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Before They're Gone: A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks
A lifelong backpacker, Michael Lanza knows our national parks like the back of his hand. As a father of two, he hopes to share these special places with his kids. But he has seen firsthand the changes wrought by global warming and understands what lies melting glaciers, disappearing species, and inundated coastlines. To Lanza, it feels like the house he grew up in is being looted. Painfully aware of the ecological--and spiritual--calamity that global warming will bring to our nation's parks, Lanza is determined to show his children these wonders before they have changed forever.He takes his nine-year-old son, Nate, and seven-year-old daughter, Alex, on an ambitious journey to see as many climate-threatened wild places as he can fit into a backpacking in the Grand Canyon, Glacier, the North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, Rocky Mountain, and along the wild Olympic coast; sea kayaking in Alaska's Glacier Bay; hiking to Yosemite's waterfalls; rock climbing in Joshua Tree National Park; cross-country skiing in Yellowstone; and canoeing in the Everglades.Through these adventures, Lanza shares the beauty of each place, and shows how his children connect with nature when given "unscripted" time. Ultimately, he writes, this is more their story than his, for whatever comes of our changing world, they are the ones who will live in it.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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994 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
March 28, 2012
I'm going to give this author the highest praise I can think of: His writing style is Krakauer-esque. The words and phrases he uses to describe the outdoors and his family's experiences evoke perfect images. Some may think it's hyperbole, but I assure you that our National Parks are worthy.
One of my favorite lines: "Powerful landscapes like the Tetons will manhandle your psyche; they can make you wonder what the hell you've been doing all these years, for which you won't have a satisfying answer." (This exact scenario happened to me and my husband during a vacation to Zion, after which we quit our high-paying jobs, bought an RV, and moved to the Grand Canyon. In the five years since, we've worked and lived in five National Parks - each an experience beyond belief.) If YOU haven't felt the emotion Lanza describes in that quote, I say: "Get thee to a National Park." Quick!
And that's the jist of this book... The parts of this country that were so unique we decided to make them National Parks and protect them for posterity are being dramatically changed by global warming. Everything IS connected and Lanza does a great job of laying out the parade of cause and effect that will make our country's most special treasures un-recognizable in just a few decades.
This is a book with an important message, but there are plenty of personal anecdotes and fun thrown in too. I recommend it to anyone and everyone -- you'll enjoy the ride and learn a lot as you go.
One of my favorite lines: "Powerful landscapes like the Tetons will manhandle your psyche; they can make you wonder what the hell you've been doing all these years, for which you won't have a satisfying answer." (This exact scenario happened to me and my husband during a vacation to Zion, after which we quit our high-paying jobs, bought an RV, and moved to the Grand Canyon. In the five years since, we've worked and lived in five National Parks - each an experience beyond belief.) If YOU haven't felt the emotion Lanza describes in that quote, I say: "Get thee to a National Park." Quick!
And that's the jist of this book... The parts of this country that were so unique we decided to make them National Parks and protect them for posterity are being dramatically changed by global warming. Everything IS connected and Lanza does a great job of laying out the parade of cause and effect that will make our country's most special treasures un-recognizable in just a few decades.
This is a book with an important message, but there are plenty of personal anecdotes and fun thrown in too. I recommend it to anyone and everyone -- you'll enjoy the ride and learn a lot as you go.
July 15, 2013
Let me just say to begin, that I love our National Parks System. I have a loose plan to visit all of them someday before I die. The reason I picked this book off the library shelves is because I love the National Parks.
That being said... This is an okay book. There are 10 chapters, each one devoted to a national park that the author's family visited over the course of a year. For most of the trips, the author's wife accompanied him and for all the trips, so did his young children (ages 7 and 9). I enjoyed reading about the family adventures in these parks; so much so, that I have moved a couple of the parks up on my priority list to visit. But this was only part of the focus of this book.
The rest of the book is spent expounding the dangers of climate change and the effect that change will have on these specific national parks. Glaciers are melting faster than projected; beetles are surviving not-so-cold winters in record numbers and eating/killing lots of trees; sea levels will rise and wipe out coastlands and wetlands. Okay, alright already. I get it. Some of what makes these parks great are in danger of being significantly altered or in disappearing altogether.
So? The author just leaves the reader hanging. "I'm really glad that I had a chance to take my kids to the parks before irreparable harm is done to them by a changing climate. No, I'm not going to go out of my way to help alleviate climate change. I'm not going to ask any of the hundreds of scientists and climatologists that I interviewed for my doomsday forecasts how the average Joe can help keep our park viable." There was not a single method that anyone, average Joe or no, could do to save "America's Most Endangered National Parks." There wasn't even a statement saying to contact the National Parks Service for more information about anything.
