Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Spectacular National Parks) [Hardcover]

Charles Preston (Author), Jim Robbins (Author), Dana Levy (Editor), Paul Vucetich (Editor), Letitia O'Connor (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Spectacular National Parks | Publication Date: February 5, 2008

Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks captures the breathtaking landscape and wildlife of one of America’s most renowned regions. More than 275 photographs—from some of the country's best nature photographers—recreate the adventure and grandeur of this area that combines the world's greatest collection of geothermal features, some of the West's most spectacular mountains and its best wildlife viewing areas. This unique large-format book offers guided tours—in words and pictures—of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, with thirty-six pages of foldouts, each more than three feet wide, designed to illustrate the wide-open expanse of these national park gems. Yellowstone was set aside as America's first national park in 1872. Since then, interest in the park has grown dramatically and today, more than 3 million people visit the two parks annually. Grand Teton National Park, home of the majestic mountain range, was preserved as a national park in 1929. This book offers stunning photographs of every corner of the 2.2 million acres that make up these parks, including such treasures as Lake Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, and the world's most famous geyser, Old Faithful, as well as rainbow-colored geyser basins of the north Mammoth country, and herds of buffalo and elk on the wide plains of the Lamar Valley. Sit back and behold the beauty of the Grand Tetons at sunset, the breathtaking vistas over the Snake River, or the refreshing waterfalls off the Bechler River trail. Whether it’s boating on Jackson Lake or a hike around Grand Prismatic Spring that you desire, Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks takes you deep into the parks' many gorgeous landscapes in every season of the year.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Mar 31, 2008 This stunning new collection of expansive, mind-opening photographs and illuminating essays richly conveys the wild wonders -- and complex challenges -- of two renowned national parks.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton. For the casual traveler, these words evoke the wild grandeur of the Old West - the wide-open West of shark-tooth peaks, skyscraping geysers, snaking rivers, plunging waterfalls and lush pristine valleys, and of course free-roaming bison and wolf, elk and bear. For the better informed traveler, these words also evoke a complicated interconnection of wilderness and civilization, conservation and cultivation, preservation and exploitation, resource and reward: an iconic exemplar of the potentials and problems of sustaining wilderness in the 21st century.

An extraordinarily beautiful and informative new book, "Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks" poignantly portrays the exhilarating splendors of these two national parks and the daunting array of challenges confronting them.

The book begins with an excellent essay, by Charles R. Preston, which cogently reviews the history of the region and introduces the notion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, then succinctly summarizes the key issues that have shaped its evolution. Five succeeding chapters by Susan Kraft and Letitia Burns O'Connor focus on individual areas and attractions of Yellowstone National Park: Mammoth Hot Springs, the Geyser Basins, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Lamar Valley, and Yellowstone Lake. O'Conner then describes the history and highlights of Grand Teton National Park. The edifying final chapter, "Elements of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem," by Jim Robbins, uses the four elements -- fire, water, air and earth - to delineate the lessons of the region.

While these texts are all enlightening, the real glory of this book is the more than 275 photographs, many of them stunning, which brilliantly portray the diversity of the region's natural features and wild creatures. Prime among the book's visual treasures are 36 pages of three-foot-wide foldout photographs that exquisitely illustrate the region's expansive glories.

The pictures and essays in "Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks" are gifts to cherish - as are the national treasures they celebrate.

[Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; text and photographs by various contributors; published by Universe Publishing, a division of Rizzoli International Publications, Inc; copyright 2007 Dana Levy and Letitia Burns O'Conner; hardcover, 132 pages; $45.]

The following Adventure Collection members offer trips to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton region: Backroads, Natural Habitat Adventures, NOLS, OARS, and Off the Beaten Path. -- written by Don George for Adventure Collection, donsplace.adventurecollection.com/bookshelf.php

About the Author

Charles Preston is the chief curator at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Jim Robbins is a journalist, specializing in environmental issues.

Susan Kraft is a freelance writer and the former curator of Yellowstone Park Museum and Archives.

Lee Whittlesey is a Yellowstone Park historian.

Letitia Burns O’Connor is an editor and freelance writer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 132 pages
• Publisher: Universe (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789399946
• ISBN-13: 978-0789399946
• Product Dimensions: 16 x 0.7 x 11.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wyoming
  • #17 in Books > Travel > North America
  • #27 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Pictorial

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiencing Yellostone and Grand teton National Parks, January 19, 2009

By 

Cam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Spectacular National Parks) (Hardcover)

If I could have only one book about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, I would choose "Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks." A striking, masterpiece of a book, its large format accommodates many panoramic photographs of outstanding compositional beauty and technical quality. The special features of five locations within Yellowstone, routes into Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Park are well documented with essays and photographs. No ordinary coffee-table book, " Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks" is exceptional for its substance. Well researched, the text is highly interesting and vividly written. Photographs, both historical and contemporary, are carefully selected to highlight, develop, and extend the written narrative. Of widely varying subject matter--vast landscapes, close-ups of thermal features, flora, and fauna among other aspects of the Ecosystem--photographs are remarkable for the number that are printed and for the rich documentation they provide. The significance of the Ecosystem for the relationship of humans and nature is made awesomely clear in this book. Photographs throughout the book make both the magnificent landscape and the presence of humans relating to the land immediate and tangible. This is a book for anyone who has seen Yellowstone or the Grand Teton National Parks and wants to re-experience the Parks in a deeper way. It is also a book for anyone who intends or hopes to experience the Parks and who wants to better understand their deep significance.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far more than a coffee-table book, October 22, 2009

By 

Steve Warren (West Valley City, Utah) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Spectacular National Parks) (Hardcover)

When I ordered "Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks," I expected it to deliver superb photographs of park vistas, and it does. What really impressed me, however, is that the author went the second mile with terrific wildlife photos and with text that is well-written and well-researched. The text includes much historical background as well as commentary on the ecosystem by people who know what they are talking about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Photography, October 16, 2010

By 

Tony Triolo (Athens, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spectacular Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Spectacular National Parks) (Hardcover)

I ordered this book soon after returning home from a visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks. The book was prominently displayed in all the gift shops and hotels within the parks, but I didn't like the idea of having to cart this rather large book around and had no idea how I would pack it for the plane trip home. I guess I could have mailed it, but that would just have added to the fairly steep full-price the gift shops were already charging. I thought I might get a better price on Amazon and it would also solve my shipping problems. The online price was considerably less than retail and even better than I had hoped.

As I said, this book is big. It measures approximately 12x16 inches which makes the coffee table really the only place for it. It would really stick out on a bookshelf. The photographs inside are truly spectacular and need to be displayed in large landscape format. Many of the panoramic photos are folded over and once opened, extend well beyond the book's 12x16 inches. I am a photographer myself, so I have an appreciation for good photography. The images in this book are first-rate and would be proud to be author of any of them. The print quality is also excellent.

The book is well laid out with the text following a logical order documenting the history of the parks through to the present day. There are an abundance of maps, charts and other illustrations to compliment the narrative. I highly recommend this book.