Glacier National Park - Books

Exploring Glacier National Park David Rockwell From the Publisher: One of the jewels in the national park system, Glacier National Park encompasses the dramatic landscape where the vast watersheds of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Hudson Bay converge. Here plants and animals unique to those three basins come together, making it one of the richest, most diverse natural places in North America. Wolves, grizzly bears, and moose wander its woods and high alpine meadows. Western redcedar, whitebark pine, and glacier lily thrive and mingle on the slopes of its glacial valleys. Author and naturalist David Rockwell explains the evolution of the park’s geology from the erosion of Australian mountains more than a billion years ago to the glaciers that gave Glacier National Park its distinctive landscape. He explores the natural history of the plants and animals of the park’s six distinct regions -- the aspen parklands, the North Fork Valley, the McDonald Creek Valley, the subalpine and alpine zones, and the park’s bodies of water. You’ll learn about the park’s great predators -- grizzly bears, mountain lions, and wolves -- and about their complex relationship with their prey. The result is a fascinating and intimate portrait of one of the world’s last truly wild places. Our Price: $16.95

Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park Tim Cahill From the Publisher: "Lost in My Own Backyard brings author Tim Cahill together with one of his - and America’s - favorite destinations: Yellowstone, the world’s first national park." Cahill stumbles from glacier to geyser, encounters wildlife (some of it, like bisons, weighing in the neighborhood of a ton), muses on the microbiology of thermal pools, gets spooked in the mysterious Hoodoos, sees moonbows arcing across waterfalls at midnight, and generally has a fine old time walking several hundred miles while contemplating the concept and value of wilderness. List Price: $$16.00 Our Price: $12.80

Glacier Bay National Park: A Backcountry Guide to the Glaciers and Beyond Jim DuFresne Our Price: $10.95

Great Lodges of the National Parks Christine Barnes From the Publisher: Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings. From The Critics: Publishers WeeklyWith their enormous halls, hickory furniture, Indian print textiles and mounted stags’ heads, the majestic old inns and hotels of U.S. national parks almost rival the landscape for attention. Old Faithful Inn, Crater Lake Lodge, El Tovar and the Oregon Caves Chateau are just a few of the marvels of the West found in Great Lodges of the National Parks: An Illustrated History. Author Christine Barnes (Great Lodges of the West), a consultant and historian for the PBS series to which this book is a companion, offers an engaging history of each lodge and its environs with photos by nature photographer Fred Pflughoft, whose work appears in national magazines and calendars, and indoor and nature photographer David Morris (Great Lodges of the West). (Apr.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. List Price: $$35.00 Our Price: $28.00

