Wonderlandscape

May 22, 2017
Journalist and Montana native Clayton (Stories from Montana’s Enduring Frontier) reconsiders the history of Yellowstone National Park through its social functions, sharing a collection of stories that contextualize the development of core American ideals through “nature that has been made culture.” He brings forth much about how our national identity has shaped our relationship with land, wildlife, and our understanding of the balance between accessibility and conservation. Each of the book’s 11 chapters highlights a different key point in the development of Yellowstone as a uniquely American icon. For example, chapter three, “Informal,” talks about the 1904 building of the Old Faithful Inn, a huge luxury accommodation with a log-cabin aesthetic that established the idea of rustic glamour for Americans. “Patriotic,” the fifth chapter, discusses the idea of Yellowstone as a “museum of democratic equality” in the 1920s. Chapter 10, “Threatened,” shows how ecological science clashed with media representations of patriotic and frontier traditions and the popular understanding of them in the management of Yellowstone’s 1988 wildfires. Clayton succeeds in presenting Yellowstone as a core American institution that shares an intimate relationship with Americans as a cultural concept and that acts as a mirror through which Americans have redefined themselves across generations. Illus. Agent: Laura Wood, Fine Print.

June 15, 2017
A sensitive portrait of the iconic national park in terms of the American people's place in it.American history and culture converged in the creation and preservation of Yellowstone National Park, as Montana journalist Clayton (Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier: Exploring an Untamed Legacy, 2013, etc.) delineates in his fine survey. The author proceeds chronologically in his exploration of the many layers of Yellowstone's significance, from its geological magnificence to its function as a romantic symbol of American self-image and illustration of the dire urgency for ecological attention. Clayton chronicles the stories of people who have been profoundly moved by the natural site and how their sagas dovetail with a larger cultural picture, beginning with the first intentional American expedition (the author sets aside Native American life for another study) by "upper-class explorers" in 1870-1871, which included painter Thomas Moran, who "intended to transform the nature he witnessed into art, into a piece of culture for others to consume," and "scientist-bureaucrat" Ferdinand Hayden. As the concept of a romantic Western landscape merged with the sense of America's Manifest Destiny, Yellowstone grew in political stature and importance, as did its need for preservation by the 1880s (although Clayton reminds us that the National Park Service was not founded until 1916). Other significant personages in the development of the park as a cultural touchstone (and not just a sanctuary for wild animals) included architect Robert Reamer, who designed and built the eclectic Old Faithful Inn in 1903-1904; National Park leaders Horace Albright and Hermon Carey Bumpus, who advocated for roads and museums to make the park more accessible and "teachable"; twin brothers Frank and John Craighead, who conducted groundbreaking experiments with electronic trackers on grizzlies and other animals; and the valiant firefighters and ecologists who helped the park return to health after devastating fires in 1988. A thoughtful study of a celebrated natural wonder that has come to truly "embod[y] American ideals."

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July 1, 2017

Though Yellowstone National Park's natural wonders are many, Clayton demonstrates that its cultural history is equally rich. He's written about the West before in books (The Cowboy Girl) and journals (Montana Quarterly) and lives on the outskirts of Yellowstone. This text fits into ten chapters (or "stories" as the author calls them), all titled with one-word adjectives (e.g., "Special," "Rugged," "Patriotic," "Teachable," and "Threatened"). Organized chronologically, the volume traces Yellowstone's Anglo (i.e., not indigenous) history from the park's inception in 1872 to the forest fires of 1988; in an epilog, Clayton considers, among other possibilities, its supervolcanic end. The cast of characters includes both the famous and less well known: painter and printmaker Thomas Moran, photographer Ansel Adams, naturalists Ernest Thompson Seton and Frank and John Craighead, the Old Faithful Inn's architect Robert Reamer, and even the "smarter than the average" cartoon bear, Yogi. Readers get a sense of the park's changing meaning over time and will see a fascinating interplay between nature and culture, each shaping the other. VERDICT A consummate American location receives a considered, nuanced treatment. National parks--especially Yellowstone--are widely popular, and this title should attract rapt audiences who wish to learn more about nature, history, or travel.--Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
Clayton (Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier, 2013) illuminates the history and development of Yellowstone, America's first and still largest national park. A place so geologically different from what most Americans were familiar with that in the 1870s, when it was first documented, it was viewed as divinely inspired and sublime. Early tourists were eager to experience cowboy life and test their mettle in the wilderness. Tour guides brought visitors by stagecoach to the same attractions that still enthrall visitors, including the Old Faithful geyser and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Tales of encounters with grizzlies added excitement as family vacationing in the park steadily increased. A half-century later, Yogi Bear became synonymous with the park as Yellowstone pioneered self-guided tours, roadside information kiosks, and the rustic building style adopted by nearly all national parks. Conservation, then a new science, changed society's understanding of habitats and interactions between humans and animals. Clayton enthusiastically tells the foundational stories of the magnificent park, which continues to capture the imagination of millions, and explains Yellowstone's impact on how we manage our natural resources.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)