Golden Gate National Parks Postcard Book


Book Description

Graphic artist Michael Schwab has created an outstanding new look for the Bay Area's most beloved outdoor treasures. Perfect for nature-loving natives and tourists alike, this colorful, graphically striking collection gives a modern spin to the national parklands of the Golden Gate.




The New Urban Park


Book Description

From Yellowstone to the Great Smoky Mountains, America's national parks are sprawling tracts of serenity, most of them carved out of public land for recreation and preservation around the turn of the last century. America has changed dramatically since then, and so has its conceptions of what parkland ought to be. In this book, one of our premier environmental historians looks at the new phenomenon of urban parks, focusing on San Francisco's Golden Gate National Recreation Area as a prototype for the twenty-first century. Cobbled together from public and private lands in a politically charged arena, the GGNRA represents a new direction for parks as it highlights the long-standing tension within the National Park Service between preservation and recreation. Long a center of conservation, the Bay Area was well positioned for such an innovative concept. Writing with insight and wit, Rothman reveals the many complex challenges that local leaders, politicians, and the NPS faced as they attempted to administer sites in this area. He tells how Representative Phillip Burton guided a comprehensive bill through Congress to establish the park and how he and others expanded the acreage of the GGNRA, redefined its mission to the public, forged an identity for interconnected parks, and struggled against formidable odds to obtain the San Francisco Presidio and convert it into a national park. Engagingly written, The New Urban Park offers a balanced examination of grassroots politics and its effect on municipal, state, and federal policy. While most national parks dominate the economies of their regions, GGNRA was from the start tied to the multifaceted needs of its public and political constituents-including neighborhood, ethnic, and labor interests as well as the usual supporters from the conservation movement. As a national recreation area, GGNRA helped redefine that category in the public mind. By the dawn of the new century, it had already become one of the premier national park areas in terms of visitation. Now as public lands become increasingly scarce, GGNRA may well represent the future of national parks in America. Rothman shows that this model works, and his book will be an invaluable resource for planning tomorrow's parks.




The Last Word in Airfields


Book Description




Subpar Parks


Book Description

**A New York Times Bestseller!** Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks features both the greatest hits and brand-new content, all celebrating the incredible beauty and variety of America’s national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors. Subpar Parks, both on the popular Instagram page and in this humorous, informative, and collectible book, combines two things that seem like they might not work together yet somehow harmonize perfectly: beautiful illustrations and informative, amusing text celebrating each national park paired with the one-star reviews disappointed tourists have left online. Millions of visitors each year enjoy Glacier National Park, but for one visitor, it was simply "Too cold for me!" Another saw the mind-boggling vistas of Bryce Canyon as "Too spiky!" Never mind the person who visited the thermal pools at Yellowstone National Park and left thinking, “Save yourself some money, boil some water at home.” Featuring more than 50 percent new material, the book will include more depth and insight into the most popular parks, such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Acadia National Parks; anecdotes and tips from rangers; and much more about author Amber Share's personal love and connection to the outdoors. Equal parts humor and love for the national parks and the great outdoors, it's the perfect gift for anyone who loves to spend time outside as well as have a good read (and laugh) once they come indoors.