Adventure Kayaking: Trips in Glacier Bay Don Skillman Our Price: $12.95

Ansel Adams: National Park Service Photographers Ansel Adams From the Publisher: A selection of breathtaking images of the American landscape fills this lavishly produced volume. In 1941 Ansel Adams was hired by the United States Department of the Interior to photograph America’s national parks for a series of murals that would celebrate the country’s natural heritage. Because of the escalation of World War II, the project was suspended after less than a year, but not before Adams had produced this group of breathtaking images, which illustrate both his early innovations and the shape of his later, legendary career as America’s foremost landscape photographer. The invitation to photograph the nation’s parklands was the perfect assignment for Adams, as it allowed him to express his deepest convictions as artist, conservationist, and citizen. These stunning photographs of the natural geysers and terraces in Yellowstone, the rocks and ravines in the Grand Canyon, the winding rivers and majestic mountains in Glacier and Grand Teton national parks, the mysterious Carlsbad Caverns, the architecture of ancient Indian villages, and many other evocative views of the American West demonstrate the genius of Adams’s technical and aesthetic inventiveness. In these glorious, seminal images we see the inspired reverence for the wilderness that has made Ansel Adams’s work a most enduring influence on the intertwining spirits of art and environmentalism, both so necessary for the preservation of our natural world. Other Details: 125 duotone illustrations 144 pages 10 1-4 x 10 1-4" Published 1995then gave to "outside consultants": $22.22 per day plus expenses. It was agreed that Adams would give his prints to the Interior Department but would retain control of the negatives so as to supervise their final printing, and that he would be free to pursue other personal or commercial projects while en route through the West. The Mural Project was the ideal assignment for Adams in 1941 because it would allow him to express many of his strongest, most defining convictions. The inextricable link between Adams’s art and his favorite subject-the American West-had first been forged in Yosemite National Park in 1916. Fourteen-year-old Ansel arrived in Yosemite on a family vacation away from his San Francisco home armed with his first camera, a Kodak Box Brownie. Amid the dark forests and sweeping mountain skyline, Adams fell in love with the wilderness and with his ability to capture it on film. He would return to Yosemite every year thereafter, eagerly photographing the new world he was discovering through his own eyes and the camera lens. Adams’s formal education ended when he graduated from the eighth grade. An exceptionally bright and active child, he did not thrive in the classroom but undertook his own pursuits with remarkable zeal. In 1915 his father gave him an unlimited pass to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco; this was Adams’s classroom, and he was particularly taken with the art galleries and photographic displays. At the time, however, Adams’s primary interest was music, and he continued to train as a concert pianist until 1930, when a fortuitous encounter with the renowned photographer Paul Strand convinced him that photography, rather than music, was his true calling. A prodigiously talented pianist, Adams found similarities between music and photography very early on, and for some time he attempted to pursue both professions. Throughout his life he likened the tonal values in a photograph to musical notes. "The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance," he would say. His photographic career began in earnest in 1919, when he spent the first of many summers working in Yosemite, initially as custodian of the Sierra Club Lodge and then as a guide for the Sierra Club’s month-long treks through the parkland. Adams documented these outings and began developing his own aesthetic while photographing Yosemite’s glorious vistas. Ansel found love in Yosemite, too, for it was here that he met and eventually married Virginia Best, whose father ran Best’s Photographic Studio in the park. In 1937 Ansel, Virginia, and their two children moved to Yosemite, having inherited the studio from Virginia’s late father. Although Adams traveled a great deal, and would later settle in Carmel, California, Yosemite National Park remained his spiritual home. It was in Yosemite, marveling at the massive granite face of Half Dome under a moonlit sky or the arabesques of snow-covered tree limbs in the orchard (plate 1), that Adams became convinced of the importance of the wilderness. In the tradition of Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Adams believed in the spiritually redemptive power of the untouched landscape, feeling that human beings best understand their world and themselves if they see themselves in proportion with, rather than in opposition to, nature. In his numerous letters and articles supporting conservation efforts, Adams consistently identified the "intangible qualities" of the wilderness as those values that must be safeguarded for future generations. He not only promoted the ecological benefits of environmentalism but also stressed that people have a profoundly spiritual need for nature. It was this spiritual connection between the Earth and its inhabitants that Adams sought to express in his photographs and that he hoped would convince others of the necessity of preserving national parks. The Mural Project offered Adams the chance to pursue these goals on a greater scale than ever before: by creating wall-size images of the national parks, he would share the beauty of the American land with the public while promoting conservation and exploring new technical and thematic approaches to his art. By the time Adams signed his contract with the Interior Department and headed toward Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, 1941 had already been a landmark year for him. On New Year’s Eve, 1940, the first department of photography at a fine-arts institution had opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, largely owing to the efforts of Adams, curator and writer Beaumont Newhall, and philanthropist David McAlpin. Back in California, while teaching at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, Adams developed the "Zone System," a revolutionary method of regulating the exposure and development of negatives in order to maximize the photographer’s control of the final printed image. According to the Zone System, light is divided into eleven zones (zero is pure black, medium gray is five, and white is ten). After determining the range of contrast in the subject, the photographer assigns the areas of light and dark in the image to the appropriate zones and then exposes and develops the film according to the desired intensity of tone. This technical innovation, now a staple of photography, facilitated Adams’s aesthetic practice, which he termed "visualization." The basic component of Adams’s "expressive photography," visualization requires the photographer to capture his response to a particular scene, not simply reproduce the landscape before him. The fall of light, the play of shadows, the line of the horizon, the angle of a tree line or rock formation, should all express what the photographer feels about the view. Adams’s visualization was a working method derived from his beloved mentor Alfred Stieglitz’s credo that photographs are the visual equivalents of emotion and perception. The Zone System simplified and codified the technical steps necessary for the manipulation of light and shadow in a visualized image, and Adams used this system skillfully in the photographs he took for the Mural Project. The dark ravines in Adams’s views of the Grand Canyon (plates 24-25, 29-30, 37-40) have been rendered fathomless and awe-inspiring by the photographer’s own vision of how he saw-or rather interpreted-these massive, curving forms stretching out to a rocky horizon. Adams photographed certain areas over and over again, changing position, lens, or filter, or sometimes altering the horizon or the shadows only slightly, striving to capture the exact image (or images) in his mind. In his close-ups of the Grand Canyon, the ravines and rocks become almost abstract studies (plates 40-43); Adams was less interested in verisimilitude than in focusing on his own reactions to the world around him. The Mural Project photographs include several examples of nearly identical views of the same subject, suggesting both the depth of Adams’s response to these landscapes and his driving desire to fully document his vision. The dynamic, towering white sprays of water in the Old Faithful Geyser series (plates 144, 157-64) are at once incisive studies of a natural phenomenon at work, a photo essay on the modulations of light (the photographs were taken at various intervals at dawn and dusk), and an abstract rendering of a kinetic vertical form. Adams’s manipulation of light and tonal values produced some especially dramatic cloud-covered moutainscapes of Grand Teton National Park (plates 135-43), Rocky Mountain National Park (plates 122-23, 130), and Glacier National Park (plates 171, 180-82). In "Near Teton National Park" (plate 135) and "In Rocky Mountain National Park" (plate 123) thick, dark-shadowed clouds dominate the scene, stretching from foreground to background, pressing down on the landscape below. The enveloping blanket of clouds and fog in "In Glacier National Park" (plate 182) brings the viewer into immediate contact with the mountain range, heightening the viewer’s sense of being deeply connected to the land, the sky, and the elements. Clouds serve as effective backdrops in Adams’s sweeping panoramas, such as his well-known "The Tetons-Snake River" (plate 137) and his views of St. Mary’s Lake (plate 171), Logan Pass (plate 179), McDonald Lake (plates 184-86), and Two Medicine Lake (plate 183) in Glacier National Park. In these images, clouds fill out the horizon, complement snow-covered peaks, or balance shimmering water in the foreground. Light behind the clouds either softly illuminates the scene (plate 185) or pierces through the shadows in brilliant rays (plate 137), and the mountains’ rocky crags, the trees’ bristling branches, and the water’s rippling surface are all carefully delineated, forming a rich tapestry of textures. In these photographs each element is uniquely rendered and balanced within the whole, just as in music (as Adams might say) each note in a perfect chord is played with distinctive accuracy to achieve a harmonious overall sound. Such astounding detail was imperative in Adams’s panoramic views, for he believed that a photograph must be as "straight" as it is expressive. In 1932 Adams was one of the founders of the California-based f-64, a group of photographers that also included Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, who united to resist the prevailing pictorialist tradition in photography. The group took its name from the smallest aperture setting for the camera lens, the one that allows the greatest depth of Weld and thereby provides for extremely sharp detail in the final print. Adams and his f-64 peers wanted to create clear, straight photographs that resembled photographs, not the soft-focus images the pictorialists made, which tried to approximate the painterly effects of drawings or etchings. As true modernists, the f-64 photographers believed that no artwork should be modeled on or copied from the form of another, and therefore photographs should be evaluated solely within the terms of their own medium. Adams emphasized his commitment to "pure" photography in the proposal letter he sent to First Assistant Secretary Burlew at the Interior Department on August 10, 1941, when negotiations for the Mural Project were gaining momentum: Negatives from which the murals will be made should all be of consistent quality. A unified aesthetic point of view is of the utmost importance. A photograph, because of its intense realism, must be completely accurate in mood and factual relationships. . . . Photo-murals, because of the obvious limitations of the medium of photography, must be simpler-either purely decorative (like the screen in Secretary Ickes’s offce) or forcefully interpretive. I do not believe in mere big scenic enlargements, which are usually shallow in content and become tiresome in time. This devotion to accuracy is as evident in Adams’s close-ups as it is in his larger views. Pictures of leaves (plate 175), lichen (plate 176), ferns (plate 174), cactus (plate 83), as well as several studies of underground rock formations (plates 91, 100, 107-9) convey the same scientific precision and spiritual wonder that the expansive, endless landscapes offer. Adams believed passionately in a reflexive relationship between the Earth’s micro- and macrocosms-that all the marvels of creation are mirrored in its smallest elements; a single leaf or a tiny fragment of terrain illuminates the glories of nature as wondrously as the whole range of the Sierra Nevada. The Mural Project gave Adams the chance to expand on another of his favorite themes, man in relation to nature. In Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, Adams photographed the villages and ancient settlements of the Native Americans, illustrating, in part, how the Indians have lived in harmony with the environment. His photograph of the Canyon de Chelly (plate 48) shows the remains of an Anasazi village literally growing out of a stone cliff and nestled against a protective wall of streaked rock that curves gracefully, forcefully skyward. Abundant foliage fills a portion of the foreground, underscoring the organic connection between this past civilization and its ecosystem. The cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park (plates 53-57) are also seen as part of their mountainous environment; the simple rounded and rectangular towers dotted with windows look as ageless and inimitable as the rocky peaks and ravines near which they were built. In Adams’s photographs of the Indian villages at Walpi, Arizona (plates 71-72), and Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico (plates 69-70), the shadows cast by the buildings blend into the lines of the earth and rocks, and the crosses and towers reach into the sky, suggesting that the man-made is thoroughly integrated into the realm of nature. Adams’s photographs of freestanding buildings, such as "Church at Taos" (plates 58-59), and his figure studies of the Indians (the few examples of Adams’s talent as a portraitist that are included in this body of work) also indicate the photographer’s respect for the Indian way of life. Often, the subject is photographed from below, as in the portraits of Indian women with children (plates 51-52) and in the photographs of a tribal dance at San Idlefonso Pueblo (plates 63, 65-66); the viewer is being invited into the Indians’ space, from a distance. The Native American communities portrayed in these images are living close to the land, within their natural means, as Adams felt we all should. A member of the board of directors of the Sierra Club from 1934 to 1971, Adams joined-and often led-conservationists’ efforts to combat exploitation of resources and environmental abuses. His photographs of the orderly plowed and planted fields of Tuba City, Arizona (plates 73-74), and of sheep grazing peacefully on a hillside in Owens Valley, California (plates 75-76), illustrate the harmony he espoused among people, animals, and the land. Adams was also a pragmatist, and he recognized the needs of twentieth-century society. As part of the Mural Project he photographed the power unit at Boulder Dam, Colorado, capturing the immense technology at work from an artist’s perspective. Seen at close range, the soaring architecture of cones, tubes, rectangles, and lines (plates 113-14) recalls the photographs of skyscrapers that many of Adams’s urban counterparts, such as Berenice Abbott, were taking in metropolitan areas about the same time. When photographing the power unit in its mountain landscape (plates 110, 115-16), Adams could not resist heightening the drama of the natural scene by rendering the mountains an almost impenetrable black, the sky filled with shadowy clouds. The range of contrast in these and so many of the Mural Project images reveals the artist’s superb sensibility; his photographs translate black, gray, and white into a full spectrum of vivid tones. As a proponent of what he termed "appropriate use" of public lands, Adams eagerly sought compromises or alternatives to the overdevelopment of the national parks. He vehemently opposed promoting the parks as recreational centers; those who were truly attuned to the values of the wilderness would visit them without commercial inducement to do so. In Adams’s Mural Project photographs, visitors appear only in a few of his images of the stunning stalactites and stalagmites in Carlsbad Caverns. These people seem diminutive next to the massive, bubbled rock formations lit with theatrical intensity in the underground darkness; they stare with quiet wonder at the mystery that surrounds them, itinerant travelers passing briefly through eternal Nature. Society’s potentially destructive intrusion into the wilderness is hinted at in only two of the Mural Project photographs: "Roaring Mountain, Yellowstone National Park" (plate 165) and "Burned Area, Glacier National Park" (plate 170). It is possible that these photographs are just records of natural phenomena, but the barren trees, many of them with charred, lifeless trunks, contrast eerily with the verdant hillsides and sparkling waters in Adams’s other photographs of these parks. While images of damaged earth are common among today’s landscape photographers, Adams’s world represents an idealized American wilderness; through his eyes we see the national parks as protected refuges of nature. These two pictures were not the best candidates for the Interior Department’s murals, but Adams was a thorough, tireless worker; he photographed nearly every vista along this historic journey. Unfortunately, we will never know which of Adams’s 225 Mural Project photographs would have decorated the walls of the Interior Department. His trip through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana during the early summer of 1942 was his last foray into the national parks under the aegis of the government. The Mural Project was cancelled at the end of the 1941-42 fiscal year because of the country’s escalating involvement in World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Adams wanted very much to contribute to the war effort, and he attempted to convince the Interior Department that the Mural Project was a worthy, patriotic cause: "I believe my work relates most efficiently to an emotional presentation of ’what we are fighting for,’" he wrote to Assistant Secretary Burlew on December 28, 1941. Adams’s efforts were futile, however, although the government did pay for developing all pictures taken by June 30, 1942. In November Adams sent 225 signed exhibition prints to the Interior Department; the negatives were put in a vault at Yosemite, where Adams intended to supervise the final printing of those selected as murals once the war was over and funds were available. But Ickes left office shortly after the war ended, and the Mural Project was never revived. In 1962 the prints were transferred from the files of the National Park Service at the Interior Department to the National Archives, where they are now kept. The whereabouts of the negatives is a mystery, however; they are missing from the Yosemite offices, and no trace of them has yet been found. We can only speculate which view of Yellowstone’s Jupiter Terrace, which rim of the Grand Canyon, which section of the Snake River’s winding path would have been exhibited in Washington as wall-sized commemorations of the majestic, spectacular, and sublime aspects of the American West. Adams must have looked forward to printing on this large scale, as he had made relatively few murals: a wintry orchard scene in Yosemite (plate 1), which was exhibited at the 1935 San Diego State Fair, and a few folding mural-screens, such as the one bought by Secretary Ickes in 1937. We do know from Adams’s proposal letter that he had definite ideas about what kind of images would be appropriate as murals, and he certainly succeeded in choosing subjects that fit his aesthetic criteria; the prints he submitted include striking "decorative" close-ups and profoundly "interpretive" landscapes. Although the Mural Project was short-lived, it shaped Adams’s ensuing career and enduring reputation. Determined to continue photographing the national parks and monuments, Adams kept traveling across the country. In 1946 he received the first of two grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, and he used them to photograph America’s protected wilderness areas from Maine to Alaska. His pictures of the national parks are arguably his most famous; today American audiences identify Ansel Adams as the legendary photographer who immortalized our natural heritage with untempered reverence. The Mural Project was the genesis of this achievement. It is increasingly difficult to recognize Adams’s America in our own surroundings; the Earth has been subjected to much greater development and defilement since these almost Edenic images were made. Inspired by Ansel Adams’s prophetic vision of a world well worth preserving, perhaps we may yet see the fate of our civilization mirrored in what remains of our treasured wilderness. Alice Gray From The Critics: BooknewsA cheap collection of many of Adams’ famous photos. Printing this bad obscures the great photographer’s artistry. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $17.98

