Life: Our National Parks: Celebrating America's Natural Splendor

by LIFE

Profiles fifty-six national parks, in a volume complemented by histories, facts, anecdotes, and lavish photography of such sites as Maine's Acadia, California's Redwoods, Washington State's Olympic, and Florida's Everglades. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Travel, Nature, Photography, History, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Life was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Reviews

[Isabel Rebelo da Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

My lack of knowledge regarding Americans National Parks made me choose this book/magazine from LIFE. As with all LIFE books or magazines, the pictures are stunning. Here I learned how some environmentalist prophets, like United States President Teddy Roosevelt, poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, among many others, initiated in the middle of the 19th century, a movement to protect the most magnificent natural gifts known to mankind. Today, more than 100 countries have followed their steps and have created sanctuaries for animals and plants to live and to be present to future generations. To this day, it was never easy to protect Mother Earth from the greddy crowd. The protectors had enemies and battles to be fought. Environmentalists fight with those, motivated by greed, who want to use these beautiful, immaculate parks to explore oil, fish, minerals, etc. President D. Roosevelt said: “A nation that destroys is soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” So true!

Once paragraph from this book stuck with me because I share the same feeling, is : “The protectors, though, shared Goethe’s ** sentiments: ‘Nature is beneficent. I praise her and all her works. She is silent and wise. She is cunning, but for good ends. She has brought me here and will also lead me away… I trust her.” So do I! I love Nature!

** Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman and more.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't agree with almost any of the thinking/worldview, I did find the history (the true parts, haha) interesting. Pretty pictures and an overview of when parks were added, and snippets on politicians and nature photographers. Not a bad 50¢ish purchase.

[Ben Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures.