. Excellent guide for those interested in National Parks.

Many of the national parks are listed and good info on them.
The pics were on the small side, and were limited to one per description of the park.
Certainly the book is good enough to inspire travel to see these great parks in person.

A great book for an overview of all of the national parks. For me though, it was not exactly what I was looking for: I really do not need information on the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac or the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. I don't regret the purchase, because it is what it advertised, and has alot of info about all of the major parks, but I really do not think I will use about a third of the information on these less than stellar National sites.

A useful Directory of what's out there in the USA in National Parks. Lots more detail at their individual websites, by Googling them, but these brief descriptions give you enough of their flavor to make initial choices as to where to go.

This book is full of great pictures, solid information, and it is extremely well organized.

We are planning a very lengthy trip across and around the States, including Alaska. This is helping us tremendously to plan that trip. Thanks!