Glacier Bay: The Wild Beauty of Glacier Bay National Park Peggy A. Bauer Our Price: $14.95

Best Easy Day Hikes Yosemite Suzanne Swedo From the Publisher: Yosemite National Park boasts some of the country’s most remarkable and diverse wild lands. Rolling slope woodlands, jagged mountain crests, giant sequoias, glacier-carved valleys, twisting spyres, and booming waterfalls are all nestled in this dynamic landscape. Best Easy Day Hikes Yosemite samples over 20 of the most scenic and least physically challenging trails within the park. Our Price: $6.95

A Child’s Glacier Bay Kimberly Corral Annotation: Two young Alaskans travel with their parents on a three-week sea kayaking journey along more than 200 miles of coastline of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. From the Publisher: This vivid learning adventure, seen through the eyes of young travelers, is filled with natural history, photographs, and wonderful firsthand accounts of a wilderness destination visited by over 300,000 people every year. Full color. From The Critics: School Library Journal(Gr 4-7) --Told from the point of view of 13-year-old Hannah, this photo-essay documents the Corral family’s 200-mile kayaking-camping trip around this remote, spectacular national park. The full-color photography is lovely, portraying the grandeur of Glacier Bay. While the text is occasionally stilted ("I wonder if the rain causes the ice to snap and pop as it trickles down the glacier’s cracks, called crevasses. That’s what happens when I run water over a tray of ice cubes at home"), the adventure overrides any awkwardness in the writing. Hannah, her parents, and her five-year-old brother take notice of the abundant flora and fauna (including whales, seals, bears and birds) in both the text and photographs. Like the Corrals’s My Denali (Alaska Northwest, 1995), A Child’s Glacier Bay is a challenge to "couch potato" families to get out and experience nature firsthand. But the book is also "cool" reading about Alaska on a hot summer’s day. --Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK Kirkus ReviewsThe full-color photographs in this book, taken in 1997 in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, are gorgeous, but even more beguiling is the human scale brought forth by having Hannah, 13, and her brother, Ben, appear in many of the shots. Hannah tells about three weeks her family spent camping and kayaking and exploring Glacier Bay. To see both children calmly reading outside their bright yellow tent while Lamplugh Glacier "creaks and moans beside us like a blue dragon with a belly ache" is a spectacular image. There are sharp, clear photographs of wildlife, too: Hannah notes that the duck-like surf scoters are molting and their struggling wings sound like pages flipping in a book; her mom finds bear tracks. The professionalism of the elder Corrals’ efforts combined with Hannah’s youthful and enthusiastic voice will please and teach its rapt audience. Ben almost steals the show, however, as he waves to a cruise ship, plays his wooden flute, and finds a boreal toad amidst the blue and silver wildness. (map) (Picture book-nonfiction. 5-9) Our Price: $15.95