Because of the lack of 'things' that could be done to help save the parks, the science about how endangered the parks are is just so much preaching. My hope is that a new edition in a few years will show aspects of the parks that most people don't encounter, some (only a little) science to show the danger that the parks are in, and ways that I can help to save the National Parks system.
That being said... This is an okay book. There are 10 chapters, each one devoted to a national park that the author's family visited over the course of a year. For most of the trips, the author's wife accompanied him and for all the trips, so did his young children (ages 7 and 9). I enjoyed reading about the family adventures in these parks; so much so, that I have moved a couple of the parks up on my priority list to visit. But this was only part of the focus of this book.
The rest of the book is spent expounding the dangers of climate change and the effect that change will have on these specific national parks. Glaciers are melting faster than projected; beetles are surviving not-so-cold winters in record numbers and eating/killing lots of trees; sea levels will rise and wipe out coastlands and wetlands. Okay, alright already. I get it. Some of what makes these parks great are in danger of being significantly altered or in disappearing altogether.
So? The author just leaves the reader hanging. "I'm really glad that I had a chance to take my kids to the parks before irreparable harm is done to them by a changing climate. No, I'm not going to go out of my way to help alleviate climate change. I'm not going to ask any of the hundreds of scientists and climatologists that I interviewed for my doomsday forecasts how the average Joe can help keep our park viable." There was not a single method that anyone, average Joe or no, could do to save "America's Most Endangered National Parks." There wasn't even a statement saying to contact the National Parks Service for more information about anything.
Because of the lack of 'things' that could be done to help save the parks, the science about how endangered the parks are is just so much preaching. My hope is that a new edition in a few years will show aspects of the parks that most people don't encounter, some (only a little) science to show the danger that the parks are in, and ways that I can help to save the National Parks system.
April 27, 2015
Imagine Glacier National Park in Montana with no glaciers, Joshua tree National Park in California with no Dr. Seuss like Joshua trees, Everglades national park in Florida completly underwater with no mangrove tunnels, Rocky Mountain National Park with no Aspen trees (all killed off by Mountain Pine Beetles), Yellowstone without Grizzly Bears, The Grand Canyon NP to hot to descend into, or worse yet...Yosemite National park with its magestic waterfalls slowed to a trickle.
Backpacker Michael Lanza is convinced by research and what he has seen first hand hiking that due to the affects of climate change (increase of about 2 degrees) our National Parks are endangered and will not be the same in the next generation. With this urgency in mind Lanza takes his 7 year old daughter and 9 year old son on a remarkable journey to visit Yellowstone, Mount Rainer, Alaskas Glacier Bay, the Grand Canyon to see them before "they're gone."
Lanza is a superb writer and desperately wants his children to appreciate nature:
"I want my kids to discover what I've found: the satisfying simplicity of purpose in moving under your own power, at human velocity, through a place crowded not with people, artificial noise, machines or flashing lights, but with abundance of nature. I've seen how a rushing creek, a mountain lake, or a pine forest engages my kids endlessly, never bores them like our yard or the school playground. Like adults, they find something intangible, but necessary in the complexity and stimulation of a natural environment...to sear into them memories that outlive myself."
Does that paragraph not make you pine to leave the office and get outside?
Nate and Alex get hungry, tired, hot, they have meltdowns hiking the RNP, they wonder why they are skipping past Disneyland to rock climb in Joshua Tree..but over the course of a year the kids undergo a miraculous personality change.
I am not an Al Gore, "Sound the Alarms", The Ocean is rising" green peace environmentalist..but something strange is happening out West. Ski resorts that use to be open for months (Hoodoo and Sandia in New Mexico) are open for weeks or do not open at all? Driveways that use to have 8 foot walls of snow in Logan,Utah--now have 60 degree weather in January? Lakes are drying up in California? In is indesputable that the glaciers on South Sister, Mount Rainier, and Glacier NP are decreasing faster than anyone expected. Climate Change is affecting the West (I'm not so sure about the Winters back East?)
But do balance Lanza's assesment as his experts are ardent environmentalist..and some from Portland State University..need I say more?
5 stars. Lanza doesn't make me feel guilty for driving an SUV or driking out of a styrofoam cup (I mean he flies his kids to these National Parks)..no Lanza inspires me to take my own children to visit these wonderful places (so many within a day or two drive of NM).
So I showed the cover of this book with Lanza's two kids hiking in shorts in the snow with ski-poles, backpacks, and hanging on to their favorite stuffed animal to my 2 daughthers. I asked Amealia (11) and Meredith (8) if they wanted to do this..."No way."
Maybe I'll get a second chance with Oliver.