New Guardians for the Golden Gate


Book Description

"One of the almost forgotten ingredients in the modern environmental renaissance that exploded in the 1960's and 1970's was the role played by neighbors turned activists turned world savers. "New Guardians for the Golden Gate" takes us back to the time before professional environmentalism, when an entire movement was created from the back yard out, powered by the simple belief that no one knew better what should happen to a place than the people who loved it."--Carl Pope, Executive Director, The Sierra Club "This book is an extraordinary tale of how the collection of historic natural and cultural wonders became the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Of the many books about the creation of individual national parks, this is the most comprehensive story in print of the grassroots coalition and political struggles of park creation. We owe Amy not only for a wonderful park, but for a great story of encouragement to all who work for preservation."--U.S. Rep. Mark E. Souder (R-IN), Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Congressional National Parks Caucus ""New Guardians for the Golden Gate" is an extraordinary account of a local endeavor which resulted in a national triumph. The inspiring work of community workers and national leaders like Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi teaches us again how each of us can help shape history. Bravo to Amy Meyer for documenting this history and honoring the spirit and determination of those who worked to make the Golden Gate National Recreation Area a gift for future generations."--U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) "This is a marvelous love story between Amy Meyer and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There is no park elsewhere in the United States that brings together such unique natural and historic resources with such care and sensitivity for public benefit. We are all deeply indebted to her and her colleagues who fought for years to make it happen. Working with great passion and diligence over many years, they succeeded, and it's all here in this wonderfully told, indeed moving story."--Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation "Each of our National Parks was created because individual Americans stood up and made it happen. New Guardians for the Golden Gate is a compelling and inspirational story of how these great Americans created this park for the benefit of all of us. A great read for all who care about our parks and our democratic process."--Tom Kiernan, President, National Parks and Conservation Association "Finally, the story has been told, by a principal protagonist, of one of the most important environmental victories of the late 20th century--the creation of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Amy Meyer's meticulous record-keeping and detailed memory tell the story like no one else could, and in the process, have created a page-turner on par with any good novel. Neighbors, environmentalists, ranchers, politicians, generals and scoundrels interact in this great social history."--Jim Chappell, President, SPUR




Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs


Book Description

This book provides the first comprehensive economic valuation of U.S. National Parks (including monuments, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, and historic sites) and National Park Service (NPS) programs. The book develops a comprehensive framework to calculate the economic value of protected areas, with particular application to the U.S. National Park Service. The framework covers many benefits provided by NPS units and programs, including on-site visitation, carbon sequestration, and intellectual property such as in education curricula and filming of movies/ TV shows, with case studies of each included. Examples are drawn from studies in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Everglades National Park, and Chesapeake Bay. The editors conclude with a chapter on innovative approaches for sustainable funding of the NPS in its second century. The framework serves as a blueprint of methodologies for conservationists, government agencies, land trusts, economists, and others to value public lands, historical sites, and related programs, such as education. The methodologies are relevant to local and state parks, wildlife refuges, and protected areas in developed and developing countries as well as to national parks around the world. Containing a series of unique case studies, this book will be of great interest to professionals and students in environmental economics, land management, and nature conservation, as well as the more general reader interested in National Parks.




Our National Parks


Book Description

First published in 1901, “Our National Parks” is a fantastic guide to the wild mountain forest reservations and national parks of the United States, exploring their beauty and usefulness in an attempt to encourage contemporary readers to go out and enjoy the natural wonders of North America. John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, author, and glaciologist who famously fought to preserve wilderness in the United States of America. Muir's work describing his adventures in nature have been read by millions the world over and his activism has helped to conserve such important places of natural beauty as the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park in America. Contents include: “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West”, “The Yellowstone National Park”, “The Yosemite National Park”, “The Forests of the Yosemite Park”, “The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park”, “Among the Animals of the Yosemite”, “Among the Birds of the Yosemite”, “The Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite National Park”, etc. Other notable works by this author include: “My First Summer in the Sierra” (1911), “Steep Trails” (1918), and “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth” (1913). A Thousand Fields is republishing this classic book now complete with a biographical sketch of the author.




Golden Gate


Book Description

"The photographs in this book were made between 1997 and 2002 from the front porch of my house in the Berkeley Hills; this special oversized edition presents a selection of forty key images from this series, and was created to commemorate the seventy-fiith anniversary of the 1937 construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, Richard Misrach"--Colophon.




Passport to Your National Parks


Book Description

It's here! Now you can stamp your way through the entire National Park System with the newest addition to the Passport To Your National Parks line of products: the Collector's Edition Passport. Beauty and practicality meet artfully in this deluxe version of the popular Passport, taking you above and beyond the original by providing space for Passport stickers and cancellation stamps for every single park, as well as space for extra cancellations. The park sites are color-coded by region, each area featuring a color map that pinpoints park locations. With a spiral binding that makes it easy to lie open flat, a hard cover that ensures durability and longer life, and pages graced with beautiful color photographs, it's the ultimate stamping ground.




Alcatraz from Inside


Book Description

In this fascinating autobiographical account, Jim Quillen tells the amazing story of his decade incarcerated in America's most infamous prison -- how he got there, how he stayed alive inside, and, most important, how he found the inspiration and courage to get out.