Hidden Montana: Including Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, and Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks John Gottberg From the Publisher: No state in America suits the Hidden guides’ philosophy better than Montana. Still relatively untouched by mega-resorts, tourist-packed traffic jams, and ersatz ski villages, Montana offers friendly travel facilities nestled in lost expanses of wilderness. Since 96% of all visitors drive into the state, the author carefully maps out the state’s many highways and country roads while describing the adventures found along the way. Hidden Montana covers historical attractions like the battlefield where General Custer made his infamous "last stand" and describes numerous ghost towns where Old West legends haunt abandoned buildings. It then leads readers through the state’s American Indian reservations with helpful advice on how to both enjoy and honor Native American culture. This guidebook shows the way to over 70 parks, reserves, and wilderness areas. Truly two guides in one, Hidden Montana serves as both a travel guide and an outdoor adventure handbook. Veteran travel writer John Gottberg Anderson recommends dozens of small inns where the proprietors combine modern comforts with outdoor activities such as wildlife viewing, fishing, and biking. Detailed reviews of Montana’s best outdoor outfitters for river running, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and even pack trips are included. Our Price: $15.95

2005 National Geographic Wall Calendar: National Parks National Geographic From the Publisher: National Geographic’s renowned nature photographers take you to North America’s treasured national parks on a trek from sea to shining sea. These two calendars will fill your days with the glories of nature as you discover exotic locales from snowy peaks to sun-dappled forests to tropical oases. Each month or week depicts a natural splendor that is bound to inspire any outdoor enthusiast or armchair adventurer. From dizzying heights in Utah’s Arches National Park to fragrant fields of wildflowers near Alaska’s Glacier Bay, from the windswept dunes of Death Valley to the cool, fog-blanketed shorelines in Canada’s Banff, feast your eyes on America’s loveliest and most dramatic scenery. Our Price: $12.99

Night of the Grizzlies Jack Olsen Our Price: $14.95

Ice Age History of Alaskan National Parks Scott A. Elias From the Publisher: Focusing on more than 30,000 years of Alaskan prehistory, The Ice-Age History of Alaskan National Parks vividly describes the geology, climate, ancient plant and animal life, and human presence in four of Alaska’s national parks and preserves - Denali, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, and Bering Land Bridge. Scott A. Elias uncovers a time when glaciers shaped the landscape, gouging out valleys, carving cirques and peaks, and leaving moraines that blocked rivers and formed lakes. Using fossils as "witnesses" of past environments, he recreates the bogs and steppe tundra where caribou, moose, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths reigned 35,000 years ago. This guidebook presents a unique perspective for the modern traveler. Geared toward the general reader, it is the first in a series that will also survey the prehistory of the Rocky Mountain and Southwest national parks. Our Price: $17.95

Blood Lure Nevada Barr From the Publisher: "In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon returns to the West, where she is sent on a training assignment to study grizzly bears in Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, straddling the border between Montana and Canada. But back in her beloved mountains, where the air is pure and cool, Anna fails to experience the spiritual renewal she expected. Instead, nature seems to have become twisted, carrying a malevolence almost human in its focus." "Along with a bear researcher, Joan Rand, and a volatile and unpredictable teenage boy, Anna hikes the back country, seeking signs of the bears. On their second night out, the tables are turned: one of the bears comes looking for them. Daybreak finds the boy missing and a camper dead, her neck snapped, the flesh of her face cut away. Feeling betrayed by nature and humanity, Anna must find the beast stalking the trails - and enter deep into a gripping wilderness life-or-death mystery."--BOOK JACKET. Synopsis: The Barnes and Noble ReviewNevada Barr’s Blood Lure once again features Anna Pigeon, the likeable, slightly misanthropic heroine of nine increasingly popular mysteries, all set against the lovingly evoked backdrop of America’s National Parks. This time out, Anna -- a law enforcement officer and peripatetic Ranger -- finds herself detached from her regular duties in Mississippi’s Natchez Trace Park and assigned to a research project in Northern Montana. The project, which involves collecting DNA samples from the indigenous bear population of Glacier National Park, seems, at first, like an idyllic interlude. But the idyll comes to an abrupt end when murder, mayhem, and human malfeasance rear their ugly heads. The novel begins on a peaceful note as Anna, accompanied by veteran bear researcher Joan Rand and teenage Earthwatch volunteer Rory Van Slyke, tracks her quarry through the rugged beauty of the Montana landscape. In the middle of their second night out, a large, apparently savage grizzly bear attacks the researchers’ campsite. When the dust settles, Joan and Anna find themselves shaken but unscathed. Rory, however, has disappeared, having fled into the surrounding forest in a blind, headlong panic. When dawn comes, Park Service personnel conduct a full-scale search, in the course of which they locate not just Rory but the corpse of a mutilated woman. The woman’s neck has been broken, and large sections of her face have been carefully carved away. The dead woman is eventually identified as Carolyn Van Slyke, Rory’s abusive -- and highly promiscuous -- stepmother. Rory, of course, becomes an immediate suspect, as does his father, the pathetic, browbeaten Lester Van Slyke. Two other candidates rapidly materialize: a teenage hiker who calls himself Geoffrey Micholson, and William McCaskil, a professional con man with a host of aliases and an extensive criminal record. Faced with a crime that offers too many suspects and too little concrete evidence, Anna abandons her DNA research project and throws herself into a protracted -- and dangerous -- homicide investigation. The narrative evolves into a devious, ingeniously plotted mystery whose numerous clues are casually and cleverly scattered throughout the text. Blood Lure, however, is a great deal more than just a well-constructed thriller. It is also a powerful evocation of the natural world, and its recreation of the complex ecology of Glacier National Park is precise, detailed, and absolutely convincing. Equally convincing is Barr’s ongoing portrait of Anna Pigeon, a smart, self-sufficient woman who is much more at home in the world of wild animals than in the predatory society of men. She is a credible, sympathetic heroine with heart, brains, and hidden depths. It’s a pleasure encountering her once again. --Bill Sheehan Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com). From The Critics: Daneet Steffens...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Grade A- Laurie Davie - Romantic TimesLike her heroine, Barr is a ranger who’s worked in national parks all over the country. Her gorgeous descriptions of the natural world enhance this taut, suspenseful tale, and the unexpected ending will surprise and enchant you. All is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Entertainment WeeklyAll is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Publishers WeeklyThe latest entry in this excellent series featuring National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon is one of Barr’s best. Anna has been assigned to work temporarily in Montana’s Glacier National Park, where she seems more at home than in her recent forays to East Coast parks, and learns how to do DNA studies on wildlife by working with a biologist, Joan, on a study of grizzly bears. Anna, Joan and a young, inexperienced volunteer, Rory, are sent out into the park’s wilderness areas to set lures for the grizzlies. They use a powerful and nasty-smelling concoction, mixed with cow’s blood, that the grizzlies find irresistible. Once the bears rub up against the trees or barbed wire that have been coated with the lure, samples of their DNA can be collected from the hair and skin left behind. In their remote campsite one night, Anna and Joan amazingly survive a grizzly bear attack on their tents unscathed, only to find that Rory has gone missing. As park rangers and rescue teams hike the mountainous park looking for the missing teenager, they find instead the dead body of a woman whose face has been horribly mutilated. Rory is an obvious suspect, as is the bear who attacked the camp. Barr focuses on the wilderness park and its endangered population of grizzlies rather than on Anna’s personal life and problems, and this makes for a tightly plotted, satisfying read. The author’s masterful descriptions of the natural world immeasurably enhance an exciting, suspenseful story that is sure to flirt with bestseller lists. Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection. (Feb. 5) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Read all 9 "From The Critics" andgt; Our Price: $7.99