Backpacker Michael Lanza is convinced by research and what he has seen first hand hiking that due to the affects of climate change (increase of about 2 degrees) our National Parks are endangered and will not be the same in the next generation. With this urgency in mind Lanza takes his 7 year old daughter and 9 year old son on a remarkable journey to visit Yellowstone, Mount Rainer, Alaskas Glacier Bay, the Grand Canyon to see them before "they're gone."
Lanza is a superb writer and desperately wants his children to appreciate nature:
"I want my kids to discover what I've found: the satisfying simplicity of purpose in moving under your own power, at human velocity, through a place crowded not with people, artificial noise, machines or flashing lights, but with abundance of nature. I've seen how a rushing creek, a mountain lake, or a pine forest engages my kids endlessly, never bores them like our yard or the school playground. Like adults, they find something intangible, but necessary in the complexity and stimulation of a natural environment...to sear into them memories that outlive myself."
Does that paragraph not make you pine to leave the office and get outside?
Nate and Alex get hungry, tired, hot, they have meltdowns hiking the RNP, they wonder why they are skipping past Disneyland to rock climb in Joshua Tree..but over the course of a year the kids undergo a miraculous personality change.
I am not an Al Gore, "Sound the Alarms", The Ocean is rising" green peace environmentalist..but something strange is happening out West. Ski resorts that use to be open for months (Hoodoo and Sandia in New Mexico) are open for weeks or do not open at all? Driveways that use to have 8 foot walls of snow in Logan,Utah--now have 60 degree weather in January? Lakes are drying up in California? In is indesputable that the glaciers on South Sister, Mount Rainier, and Glacier NP are decreasing faster than anyone expected. Climate Change is affecting the West (I'm not so sure about the Winters back East?)
But do balance Lanza's assesment as his experts are ardent environmentalist..and some from Portland State University..need I say more?
5 stars. Lanza doesn't make me feel guilty for driving an SUV or driking out of a styrofoam cup (I mean he flies his kids to these National Parks)..no Lanza inspires me to take my own children to visit these wonderful places (so many within a day or two drive of NM).
So I showed the cover of this book with Lanza's two kids hiking in shorts in the snow with ski-poles, backpacks, and hanging on to their favorite stuffed animal to my 2 daughthers. I asked Amealia (11) and Meredith (8) if they wanted to do this..."No way."
Maybe I'll get a second chance with Oliver.
November 28, 2020
I really enjoyed this "journal" of a family's adventures in some of the greatest National Parks in America. We visited Glacier Bay in Alaska, Yosemite Park in California, and Mount Ranier National Park in Washington. I was amazed that the family included a 6 year old girl and a 9 year old boy, both of whom have been adventuring with their parents since they were toddlers. And one on trip, the author's 73 year old mother went along for the hike up the mountain. It's sad to think that these national treasures will be changed by environmental forces in the next 50-100 years.
August 20, 2013
I felt positively guilty as I read this book--Not only for being part of the human population contributing to the global warming that is melting the permafrost, but for not having trekked my kids on three-day backpacking excursions through far-flung reaches of all the National Parks. Lanza has a very understanding wife, apparently; she acquiesces to paddling in kayaks past 12-foot gators in the Everglades and hiking through grizzly territory in Glacier, with two small kiddos in tow.
Lanza, a writer for Backpacker Magazine, serves up compelling descriptions of the family adventures. My own family of avid hiker-campers has seen a few of the spectacular views that Lanza's family enjoys. But his chutzpah in seizing the moment lit a fire under me to get my family to the rest of those spots we haven't yet experienced. In that regard, the book was terrific. On the flip side, his heavy-handed descriptions of prospective changes from climate change became really depressing and lengthy, although he has certainly done his homework. I can only hope that we have better odds of turning around the changes we have set in motion than he thinks we do.
Lanza, a writer for Backpacker Magazine, serves up compelling descriptions of the family adventures. My own family of avid hiker-campers has seen a few of the spectacular views that Lanza's family enjoys. But his chutzpah in seizing the moment lit a fire under me to get my family to the rest of those spots we haven't yet experienced. In that regard, the book was terrific. On the flip side, his heavy-handed descriptions of prospective changes from climate change became really depressing and lengthy, although he has certainly done his homework. I can only hope that we have better odds of turning around the changes we have set in motion than he thinks we do.
November 11, 2012
I wish the author would have added more photos to this book. The author does a good job of describing some of the many bad climate/global warming changes that may take place during my lifetime, and my kids and grandkids will have to deal with the fallout. While I would love to take a year off and travel to as many national parks as possible, he took some risks I would not take with my kids (hikes on an narrow icy trail at the Grand Canyon). His kids were very lucky to be able to take this trip, but how did the author deal with schooling his kids that year--homeschooling? (I don't remember any comments on that).
