This is Dinosaur: Echo Park Country and Its Magic Rivers

by Wallace Stegner (Editor), Eliot Blackwelder (Contributor), Olaus Murie (Contributor)

Book by

Genres: Nature, History, Nonfiction

97 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist. Some call him "The Dean of Western Writers." He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977.

Reviews

[Chris]

This was written in 1955, edited by Wallace Stegner and it appears to have a couple of goals: 1). Educate the public about this national treasure, and 2). Build support to stop the building of dams on the Green and Yampa rivers. Dinosaur National Monument was established in 1915. As of the publication date there was little in the way of what National Parks tourists come to expect today when visiting a place of historical significance along with a plethora of natural wonders. There are about 30 pages of photos (only a few in color) that comprise the first "chapter" of the book. I wish these had been placed in the chapters where they could complement the narrative. The chapters are:
1. The Marks of Human Passage
2. Geological Exhibit
3. The Natural World of Dinosaur
4. The Ancients of the Canyons
5. Fast Water
6. A Short Look at Eden
7. The National Park Idea

My favorite chapter was Chapter 4. I find it interesting that the final chapter is just as pertinent today when one hears about the U.S. administration's interest in building roads in designated "roadless" wilderness, taking away a segment of Yosemite for development, the constant dismissal of public and protected lands if there is oil to be accessed, pipelines to be built or trees to be logged. For those of us that love the diversity of the land throughout the country and appreciate the protected spaces for conservation, our enjoyment, relaxation & education; it is infuriating.

An Act of Congress in 1916 ordered the conservation of the scenery and the national and historic objects and the wild life of the designated regions, and provided for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations The key word is "unimpaired" and the dictionary defines it as "not to diminish in quantity, value, or strength; not to injure or weaken or make worse; not to harm, mar, or spoil." It is an important point to remember.

The National Parks embrace areas of great natural beauty, of a splendor on which man cannot hope to improve.

[Wayne]

Book 23 of 2021: This is Dinosaur edited by Wallace Stegner

This book was originally published in 1955 as an introduction to Dinosaur National Monument for Congress. At the time, Echo Park at Dinosaur was under threat to be dammed. This is a modern treatment with a new forward by Terry Tempest Williams.

This is a conservation classic, but...its somewhat dated. Still, it is a beautiful book with great prose and photographs.

[Zack]

Hm if you didn’t know the history and read it today, this book would come off as a relatively generic guide to a national park system unit with sections written by shockingly heavy hitters.

A couple things were dated, definitely written before climate change was a concern. The section on geology had an asterisk saying some parts were no longer considered accurate (but didn’t say which parts were inaccurate, so that’s a thumbs down).

This books makes me a little nostalgic for earlier eras of public lands advocacy. They still worked crazy hard and blazed many important trails, but they didn’t have climate change, didn’t have the realization of the horrors of capitalism. They put out a great book, but isn’t much different than what I could get for free at many visitor centers, and it played a huge role in protecting a really spectacular area.

[John Anderson]

Saved a great park from flooding. You get a little bit of, geology, paleontology, fauna and flora, some history, and a bunch of reasons you should go visit. Thanks, Wallace Stegner!

[Ray Zimmerman]

I need to get back to this book and finish it. It was influential in the efforts to preserve a natural area and create a National Park.

[Amy]

Wallace Stegner's chapters and introduction are the stars of this collection.

[Allan]

This book is a bit dated. Surprisingly their are not many published books about this national park. It makes a good primer for those planning a vist.