The great and well‐known Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, one of several parks (Yosemite, Sequoia and Crater Lake) that shared a combination of beauty and remoteness meaning that the acquisitive nineteenth century USA found no reason to develop them. The crucial feature of these parks was the fact that, even if remote, they were open to all Americans. Now, a century later, and with the democratisation of travel, they are no longer simply national parks or national monuments but encompass an array of categories from single houses to huge wilderness areas. It is interesting to compare American national parks to those in the UK. Until recently only England and Wales had them, and they are only ten in number (not counting the newly created New Forest) ranging from 854 to 2,292 sq. km. Tiny by US standards. Most are in the upland areas of Wales, and northern and western England. They were set up in 1949 and their aim is to provide protection of the countryside and preserve the distinctive way of life found within them. I am sure we would have had our parks earlier if it were not for the two World Wars. The same is certainly true for National Nature Reserves and the establishment of a Government‐sponsored body to run them that had to wait until 1949.
I may be rather pedantic, but the work under review is not an encyclopedia. It is a list of all 350 US national parks in two volumes. The pagination is continuous and each volume contains an index to the whole work. Volume two has a 30‐page bibliography. Each volume lists parks by State and Territory and contains eight maps to locate them. Volume one has a short history of US national parks. The binding is hardwearing and the text, in two columns, is clear and easy to read. There are no colour illustrations and just a few monochrome ones. Each entry notes the location of the park, its acreage, and when it was established. The texts are short. Even Yellowstone is only given three pages in spite of the over two million acres it contains. The accounts end with contact details for more information plus a selection of further reading. The accounts are well written and interesting giving a summary of the history, fauna and flora and what the visitor to the park may find.
I find this work modest in the best sense. It is unfussy, direct and, perhaps to British eyes, notably lacking in the Dorling Kindersley style of acres of colour and highlighted facts. It is not cheap but will not need updating for perhaps ten years so, for collections with a strong American flavour, it is a must. If a casual reader flips through its pages, he or she cannot but be impressed by the astonishing richness of the United States national parks and feel a strong urge to “go see” for themselves.