October 2, 2012
Before They're Gone by Michael Lanza is cautionary journey that explores the likely outcomes in store for our National Parks should we ignore the growing threat of climate change. And typical of most modern problems, not unlike our current economic crisis, those to be most directly effected by our generations' failure to act won't be ourselves but our children. Taking his two young kids on a year-long odyssey to visit America's most iconic wild places, Lanza leads us all on an expedition through the world we stand to lose and future generations may never see.
Not to be confused with a manual on better parenting through outdoor education, Before They're Gone has much to teach anyone who aims to preserve the National Parks we had the good sense to set aside. I'm childless by choice. In the third decade of a prolonged adolescence my decision not to have kids was first born out of the selfish desire to maintain my lifestyle without dependents and secure my role as the least mature person in my family. Mission accomplished. But now with that humanity faces the dire consequences of rising global temperatures I can only take small satisfaction in not contributing to the problem by adding to the surplus population. Even though I don't have children I'm still eager to leave a tidy planet for those of my family and friends who do. And Lanza clearly illustrates through anecdotal and scientific evidence those environmental features we love that will probably go away.
Lanza's travel with his children puts into direct context the true impact of climate change on our favorite recreation areas. The streams that provide drinking water for backpackers along the Grand Canyon or Yosemite Falls will likely dry up. Species of mega-fauna like the grizzly bear will lose primary sources of food. The Joshua Tree, that grows best in the national park that bares its name, will compromise its ability to reproduce and disappear. Much of the Florida Everglades will be submerged beneath a torrent of rising sea water. The list goes on. You don't have to be a parent to mourn the loss of any one of these precious natural artifacts. And due primarily to human activity on this planet we stand the chance to lose them all.
Ironically I had the pleasure of reading Lanza's book while on an extended National Park tour of my own. This summer I visited many of the same places he took his children, a few for the very first time. Lanza's presentation encourages a sense of urgency to not only travel and to visit these wilderness areas but to make sustainable lifestyle choices to help preserve them. With a better appreciation for exactly how endangered each location truly was I came away with a profound sense of gratitude. Though no children of mine will ever see them I truly hope that those of others will. I'm just glad that I had the chance before they're gone.
http://www.joytripproject.com
Not to be confused with a manual on better parenting through outdoor education, Before They're Gone has much to teach anyone who aims to preserve the National Parks we had the good sense to set aside. I'm childless by choice. In the third decade of a prolonged adolescence my decision not to have kids was first born out of the selfish desire to maintain my lifestyle without dependents and secure my role as the least mature person in my family. Mission accomplished. But now with that humanity faces the dire consequences of rising global temperatures I can only take small satisfaction in not contributing to the problem by adding to the surplus population. Even though I don't have children I'm still eager to leave a tidy planet for those of my family and friends who do. And Lanza clearly illustrates through anecdotal and scientific evidence those environmental features we love that will probably go away.
Lanza's travel with his children puts into direct context the true impact of climate change on our favorite recreation areas. The streams that provide drinking water for backpackers along the Grand Canyon or Yosemite Falls will likely dry up. Species of mega-fauna like the grizzly bear will lose primary sources of food. The Joshua Tree, that grows best in the national park that bares its name, will compromise its ability to reproduce and disappear. Much of the Florida Everglades will be submerged beneath a torrent of rising sea water. The list goes on. You don't have to be a parent to mourn the loss of any one of these precious natural artifacts. And due primarily to human activity on this planet we stand the chance to lose them all.
Ironically I had the pleasure of reading Lanza's book while on an extended National Park tour of my own. This summer I visited many of the same places he took his children, a few for the very first time. Lanza's presentation encourages a sense of urgency to not only travel and to visit these wilderness areas but to make sustainable lifestyle choices to help preserve them. With a better appreciation for exactly how endangered each location truly was I came away with a profound sense of gratitude. Though no children of mine will ever see them I truly hope that those of others will. I'm just glad that I had the chance before they're gone.
http://www.joytripproject.com
May 16, 2016
I really wanted to love this book, but from the first few pages I knew it was going to be a slog.
I graced this book with 2 stars because I love the fact that the author wrote about National Parks. Also, the author did lead me to thinking about our Earth and just how small we are on this Earth.
I was super intrigued about a book where a family visited many different national parks over the course of the year. I was excited to hear of their journey and what they learned/discovered.
However, this book was SO PREACHY!!! Oh my goodness... We get it... Global Warming is a thing. And I am one who works hard to reduce my carbon footprint, so it isn't that the message didn't speak to me... It was how much the author crammed it down your throat. And the journey of the actual family was eclipsed by the author's message. We didn't hear much about the journey at all.
Also, the author makes it sound like his kids are the only kids ever created who don't sit in front of a TV, and get out and explore the wilderness. Ugh! Guess what, other kids are active too.
I graced this book with 2 stars because I love the fact that the author wrote about National Parks. Also, the author did lead me to thinking about our Earth and just how small we are on this Earth.
I was super intrigued about a book where a family visited many different national parks over the course of the year. I was excited to hear of their journey and what they learned/discovered.
However, this book was SO PREACHY!!! Oh my goodness... We get it... Global Warming is a thing. And I am one who works hard to reduce my carbon footprint, so it isn't that the message didn't speak to me... It was how much the author crammed it down your throat. And the journey of the actual family was eclipsed by the author's message. We didn't hear much about the journey at all.
Also, the author makes it sound like his kids are the only kids ever created who don't sit in front of a TV, and get out and explore the wilderness. Ugh! Guess what, other kids are active too.
August 23, 2013
This book is equal parts adventure and lament. Adventure because the author is taking his kids to explore the national parks before they are so
heavily changed they become un-recognizable. It is also his lament at how quickly things are changing. I connected most when he talked about the feeling he gets when walking his kids on these challenging trails...it's our passion as parents to give our kids these kinds of adventures! I also know the feeling of watching your kid enraptured by the beauty that they see and experience on the trails.
The science can get doomsday like, but sometimes exposure to those ideas makes us hunger for more ways to prevent it. If he's wrong, then one day we will all laugh and really no harm has been done. If the other side is wrong, then one day there just won't be much laughing.
heavily changed they become un-recognizable. It is also his lament at how quickly things are changing. I connected most when he talked about the feeling he gets when walking his kids on these challenging trails...it's our passion as parents to give our kids these kinds of adventures! I also know the feeling of watching your kid enraptured by the beauty that they see and experience on the trails.
The science can get doomsday like, but sometimes exposure to those ideas makes us hunger for more ways to prevent it. If he's wrong, then one day we will all laugh and really no harm has been done. If the other side is wrong, then one day there just won't be much laughing.
March 29, 2012
Before They're Gone is equal parts travel journal, personal memoir, and environmental reality check. Author Michael Lanza's year long quest to share with his children the most threatened parks in America is both bittersweet, and heartwarming. Liberally sprinkled with memories of past treks, scientific data, and the simple pleasures of a parent spending time with his kids. Michael's detailed, and often times humorous, writing makes you long to be relaxing in the shade of lodgepole pines in the Rocky Mountains or watching the sun set in the Everglades, right alongside them. To me, Before They're Gone is proof that even though our environment is changing, and not for the better, we can still celebrate, enjoy, and hopefully preserve, what we have left.
October 11, 2012
An ultimate "We're Killing the Earth, Global Warming" book. the author took his 9- and 7-year olds to 10 US National Parks for 3-4 day adventures. He feels these parks are most at risk because of decreasing glacier areas, rising oceans, threats to flora and fauna. The incidents with the children are interesting but the message is so slanted and pervasive I can't imagine why I kept reading. While he cites a number of scientists and "experts: he buys it all with no question. There is no balance.
December 18, 2017
The books is filled with stories of hiking and trekking through several National Parks with his children, but it is also filled with FACTS about the effects of CLIMATE CHANGE . Temperatures are rising, ice is melting, but for the most part, we are not taking responsibility. As I read what is going on in the news, I am saddened by the poor choices we as a people are making.
October 31, 2023
Michael Lanza, an experienced hiker/backpacker/travel writer who has enjoyed the outdoors both personally and professionally for decades, takes his wife and young children (ages 7/8 and 9/10) on 12 months' worth of National Parks exploration. He has the background to make this the trip of a lifetime for his children, and the motivation to enjoy the parks as they are, while they still are, with them, making priceless memories with his family. His big worry - besides the safety of his family - climate change. The impact of climate change on our National Parks and the global ecosystem is a character in this travel memoir as much as he, his wife, their children, friends and family that join them, and the magnificent National Parks themselves. Lanza selects 10 destinations: The Grand Canyon (AZ), Yosemite National Park (CA), Glacier Bay National Park (AK), Mount Ranier National Park (WA), Olympic National Park (WA), Glacier National Park (MT), Rocky Mountain National Park (CO), Joshua Tree National Park (CA), Yellowstone National Park (WY), and The Everglades National Park (FL). The selection runs the gamut of what the U.S. has to offer in the way of topography, wildlife, climate, and more. Each offers its own unique adventure to the Lanza family, and it's a delight to hear the children's reaction to the sights, sounds, smells, and encounters of each of these vastly different but exquisitely wonderful National Parks.
I've visited a few of these National Parks - and a few more were already on my radar for future trips - but there's not one of these places that doesn't captivate and entice me to visit after reading about them. Each has its own draw, and the way Lanza describes them brings them to life, painting a vivid picture of natural beauty, fierce independence, and raw emotion. I equally loved reading about places I'd seen and places I haven't - hearing the Lanza's perspectives about Mammoth Hot Springs and comparing it to my own experience was as exciting as hearing about the vast expanses of Alaska, which I've not yet seen with my own eyes. Following the family's adventures was absolutely the main draw for me with this book, but reading about the history of the parks, the changes that have taken place due to the changes in climate over the past 100 years, and the changes expected over this next century if global warming continues, had a big impact on me as well. While I would have appreciated a more actionable take on climate change, I still learned a lot, and the truth is that the fix to this problem we've created is likely too complex to fit in this text without bogging it down. Hands down, though, the most touching parts of this memoir were seeing all the wonder of these 10 National Parks through the eyes of children thrilled by a year-long adventure with their parents.
About the book format: Structured with an introduction and epilogue to set the stage before the year starts and summarize it after, each park is granted a full chapter in which the narrative of the family's trip alternates with information on the park's challenges and the impact of climate change. Each chapter begins with a picture illustrating the most unique feature of that park, and is dated to show the family's progression through their planned trips. Sources are provided at the end of the book.
I've visited a few of these National Parks - and a few more were already on my radar for future trips - but there's not one of these places that doesn't captivate and entice me to visit after reading about them. Each has its own draw, and the way Lanza describes them brings them to life, painting a vivid picture of natural beauty, fierce independence, and raw emotion. I equally loved reading about places I'd seen and places I haven't - hearing the Lanza's perspectives about Mammoth Hot Springs and comparing it to my own experience was as exciting as hearing about the vast expanses of Alaska, which I've not yet seen with my own eyes. Following the family's adventures was absolutely the main draw for me with this book, but reading about the history of the parks, the changes that have taken place due to the changes in climate over the past 100 years, and the changes expected over this next century if global warming continues, had a big impact on me as well. While I would have appreciated a more actionable take on climate change, I still learned a lot, and the truth is that the fix to this problem we've created is likely too complex to fit in this text without bogging it down. Hands down, though, the most touching parts of this memoir were seeing all the wonder of these 10 National Parks through the eyes of children thrilled by a year-long adventure with their parents.
About the book format: Structured with an introduction and epilogue to set the stage before the year starts and summarize it after, each park is granted a full chapter in which the narrative of the family's trip alternates with information on the park's challenges and the impact of climate change. Each chapter begins with a picture illustrating the most unique feature of that park, and is dated to show the family's progression through their planned trips. Sources are provided at the end of the book.
July 1, 2017
Michael Lanza has written an interesting book full of details about numerous National Parks that he and his family were able to visit and hike. The down side of the book is that it is actually two books in one. The first about his family, two children age 6 and 8, hiking various National Parks. The second about how specific National Parks are and will be affected by climate change. The problem is that written separately both would have been great books, but in combination I was forever wishing for more information. More photographs would have helped those of us not familiar with the parks he discusses.
October 29, 2020
Recommended for anyone who a. loves spending time outdoors in America's national parks and b. is concerned about climate change.
In each chapter, Michael Lanza recounts a backpacking trip to a prominent national park with his wife and two young children. He provides some background historical and ecological information about the park, a few anecdotes about his family's experiences in the park (usually involving an element of danger and/or an encounter with wildlife), and sobering data regarding what climate change is doing to these sacred spaces.
In each chapter, Michael Lanza recounts a backpacking trip to a prominent national park with his wife and two young children. He provides some background historical and ecological information about the park, a few anecdotes about his family's experiences in the park (usually involving an element of danger and/or an encounter with wildlife), and sobering data regarding what climate change is doing to these sacred spaces.
December 1, 2021
This book gets a solid three stars for keeping my interest and being read-able. But it gets four stars for the obvious research and work that went into it, as well as making me want to visit places I'd never had on my bucket list before. The parenting advice/stories were great-mostly humble and just fun to hear, not real advice. Sometimes it came across a bit heavy-handed but that's to be expected. Definitely invokes a bit of panic for the losses the National Parks are sustaining thanks to climate change.
April 18, 2019
This book was an excellent concept, unfortunately the writing was a bit too lofty for me. I loved hearing about the family’s adventures, but then the author would begin talking about the history or science behind something they were seeing. I would read it and need to re-read it multiple times. It didn’t grab me like I want a book to do. I would have preferred to just read the stories of the family.
November 22, 2020
I wanted to read this book because I too, love the outdoors. I think it’s important to understand what is happening to our Earth too. That being said, this is not a happy book. And the difference between the family’s exciting experiences and the depressing look to the future was too much for me to continue. I stopped on chapter 5, maybe I’ll try again when I’m in the headspace for a “end of the world” type book.