Inhabited Wilderness: Indians, Eskimos, and National Parks in Alaska Theodore Catton From the Publisher: This volume, the first in the New American West Series edited by Elliott West, explores Alaska’s vast national park system and the evolution of wilderness concepts in the twentieth century. After World War II, Alaska’s traditional Eskimos, Indians, and whites still trapped, hunted, and fished in the forests. Their presence challenged the uninhabited national parks and forced a complex debate over "inhabited wilderness." Focusing on three principal national parks - Glacier Bay, Denali, and Gates of the Arctic - the author explores the idea of "inhabited wilderness," which culminated in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. Among other units, the legislation set aside ten national parks, nine of which allow Alaska natives, whites included, "customary and traditional" subsistence use. Our Price: $55.00

Moon Handbooks: Canadian Rockies, Including Banff and Jasper National Parks Andrew Hempstead From the Publisher: Stunning mountains, alpine lakes, shimmering glaciers, and abundant wildlife await the visitor to the Canadian Rockies, one of North America’s premier travel destinations. This four-season area has much to offer travelers and Andrew Hempstead’s Moon Handbooks Canadian Rockies is the resource to uncovering its hidden treasures. Five parks are found in the Canadian Rockies — Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, and Waterton Lakes — each filled with miles of hiking and skiing trails, hundreds of campsites, and numerous lake and rivers. Visitors can explore the world-famous Burgess Shale, home of many fossils; brave rafting the plunge on the Kicking Horse River; or sample regional Rocky Mountain cuisine — caribou, moose, and elk. This revised edition includes measurements in both the imperial and metric systems; an expanded accommodations section; helpful sidebars on cutting flight costs or finding great hotels rooms for less; as well as website listings for many destinations. After a day in the field, hit the bars and pubs of Canmore and Banff, or soak in the luxuriant waters of Radium Hot Springs. Informative, practical, and inspiring, Moon Handbooks Canadian Rockies is an essential guide to planning a trip to this awe-inspiring part of the world. Our Price: $17.95

Inhabited Wilderness: Indians, Eskimos, and National Parks in Alaska Theodore Catton From the Publisher: This volume, the first in the New American West Series edited by Elliott West, explores Alaska’s vast national park system and the evolution of wilderness concepts in the twentieth century. After World War II, Alaska’s traditional Eskimos, Indians, and whites still trapped, hunted, and fished in the forests. Their presence challenged the uninhabited national parks and forced a complex debate over "inhabited wilderness." Focusing on three principal national parks - Glacier Bay, Denali, and Gates of the Arctic - the author explores the idea of "inhabited wilderness," which culminated in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. Among other units, the legislation set aside ten national parks, nine of which allow Alaska natives, whites included, "customary and traditional" subsistence use. List Price: $$24.95 Our Price: $23.70

Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks Erik Molvar From the Publisher: Completely revised and updated, this guide features more than 850 miles of trails for discovering Glacier and Waterton Lakes national parks. From The Critics: BooknewsRevision of a fine guide to these little exploited parks straddling the Alberta-Montana boundary. Includes some exhausting trail profiles (major elevation changes). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $14.95

Book of the Tongass Carolyn Servid (Editor) From the Publisher: In the southeast corner of America’s most rugged state lies the last contiguous expanse of temperate rain forest on the planet, much of it within the Tongass National Forest. With Glacier Bay at its northern end, the Tongass lies on a maze of islands and along a coastal strip protected by a range of mountains. The Tongass lives up to its state’s reputation for wildness, natural beauty, and battles over how the land has been and will be used. In The Book of the Tongass, 13 Alaskans describe the region’s spectacular forest and wildlife, its economic opportunities, and in two pieces by Tlingit storytellers, its oral history. From The Critics: Publishers WeeklyHome to immemorial beauty, ancient and valuable timber and longstanding environmental disputes, the southeast Alaskan forest region called the Tongass has attracted Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes, lumber companies, eco-tourists and environmental activists. These 13 essays pay homage to its beauty and assess its controversies. In "Heart of the Forest," Juneau-based biogeographer Richard Carstensen coaxes clear accounts of the area’s soil and flora from his journey through it. Ecologist Paul Alaback places the Tongass in the context of other rain forests, and describes how it rebounds after winds and fires, in "The Tongass Rain Forest--An Elusive Sense of Place and Time." Former fisherman Brad Matsen offers a fish’s-eye view in "Salmon in the Trees." Lawyer David Avraham Voluck, in "First Peoples of the Tongass," explains Native peoples’ "subsistence way of life," which is inadequately protected, he argues, by federal legislation that governs the region. In "Glacier Bay History," Tlingit storyteller Amy Marvin--one of two Native contributors, whose work is printed as verse--tells "how things happened to us- at Glacier Bay." Daniel Henry presents the uncomfortable populace of Haines, Alaska, as the town’s economy shifts from a past of logging to a hopeful future of tourism in "Allowable Cut." And PI-mystery writer John Straley (The Angels Will Not Care) explains with drama and sympathy, in "Love, Crime, and Joyriding on a Dead End Road," who commits crimes in southeast Alaska and why. Servid and Snow (editor of the magazine Northern Lights) have assembled a worthwhile book. Never dryly technical, rarely shrill, these original pieces often go no deeper than good daily newspaper journalism, but most will reward nonspecialists interested in Alaska’s forests, foresters, fish, First Peoples and the eco-economic issues that affect them all. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. Library JournalThe Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska contains much of the last contiguous temperate rain forest left on earth. After decades of heavy clear-cutting and the subsequent closure of several large pulp mills, residents of the region are struggling to adapt to life without big timber companies and the jobs they provided. These 14 pieces, all written by Alaskans, represent a cross section of views on a variety of subjects, including natural history, legal and native issues, forest management, salmon and wildlife, and the mythology of the region. As a whole, the selections question our lack of connection with our environment and the desire to control nature for short-term gain, but they remain surprisingly upbeat about the future of the Tongass and the people who live there. A good companion to Robert Glenn Ketchum’s heavily illustrated The Tongass: Alaska’s Vanishing Rain Forest (Aperture, 1994); recommended for academic and larger public nature-environmental collections.--Tim J. Markus, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, WA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. BooknewsTongass National Park lies across a maze of islands and long a coastline in southeastern Alaska within the largest contiguous expanse of temperate rain forest on earth. This collaboration by a number of organizations and individuals describe the natural features and considers the future. It includes native stories and line drawings of animals. It is not indexed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Tony Gibbs - Islands MagazineThe Book of the Tongass deals with the amazing, island-studded Tongass National Forest of Alaska’s southeast coast. Editors Carolyn Servid and Donald Snow selected writings by scholars, Tlingit storytellers, local artists - even a mystery writer (Sitka resident John Straley) - to vividly characterize the rich and varied locale. The contributors bring a dispassionate passion to their subjects, from subsistence hunting and indiscriminate logging to the startling beauty of bear or bird and the strain of living on the last frontier. It’s a magnificent evocation of a place that deserves to be treasured by all Americans. Kirkus ReviewsAn ecologists• sourcebook on an Alaskan region that has become a rallying point in the battle to preserve old-growth forests. The Tongass, a vast forest on Alaska•s southeastern coast, has long provided a sizable portion of the nation•s timber. •Board feet in these parts are often expressed in billions,• writes co-editor Snow, •which implies a massive richness•but board feet also means the killing of trees, hundreds of thousands of acres of some of the greatest trees on earth in the greatest temperate rain forest on earth.• The timber industry is a major employer, he adds, and also a major political force in Alaska; that industry is made up of many players, including, increasingly, Native American corporations that are clear-cutting the forest just as rapidly as are their Anglo counterparts. Servid (director of the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska) and Snow (editor of Northern Lights magazine) and their contributors, most of them Alaska-based writers and conservationists, assemble powerful arguments to preserve the old-growth forest. Some of those arguments are framed in legal language, and naturally enough, they make for slow going for readers untrained in such matters as federal withdrawals, takings initiatives, and aboriginal claims. Others are more emotional, even spiritual, among them narratives by Native people of the region. Still others are given in standard reverence-for-the-land essay format, some by practiced hands like the anthropologist Richard Nelson, many by less accomplished writers. The whole package is effective in presenting the Tongass as a special place worth protecting, difficult though it may be to do so. As Snow remarks, •The most important questions aboutSoutheast Alaska in this time of painful transition are not questions of dollars and measurements, but rather questions about values and ideals.• Environmental activists will find this book to be persuasive and useful. Our Price: $18.95

Exploring Glacier National Park David Rockwell From the Publisher: One of the jewels in the national park system, Glacier National Park encompasses the dramatic landscape where the vast watersheds of the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Hudson Bay converge. Here plants and animals unique to those three basins come together, making it one of the richest, most diverse natural places in North America. Wolves, grizzly bears, and moose wander its woods and high alpine meadows. Western redcedar, whitebark pine, and glacier lily thrive and mingle on the slopes of its glacial valleys. Author and naturalist David Rockwell explains the evolution of the park’s geology from the erosion of Australian mountains more than a billion years ago to the glaciers that gave Glacier National Park its distinctive landscape. He explores the natural history of the plants and animals of the park’s six distinct regions -- the aspen parklands, the North Fork Valley, the McDonald Creek Valley, the subalpine and alpine zones, and the park’s bodies of water. You’ll learn about the park’s great predators -- grizzly bears, mountain lions, and wolves -- and about their complex relationship with their prey. The result is a fascinating and intimate portrait of one of the world’s last truly wild places. Our Price: $16.95

Alaska on My Mind Falcon Press Pub From the Publisher: Alaska’s world-famous natural beauty and its citizens’ unique lifestyles come alive in this exceptional collection of color photos. From the busy urban centers of Anchorage and Fairbanks to the isolated Indian villages, this book captures the spirit of living and working in Alaska. 160 color photos. Our Price: $32.95

Banff, Glacier and Jasper National Parks (Lonely Planet Travel Series) Lonely Planet From the Publisher: Paddle the turquoise waters of glacier-fed lakes, snowshoe through fresh powder and melt into soothing hot springs. Glimpse elk and bighorn sheep along the highest road in North America. Enjoy night stars from a backcountry campsite or the deck of a posh resort. Our comprehensive, inspiring guide to Banff, Jasper and Glacier will help you connect with this stunning region. Our Price: $19.99

National Geographic: Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks Road Guide Thomas Schmidt Our Price: $8.95

Great Western RV Trips Jan Gumprecht Bannan From the Publisher: Every year, the 9 million RV owners in the U.S. look for new and exciting vacation destinations. RV owners who aren’t content staying put will be inspired by journeys, such as: Southeastern California’s enigmatic deserts; Spectacular mountains on the Lewis and Clark route and a dozen more. Detailed trip maps, and insider’s tips completeinformation on campgrounds. Our Price: $16.95

Day Hikes in Grand Teton National Park Robert Stone From the Publisher: Day Hikes in Grand Teton Nat’l, Park includes a cross-section of 72 great day hikes in this majestic park. From scenic lakeshore paths to high-elevation treks, these hikes accommodate all levels of hiking experience. Highlights include glacier-carved canyons, alpine lakes, waterfalls, meadows, hot springs, craggy peaks, hikes atop the Jackson Hole Ski Resort, and some of the best views in the park. Our Price: $11.95

Pacific Northwest Adventure Guide: Let’s Go Travel Guide Alexandra Hoffer From the Publisher: The brand-new Let’s Go: Pacific Northwest Adventure Guide is your must-have companion to the great outdoors of Washington, Oregon, and parts of British Columbia and Alberta. With fresh coverage of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the Puget Sound islands, and Washington’s Methow and Yakima Valleys, Let’s Go is the best and freshest guide to the Pacific Northwest for travelers and natives alike. Let’s Go’s forty-five years of practical savvy inform this book’s must-have information on safety, car care, wilderness survival, and nature conservation. Up-to-date advice on wilderness leadership certification, organized trips, and extreme sports caters to the most serious adventurers. Whether your tastes turn to hiking the glaciers of Banff National Park or exploring the marble canyons of Oregon Caves National Monument, all you need is adrenaline and Let’s Go. Our Price: $18.99

