Bob Flame Rocky Mountain Ranger

by Dorr G. Yeager

This classic novel written for a youthful audience by Dorr G. Yeager, Rocky Mountain National Park's first chief naturalist, was released in 1935. Bob Rocky Mountain Ranger helped define the image of the modern national park ranger.

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Dorr G. (Dorr Graves) Yeager
1902-1996

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This encompasses quite a bit about the history of RMNP, which is why I rated it 4 stars. It's not a story with a plot, it's a look at one year in the life of a NP ranger.

Quite a few examples are out-of-date, e.g. there are no female employees, rangering is only for young, strong, capable men. Yeager acknowledges the importance of predators in an ecosystem, which surprises me. Was this Yeager's belief or was it typical of the times?

Good: includes a foreword, preface and into; contents and explanatory notes, afterword, and source notes ... but there isn't an Index!

Takes place mainly on the E side of the Park, a few pages on the tundra, and the W side is barely mentioned.

[This probably wouldn't appeal to a young reader who hasn't spent much time in the park.]

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read aloud to my kids. Our primary interest in this book was hearing about places we've hiked or visited in RMNP. If it weren't for that, we probably would have quit before we finished. It just wasn't compelling.

[David Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bob Flame is a National Park ranger at Yellowstone National Park and he is about to get a new assignment and move to Rocky Mountain National Park as head ranger. This book tells many of the jobs and challenges that the early park rangers faced. Today, there are many advances and yet, people get lost, people will try to take advantage of the park, people will still do many of the things they are advised not to do. And yes the rangers have to go out and search, find & if lucky rescue them…
This book is a book that young people should enjoy and is one of two or three books in a series….

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Congratulations to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy for resurrecting this valuable novel from a copyright of 1935! While listed for a “youthful audience,” apparently many of us senior citizens are youthful. This was a delightful and informative page-turner about the life of a Park Chief Ranger in the 1930s; it was important to understand, explore, and to find creative answers for this popular National Park.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book on a whim while vacationing at Rocky Mountain Park in Colorado. It's very retro, and it's cute. But it's not a book to be taken seriously. Maybe something a twelve year old would have enjoyed reading on a summer vacation sixty years ago.

[Tayler Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly really liked the aspect of this being set in Rocky Mountain NP which is what kept me reading it, but it felt geared more toward a middle school or high school aged kid. All the history in the afterword was the best part.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction does a good job of expectation setting. The stories depict the variety of potential experiences of a National Park ranger of a certain time period. Coupled with John Muir stories and Enos Mills writings, you’ll have a great insight into the Park’s history.