August 14, 2022
Not what I expected to read based on the book's title......I was expecting a story of the author's and his family's travel through our national parks with a sense of humor. That part was fulfilled but the author also went into great detail to explain how climate change as of 2010 had altered or damaged the parks and its resources. Wondering now 12 years later how much more damage was suffered at the hands of climate change.
February 11, 2018
One of the editors of Backpacker magazine, Lanza takes his children on outdoors adventures in 10 of the national parks most affected by climate change. While the trips are enticing and the book well-written, it's a little overly preachy and I was depressed by the end of it.
September 17, 2019
Like the idea behind the book but not a great read. Would have been better as a photo book given the guy is professional photographer because words don’t do justice to these vistas. Got repetitive after a while.
August 22, 2017
Those are some amazing kids! Loved the writing about the places visited, but I felt beat over the head with the portions of the book about climate change. I get it! We are destroying our planet!
February 2, 2018
Good book. I wanted more personal anecdotes about children in the National Parks and while I got some of that the book leaned more in the "global warming" side of the scale.
April 26, 2018
I like the vignettes for each trip.
It does get a little bit of a 'on my soapbox' vibe, but you should know that from the title.
It does get a little bit of a 'on my soapbox' vibe, but you should know that from the title.
August 25, 2023
4.5 stars, I really liked this book. Short and concise but also conveys what climate change is doing to our national parks. Interesting and personal! Good writing 👍🏼
March 12, 2025
A superbly written recounting of what we are poised to lose (and have already lost) in the denial of our role in climate change. As a parent, heartbreaking. As a world citizen, unforgiveable...
February 28, 2017
There are several parts to each chapter of this book. 1) a travelogue of 10 different national parks, one chapter for each park; 2) a how-to for adventuring with kids; 3) a science lesson on the biology, geography, geology, climatology and history for each park; 4) DOOMED THEY'RE ALL DOOMED.
In general I enjoyed the book. My least favorite part were the dire predictions given, which the author...at the end...does admit is simply guesswork. The purpose of this book was to show the massive impact of climate change. My favorite argument came near the end where a scientist said, yes of course there have been massive shifts in climate in the past and the earth came through them, but you certainly didn't want to have lived through them.
I would recommend this book only with a caveat that you have to be able to read (or skim through) a lot of facts and you have to be able to read through (or skim past) the dire prediction spots. Otherwise I enjoyed the style and the author does a great job of describing their adventures. I kind of hope he does another book on this same year, but only describing their exploits...okay I know it won't happen...but I'd enjoy it.
In general I enjoyed the book. My least favorite part were the dire predictions given, which the author...at the end...does admit is simply guesswork. The purpose of this book was to show the massive impact of climate change. My favorite argument came near the end where a scientist said, yes of course there have been massive shifts in climate in the past and the earth came through them, but you certainly didn't want to have lived through them.
I would recommend this book only with a caveat that you have to be able to read (or skim through) a lot of facts and you have to be able to read through (or skim past) the dire prediction spots. Otherwise I enjoyed the style and the author does a great job of describing their adventures. I kind of hope he does another book on this same year, but only describing their exploits...okay I know it won't happen...but I'd enjoy it.
November 4, 2013
Loved the book! I have traveled and hiked many of the National Parks that Michael Lanza, the author, highlights in this book - and was drawn to read it while hiking in Mount Lassen National Park this fall. But what was especially meaningful and powerful to me were all the statistics, scientific research, and many studies and reports he cites about the impacts of global warming and climate change on each national park he visits with his family. He describes in good detail about how the impact of global warming has changed and is changing each park. As much as it is a story about his own adventures with his children to his favorite parks and trails, it's also rich with trends, patterns, records of changing weather, rising heat waves and record heat, increasing destructive storms, record and increasing fires, species being decimated, water shortages and a dropping water supply--and how all are reacting to climate change.
He describes how the national parks are changing so fast, from when he visited 10 and 20 years ago, and how many lakes and streams have dried up, water is becoming more scarce, snow packs are melting earlier due to warmer temps, less snow is causing water shortages, less rainfall means drought and insect infestations, species are migrating further up elevations because their habitat is too warm for them to survive, species are dying off and the numbers of animals species are in steep decline, many tree species are also in steep decline, and ocean mammals are dying due to ocean acidification, warming temps, and pollution.
I feel more compelled now to see some of the parks that I haven't visited, and also to contribute in all the ways that I personally can to reduce carbon and greenhouse gasses and reduce my environmental footprint on this earth. In the end, he asks, "So we face the question: are we willing to change our behavior not only for our parks, but for our children?" He asks for the sake of the next generations, to drive and fly less, use mass transit, consume less, use clean and renewable energy, reduce energy consumption, and demand that "our leaders support converting from fossil fuels to clean energy--as quickly as possible, as an expression of protecting the planet for all those to come and preserve the beauty of the natural world that is stressed and is straining to survive." As his closing scene, he hopes that we avert total disaster and destruction, that humanity rises to the challenges we face, and people and nations are willing to sacrifice and adapt - to avert further disaster to our natural systems.
