National Park Ranger: An American Icon [Paperback]

Charles R. Butch Farabee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1570983925 | ISBN-13: 978-1570983924 | Publication Date: June 4, 2003

Dressed in the familiar gray and green uniform and crowned with the traditional "Smokey the Bear" hat, the National Park Service Ranger is symbolic of many things in American culture: protection and preservation, education and enlightenment, solitude and self-sufficiency. In the past, rangers spent most of their working hours alone-patrolling miles of trails, often in dismal weather conditions, to force out wildlife poachers. Now, the modern ranger may be a law-enforcement official, naturalist, historian, or river guide. In this celebration of one of America's most enduring symbols, former ranger Butch Farabee briefly reviews the evolution of this national symbol. Packed with entertaining anecdotes and illustrated with over one hundred archival photographs, this book not only provides fascinating insight into the diversity of roles a park ranger must play, but also honors the unique people dedicated to guarding and maintaining this country's irreplaceable treasures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book is fun, chock-full of pictures and interesting anecdotes as the narrative traces the creation of the Ranger Service and the National Park System. (Wisconsin Natural Resources )

This is "a celebration" of the U.S. Park Service accompanied by more than 100 fascinating archival photos. (J.C. Martin Arizona Daily Star )

Farabee not only explores a ranger's role but also touches on the establishment of the National ark Service, the introduction of women rangers, and early resource management. Readers will enjoy the abundance of archival photographs, ranger profiles, and numerous other features. (Jo-Anne Mary Benson Library Journal )

A Sweeping treatment of the topic, going back in time several thousand years (to trace the orgin of the word "ranger") and coming down to the present. The book is a fascinating compendium of information including the "Symbols of protection" (badges, buttons, the Stetson hat and NPS arrowhead); the evolution of interpretation; resource management; law enforcement and vistor services. (Cspra Wave )

About the Author

Charles R. "Butch" Farabee is the former assistant superintendent of Glacier National Park. Author of Death, Daring, and Disaster: Search and Rescue on the National Parks (Roberts Rinehart), he is one of four people ever to receive the Harry Yount Lifetime Achievement Award for exemplifying the best of the National Park Service Ranger tradition. He resides in Tucson, Arizona.

Charles R. "Butch" Farabee is the former assistant superintendent of Glacier National Park. Author of Death, Daring, and Disaster: Search and Rescue on the National Parks (Roberts Rinehart), he is one of four people ever to receive the Harry Yount Lifetime Achievement Award for exemplifying the best of the National Park Service Ranger tradition. He resides in Tucson, Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Roberts Rinehart (June 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570983925
• ISBN-13: 978-1570983924
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars National Park Ranger, June 22, 2004

By 

Scott M. Kruse "Biophysical Geographer" (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: National Park Ranger: An American Icon (Paperback)

With 30 years of first-hand experience, Butch Farabee captures the culture, values, language, objectives, history, unspoken processes and people of the National Park Service - rangers. A wealth of photographs and inside knowledge makes this essential reading for spouses and visitors. There is a thorough and illustrated discussion of uniforms and badges, evolution from predator control and fire suppression, to sustaining natural processes and recognizing the integral role of wildland fire in healthy ecosystems.

Rangers must have and constantly upgrade diverse knowledge, skills and abilities, and be able to diplomatically use those skills alone in the wild or in crowded urban settings. Rangers carry out technical search and rescue in every ecosystem - from 594 meters below the surface of Crater Lake to the top of Denali in Alaska at 6,194 meters, and under water in the Florida Everglades and Hawaii - while working efficiently using appropriate skills and equipment in team efforts. Commissioned rangers are federal law enforcement officers who effectively work with felons, traffic infractions and other local, state and federal agencies. Other ranges are interpreters who share the human and natural history of an area with visitors. Resource management, for the parks and people, permeates everything and every day. A ranger may repair a plumbing problem in the morning, help a visitor identify a plant, animal or rock before noon, carry out a custodial arrest or technical search and rescue in early afternoon, while working creatively within budget and administrative limitations.

The "way of life" of being a ranger is hard on rangers, spouses and children. Living conditions are often sparse and distant and people must be very tolerant, proactive for food, education and routine maintenance and be able to think and act long-term. Advancement comes competitively, often requiring major long-distance moves and extreme changes in climate - from cold interior Alaska, to warm Death Valley, to warm and humid Guam or Florida, to the snowy Great Lakes.

Rangers are female and male, come in every type of skin pigmentation, are physically abled and disabled, speak a wide variety of languages and come from many cultures. National Park Service rangers are consistently the most admired people and the most admired agency. Too many legislators use the NPS for political expediency and short-term gain. This is a good read and underscores the strong need for much better funding and support of rangers and the National Park Service.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Must for Fans of Our National Parks, June 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: National Park Ranger: An American Icon (Paperback)

The mission of the National Park Service to preserve and protect our natural and cultural resources for future generations. Charles Farabee's knowledge and experience is portrayed superbly in National Park Ranger: An American Icon. Farabee is able to make the reader feel like they've been transported back to the late 1800's where our earliest parks were protect by members of the U.S. Army. Farabee then takes the reader to when the park ranger comes onto the scene and beyond. The history of the park ranger is very romantic and makes the reader yearn to travel back in time.

The only "slight" disappoint was the forward by the current NPS Director, Fran Mainella. While I understand that having the current Director involved with this passage is the proper thing to do, I can only take her comments with a grain of salt as the current leadership of the NPS and Department of the Interior (Secretary Gale Norton) do not appear to fight for the best interest of the service nor the environment. By no means should you let this deter you from purchasing this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great look at the history of park rangers, August 15, 2005

By 

Kyle (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Park Ranger: An American Icon (Paperback)

This book is full of wonderful photos that tell the history of national park rangers, as well as some interesting text. If you're a ranger, related to one, or simply a fan of parks, you'll enjoy this book. It's an easy read and will probably make you wish you had one of these great jobs.