White Death: Tragedy and Heroism in an Avalanche Zone Mckay Jenkins From the Publisher: "Natural forces become natural disasters only when they get in the way of human endeavor." So writes author McKay Jenkins in his extraordinary natural history of one of the most treacherous and beautiful of these forces: the avalanche. Drawing on newspaper accounts, snow science, folklore, and interviews with the rare survivors, he traces the path avalanches have carved through the ages. In 213 BC, Hannibal lost more than 18,000 troops and a number of elephants to an avalanche in the French Alps. Austrian forces, recognizing their destructive power, deliberately triggered them to frighten and confound Italian troops during the First World War. In lucid prose, Jenkins interweaves this history with a tragic account of an avalanche that claimed the lives of five young climbers trying to push the limits of their skills and courage in Glacier National Park. Just as Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm recreates the sensation of drowning, The White Death places the reader in the middle of a climber’s worst nightmare: being buried alive in a torrent of snow and ice. The 1999 avalanche season broke records across continents, and as long as we keep pushing into the world’s wild places, we’ll continue to reckon with this unpredictable killer. The White Death merges history with adventure and a love of nature’s extremes; it is gripping reading for armchair travelers and seasoned mountaineers alike. About the Author:McKay Jenkins is a staff writer for the Atlanta Constitution and teaches writing at the University of Delaware. He is the editor of The Peter Matthiessen Reader (Vintage). He lives in Philadelphia. Synopsis: With terrifying swiftness and certainty, an avalanche can wipe clean everything before it. In The White Death, the disappearance of five Montana climbers provides the occasion for a gripping look at the tumultuous history and elegant (if deadly) science of avalanches. With echoes of Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, Jenkins’s effort balances the search for the missing mountaineers with the stark reality of Nature’s unleashed frozen fury. From The Critics: KLIATTJust after Christmas 1969, five young Montana men set out to scale the daunting north face of Mt. Cleveland, the highest peak in Glacier National Park. No one had ever summited the mountain via their planned route, and everyone from family to expert climbers to park rangers felt their expedition was doomed to fail. Tragically, the naysayers were correct. About halfway up the mountain, the five men were buried by a massive avalanche. Despite heroic efforts by rescue crews, the bodies were not recovered until the following June. The author’s account of the disaster and its aftermath is compelling. In addition, he embellishes his narrative with a wealth of intriguing information about avalanches: their anatomy; a historical overview of the deadliest ones; and advice on how to (hopefully) survive one. Combing a gripping story and cogent research, The White Death is an eloquent amalgam of Norman MacLean’s best-selling Young Men and Fire and Jon Krakauer’s mega-hit Into Thin Air. Includes an index, a selection of further reading, photographs, and diagrams. KLIATT Codes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Random House, Anchor, 228p. illus. bibliog. index. 21cm. 99-043307., $13.00. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Randy M. Brough; Lib. Dir., Franklin P.L., Franklin, NH , July 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 4) Library JournalJenkins, a former staff writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writing teacher, and contributor to Outside and other magazines, does a wonderful job relating this disaster tale of five young mountaineers buried by an avalanche while attempting a dangerous winter ascent in Glacier National Park in 1969. Meticulously researched, his account is interspersed with facts and fables about mountains, snow, and the causes of avalanches; there is also a history of humanity’s encounters with this natural force from Hannibal until today. Jenkins presents harrowing survivors’ tales and a sobering appraisal of the current trend toward more avalanches. Using the story of five families who lost their sons at a time when mountaineering was more a way of life than sport, Jenkins provides a fascinating store of scientific information. Highly recommended for all outdoor adventure collections, this will appeal to readers who enjoyed Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air (LJ 4-1-97) and includes a good, basic bibliography that provides a starting point for academic snow and avalanche research.--Tim J. Markus, Evergreen State Coll Lib., Olympia, WA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.- Our Price: $13.00

Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur George Wuerthner From the Publisher: Glaciers, waterfalls, hundreds of miles of trails, wildlife, thousands of species of plants, giant sequoias. Yosemite National Park boasts a variety of landscapes that attracts more than three million visitors each year."Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur" is a pictorial tribute to one of our nation’s oldest and beloved national parks. It not only presents outstanding color photographs of the familiar Yosemite vistas (Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite Falls), but also showcases the back-country areas (Tuolumne Meadows, Mount Dana and Dana Meadow, Tioga Pass). The substantial captions reflect author George Wuerthner’s strong background in geology and natural history, and make this a well-rounded look at what makes the park so special. Chapters are divided geographically, with an emphasis on the Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows areas—the most popular, highly visited areas of the park. "Yosemite: The Grace and Grandeur" will be a treasured keepsake for visitors to this famous park. Author Biography: George Wuerthner is a freelance writer, photographer, and ecologist. He has written 23 books, including "Yosemite: A Visitor’s Companion," and five other natural history guides to national parks, wilderness guides to California, and geographical overviews of specific regions. His photographs have appeared in such magazines as "National Geographic" and "Arizona Highways," as well as in calendars and books. His photographs have also been displayed at the Smithsonian, the National Museum of Natural History, and other museums. From The Critics: Library JournalFew sights on Earth are more spectacular than the view from the parking lot at Yosemite National Park. There, spread before you, is a valley of incomparable beauty, a scene that is difficult to comprehend fully the geology, the waterfalls, and the mountains all combine to produce a picture of sublime tranquility. Perhaps it is heresy to state that a photographer has surpassed or even equaled Ansel Adams’s stark black-and-white photographs of Yosemite, which have long been held up as the standard by which all other nature photos are judged, but in this beautiful pictorial guide, Wuerthner, himself a photographer and ecologist, certainly challenges the standard. Wuerthner goes beyond the typical tourist shots to present a panorama of Yosemite that only a gifted artist could capture. And while the photographs fully attest to the majesty as well as the fragility of this treasure, the text itself is also compelling. Wuerthner passionately argues against further development in or near the park, backing up his conservationist statements with an impressive knowledge of natural history. No matter how many books on Yosemite your library may already have, make room for this very special addition. Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Community Coll., CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. BooknewsPhotographer and writer Wuerthner captures the grandeur and beauty of Yosemite National Park in the heart of the Sierra Nevada. The text discusses European exploration of the Sierra Nevada, the Gold Rush and Indian wars, the creation of the park, the battle over Hetch Hetchy and other topics related to the park’s history, as well as wildlife management, tourism, and specific regions such as southern Yosemite, the valley, and the high country. The color photographs are accompanied by explanatory text. Oversize: 8.75x11.50. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) List Price: $$29.95 Our Price: $19.95

