Olympic: A Visitor's Companion (National Park Visitor's Companion Series , No 5) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Douglas W. Moore (Author), Douglas W. Woore (Photographer) "The Olympic Peninsula is one of the most beautiful corners of the United States, with wild beaches, magnificent forests, and spectacular mountain scenery..." (more)
Key Phrases: summer breeding resident, forest reserve system, summer breeder, Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park, Olympic Mountains (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

56 color photos
* 202 color drawings
* 6 x 9
* Guide to one of the nation's most popular national parks
* Illustrated in full color

Praise for Wuerthner's Grand Canyon:

"The best, most useful and most attractive [book] I have seen on the canyon."--Stephen Allen, publisher of The Guide

The ecosystems within Olympic National Park are diverse--from coastline to forest--and support a variety of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, mammals, and plants. Olympic describes and illustrates in full color each of these plant and animal species and explores the park's geological history, land use issues, native people and past explorers--at once a traveler's guide, field guide, and natural history of one of America's most popular and extraordinary national parks.

George Wuerthner has written more than 20 books including Grand Canyon: A Visitor's Companion. He lives in Livingston, Montana. Natural science illustrator Douglas W. Moore lives in Tucson, AZ.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811728692
• ISBN-13: 978-0811728690
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #775,253 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good introduction to the Olympic Peninsula, January 11, 2009

By	Michael Diehl "Crossings author" (WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The primary focus of this excellent "visitor's guide" is not on specific places to tour (although its contents do suggest many destinations simply by portraying them), but instead on understanding the natural and human history of the area. After living on and exploring the Olympic Peninsula for several years, I found that I was frequently recommending Weurthner's "Olympic" to visitors and newcomers as an invaluable introductory examination of the region's mountains, rain forests, shorelines and history.

Starting with geology, the author explains the attributes that shaped the area's land forms and natural ecosystems and then examines the long history of the competition between those seeking to preserve the heart of the peninsula and those viewing its rich timber resources as a proper target for human exploitation, a clash of interests that has not ended. Throughout, the writing is efficient, clear, and free of jargon.

Although the book devotes its final pages to an abbreviated pictorial field guide for some regional flora and fauna (sufficient, perhaps, for a casual visiting naturalist), the meat of this book is its broader look at the region as a whole - its origins, geology, climate, unique ecological features, and the influences of industrial-age mankind. The book is well organized and written, with excellent illustrative photos, and it welcomes an interested reader. It is, as its title forthrightly states, a "visitor's guide" - those who seek a more comprehensive study of the area's natural history likely will follow this book with Arthur Kruckeberg's encyclopedic (and much weightier) "The Natural History of Puget Sound Country".