The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks

Westword said This thrilling book may be her best yet. More of a memoir than a travel guide, The Hour of Land, I’m willing to bet, is unlike any of the many books that are currently being published to coincide with National Parks Centennial. Terry Tempest Williams has written about 1"This thrilling book may be her best yet" according to Westword. More of a memoir than a travel guide, The Hour of Land, I’m willing to bet, is unlike any of the many books that are currently being published to coincide with National Parks Centennial. Terry Tempest Williams has written about 12 National Parks and Monuments in layers: surface descriptions through the eyes of someone who has spent much of her life watching, wandering, and wondering; and then all that is beneath the surface including the political maneuvering and legislation that created them; the dark energy that threatens them. But also their magic and mystery and thei. National Parks and Monuments in layers: surface descriptions through the eyes of someone who has spent much of her life watching, wandering, and wondering; and then all that is beneath the surface including the political maneuvering and legislation that created them; the dark energy that threatens them. But also their magic and mystery and thei. "Passionate, personal and profound" according to S. Wilder. What begins as a personal memoir of love, land and family gradually transforms into a call to arms in the battle against climate change and the status quo responsible for it. This is a masterful work that will touch you deeply and perhaps even inspire you to take action. TTW has never written better than she does in this work, she has never been more open and passionate. I really can't describe how profoundly I have been moved by this book.. Diane Davis said Read this important book. Great book. Each chapter was informative and poetic. Descriptions of environment including flowers animals trees earth so clear like being there. Political issues often included. Have been to many of our parks now interested in visiting those I have not that she covers. Very important book for everyone to read. Beautiful.

For years, America's national parks have provided public breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why close to 300 million people visit the parks each year. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique, The Hour of Land is a meditation and manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America. Through 12 carefully chosen parks, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas, Tempest Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Now, to honor the centennial of the National Park Service, Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoir When Women Were Birds, returns with The Hour of Land, a literary celebration of our national parks, what they mean to us, and what we mean to them. Our national parks stand at the intersection of humanity and wildness, and there's no one better than Tempest Williams to guide us there.