He describes how the national parks are changing so fast, from when he visited 10 and 20 years ago, and how many lakes and streams have dried up, water is becoming more scarce, snow packs are melting earlier due to warmer temps, less snow is causing water shortages, less rainfall means drought and insect infestations, species are migrating further up elevations because their habitat is too warm for them to survive, species are dying off and the numbers of animals species are in steep decline, many tree species are also in steep decline, and ocean mammals are dying due to ocean acidification, warming temps, and pollution.
I feel more compelled now to see some of the parks that I haven't visited, and also to contribute in all the ways that I personally can to reduce carbon and greenhouse gasses and reduce my environmental footprint on this earth. In the end, he asks, "So we face the question: are we willing to change our behavior not only for our parks, but for our children?" He asks for the sake of the next generations, to drive and fly less, use mass transit, consume less, use clean and renewable energy, reduce energy consumption, and demand that "our leaders support converting from fossil fuels to clean energy--as quickly as possible, as an expression of protecting the planet for all those to come and preserve the beauty of the natural world that is stressed and is straining to survive." As his closing scene, he hopes that we avert total disaster and destruction, that humanity rises to the challenges we face, and people and nations are willing to sacrifice and adapt - to avert further disaster to our natural systems.
October 19, 2012
Don't want a lecture? don't read this review.
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This book = so, so inspiring. The research is impeccable and extensive and terrifying; I cannot imagine how people aren't concerned about the fate of the planet in the fate of such overwhelming evidence.
So, the author makes it his goal to visit some of the country's national parks with his children over 12 months so that they can witness for themselves the natural beauty that may, by the time his kids are adults, be drastically changed or even gone. I am so inspired now to get to as many parks as I can, as fast as I can.
A particularly poignant quote from the chapter on Yellowstone: "The IPCC predicted in 2007 that 20-30 precent of species worldwide are at risk of extinction if average temperatures rise by between [2.7 and 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit]. Many scientists now say that a minimum 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit rise is likely in this century 0 which could erase 40 percent of all species. Many believe that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of life on earth - and the first instigated by a single species. An October 2010 article in the journal Science predicted that one in five vertebrates may go away forever, thanks in part to habitat destruction, overexploitation, and invasive competitors. Climate change shoves many of these creatures over the threshold." (p. 154)
This book was a very clear warning call that the world is changing faster than we are realizing, and the implications of these changes will drastically change everything for the world's populations of people and other species.
Other readers feel the book is a longer version of the Lorax, or perhaps a preachy, repetitive diatribe/sermon/lecture? We humans, as Lanza points out, are so resistant to heeding the message of averting massive climate change that perhaps a lecture is required. If only more people listened or, even better, acted. I know I will try.
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This book = so, so inspiring. The research is impeccable and extensive and terrifying; I cannot imagine how people aren't concerned about the fate of the planet in the fate of such overwhelming evidence.
So, the author makes it his goal to visit some of the country's national parks with his children over 12 months so that they can witness for themselves the natural beauty that may, by the time his kids are adults, be drastically changed or even gone. I am so inspired now to get to as many parks as I can, as fast as I can.
A particularly poignant quote from the chapter on Yellowstone: "The IPCC predicted in 2007 that 20-30 precent of species worldwide are at risk of extinction if average temperatures rise by between [2.7 and 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit]. Many scientists now say that a minimum 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit rise is likely in this century 0 which could erase 40 percent of all species. Many believe that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of life on earth - and the first instigated by a single species. An October 2010 article in the journal Science predicted that one in five vertebrates may go away forever, thanks in part to habitat destruction, overexploitation, and invasive competitors. Climate change shoves many of these creatures over the threshold." (p. 154)
This book was a very clear warning call that the world is changing faster than we are realizing, and the implications of these changes will drastically change everything for the world's populations of people and other species.
Other readers feel the book is a longer version of the Lorax, or perhaps a preachy, repetitive diatribe/sermon/lecture? We humans, as Lanza points out, are so resistant to heeding the message of averting massive climate change that perhaps a lecture is required. If only more people listened or, even better, acted. I know I will try.
February 16, 2017
Hiking is one of those things that I want to do, but don't tend to actually do. This book makes me want to go now and to take my son with me. Highly recommended for anyone who cares about our national parks, parent or not (I didn't think it had much parenting stuff in it compared to similar books, the kids are kind of just along for the ride and to compare what the parks will be like when they are adults in 20ish years.)
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