Blood Lure Nevada Barr From the Publisher: "In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon returns to the West, where she is sent on a training assignment to study grizzly bears in Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, straddling the border between Montana and Canada. But back in her beloved mountains, where the air is pure and cool, Anna fails to experience the spiritual renewal she expected. Instead, nature seems to have become twisted, carrying a malevolence almost human in its focus." "Along with a bear researcher, Joan Rand, and a volatile and unpredictable teenage boy, Anna hikes the back country, seeking signs of the bears. On their second night out, the tables are turned: one of the bears comes looking for them. Daybreak finds the boy missing and a camper dead, her neck snapped, the flesh of her face cut away. Feeling betrayed by nature and humanity, Anna must find the beast stalking the trails - and enter deep into a gripping wilderness life-or-death mystery."--BOOK JACKET. Synopsis: The Barnes and Noble ReviewNevada Barr’s Blood Lure once again features Anna Pigeon, the likeable, slightly misanthropic heroine of nine increasingly popular mysteries, all set against the lovingly evoked backdrop of America’s National Parks. This time out, Anna -- a law enforcement officer and peripatetic Ranger -- finds herself detached from her regular duties in Mississippi’s Natchez Trace Park and assigned to a research project in Northern Montana. The project, which involves collecting DNA samples from the indigenous bear population of Glacier National Park, seems, at first, like an idyllic interlude. But the idyll comes to an abrupt end when murder, mayhem, and human malfeasance rear their ugly heads. The novel begins on a peaceful note as Anna, accompanied by veteran bear researcher Joan Rand and teenage Earthwatch volunteer Rory Van Slyke, tracks her quarry through the rugged beauty of the Montana landscape. In the middle of their second night out, a large, apparently savage grizzly bear attacks the researchers’ campsite. When the dust settles, Joan and Anna find themselves shaken but unscathed. Rory, however, has disappeared, having fled into the surrounding forest in a blind, headlong panic. When dawn comes, Park Service personnel conduct a full-scale search, in the course of which they locate not just Rory but the corpse of a mutilated woman. The woman’s neck has been broken, and large sections of her face have been carefully carved away. The dead woman is eventually identified as Carolyn Van Slyke, Rory’s abusive -- and highly promiscuous -- stepmother. Rory, of course, becomes an immediate suspect, as does his father, the pathetic, browbeaten Lester Van Slyke. Two other candidates rapidly materialize: a teenage hiker who calls himself Geoffrey Micholson, and William McCaskil, a professional con man with a host of aliases and an extensive criminal record. Faced with a crime that offers too many suspects and too little concrete evidence, Anna abandons her DNA research project and throws herself into a protracted -- and dangerous -- homicide investigation. The narrative evolves into a devious, ingeniously plotted mystery whose numerous clues are casually and cleverly scattered throughout the text. Blood Lure, however, is a great deal more than just a well-constructed thriller. It is also a powerful evocation of the natural world, and its recreation of the complex ecology of Glacier National Park is precise, detailed, and absolutely convincing. Equally convincing is Barr’s ongoing portrait of Anna Pigeon, a smart, self-sufficient woman who is much more at home in the world of wild animals than in the predatory society of men. She is a credible, sympathetic heroine with heart, brains, and hidden depths. It’s a pleasure encountering her once again. --Bill Sheehan Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com). From The Critics: Daneet Steffens...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Grade A- Laurie Davie - Romantic TimesLike her heroine, Barr is a ranger who’s worked in national parks all over the country. Her gorgeous descriptions of the natural world enhance this taut, suspenseful tale, and the unexpected ending will surprise and enchant you. All is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Entertainment WeeklyAll is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Publishers WeeklyThe latest entry in this excellent series featuring National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon is one of Barr’s best. Anna has been assigned to work temporarily in Montana’s Glacier National Park, where she seems more at home than in her recent forays to East Coast parks, and learns how to do DNA studies on wildlife by working with a biologist, Joan, on a study of grizzly bears. Anna, Joan and a young, inexperienced volunteer, Rory, are sent out into the park’s wilderness areas to set lures for the grizzlies. They use a powerful and nasty-smelling concoction, mixed with cow’s blood, that the grizzlies find irresistible. Once the bears rub up against the trees or barbed wire that have been coated with the lure, samples of their DNA can be collected from the hair and skin left behind. In their remote campsite one night, Anna and Joan amazingly survive a grizzly bear attack on their tents unscathed, only to find that Rory has gone missing. As park rangers and rescue teams hike the mountainous park looking for the missing teenager, they find instead the dead body of a woman whose face has been horribly mutilated. Rory is an obvious suspect, as is the bear who attacked the camp. Barr focuses on the wilderness park and its endangered population of grizzlies rather than on Anna’s personal life and problems, and this makes for a tightly plotted, satisfying read. The author’s masterful descriptions of the natural world immeasurably enhance an exciting, suspenseful story that is sure to flirt with bestseller lists. Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection. (Feb. 5) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Read all 9 "From The Critics" andgt; Our Price: $16.99

Best Easy Day Hikes: Glacier and Waterton Lakes Erik Molvar From the Publisher: The Best Easy Day Hikes books are compact, easy-to-use guides to accessible and scenic trails in our national parks. These guidebooks are written for visitors who only have a short time to see the park and want a short, easy-to-moderately-strenuous hike. Our Price: $6.95

Cold Fear Rick Mofina Our Price: $6.99

View with a Room: Glacier’s Historic Hotels and Chalets Ray Djuff Our Price: $24.95

Hunted Gloria Skurzynski From the Publisher: The Landon family has come to Montana’s Glacier National Park to help figure out why grizzly cubs are disappearing. But for 12-year-old Jack, the real mystery is his sister Ashley’s strange behavior. What was she doing in the woods alone so early in the morning? And why did she lie to their parents? A chain of heart-pounding events bring Jack and Ashley face-to-face with an enraged mama grizzly, and they find themselves running for their lives as they become the hunted. From The Critics: Children’s Literature - Childrens LiteratureTraveling to Glacier National Park, Olivia Landon, a wildlife veterinarian, hopes to discover why grizzly bear cubs have been disappearing. Accompanying Olivia are her husband, twelve-year-old son Jack, and Ashley, the younger daughter. It seems that Ashley has read a forbidden book about actual grizzly bear attacks and is terrified about the trip. Her behavior becomes stranger and stranger and she actually ventures off alone when she knows that in bear territory one must travel with a partner. Her secret turns out to be Miguel, a young illegal Mexican boy who is desperate to get to Seattle. Miguel is escaping a life of poverty and is being hunted by immigration officials. The children are obsessed with helping him and are caught in a dangerous situation where they become the hunted. Vivid description of the park, information about bears and steps being taken to protect them, along with an exciting plot make the book an enjoyable read. As the fifth novel in the "National Park Mystery" series, Jack and Ashley continue their sleuthing relating to various wildlife mishaps in parks throughout the United States. 2000, National Geographic Society, Ages 9 to 12, $15.95. Reviewer: Laura Hummel Parent Council ReviewsIn the past, grizzly bears have erroneously been regarded as horrible killers. Today, however, ecologists know better. This National Geographic Society "National Park Mystery" focuses on how grizzly bears function in their natural habitat through an interesting plot involving a family camping at Glacier National Park. Included are park information, photographs, and an afterward. A handsome gift for an animal-loving youth. 2000, National Geographic Society, $15.95. Ages 10 to 12. Reviewer: A. Braga SOURCE: Parent Council Volume 8 School Library JournalGr 4-8-In this, their fifth mystery, the Landon family travels to Glacier National Park to investigate the disappearance of grizzly bear cubs. For 12-year-old Jack, the real mystery lies in his sister’s strange behavior. When their parents attend a briefing with park administrators regarding the bear problem, Jack volunteers to stay behind at the campsite with Ashley. As soon as the adults leave, she disappears into the woods and returns with a young Mexican named Miguel, an illegal alien seeking a better lifestyle and trying to reach a former teacher who lives in Seattle. When the three children accidentally discover the reason for the cubs’ disappearance, namely poachers, they devise a plan and rescue the bears. Their ingenuity and daredevil tactics come at a price, however, as the drugged mother grizzly awakens and reacts violently toward them. Events unfold at a rapid, steady pace with the children helping one another thwart the attacks of the grizzly, and finally being rescued by Mrs. Landon and the local park rangers. While the story lacks depth, it does work as an exciting adventure, with the youngsters confronting the hazards of nature in order to restore its delicate balance. Miguel’s fate is conveniently and happily resolved. Themes of friendship, family love, and the importance of protecting wildlife are nicely woven around likable characters and a cohesive plot line.-Janet Gillen, Great Neck Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. Our Price: $15.95

Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks Mark David Spence From the Publisher: Mark David Spence examines the complex origins of the national parks and the troubling consequences of the American wilderness ideal. He explores the idealization of uninhabited wilderness in the late nineteenth century and the policies of Indian removal developed at Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Glacier national parks between the 1870s and the 1930s. Concerned with the historical and cultural importance of national park areas to the peoples who previously inhabited them, Spence also analyzes the efforts of various American Indian tribes to maintain a connection to these places after their dispossession. The first study to place national park history within the context of the early reservation era, this book details the ways in which national parks have developed into one of the most important arenas of contention between native peoples and non-Indians in the twentieth century. Spence’s rich study will interest scholars and students of environmental history, Western history, American studies, and American Indian studies, as well as native scholars, environmentalists, and members of the National Park Service. List Price: $$19.95 Our Price: $18.95

Moon Handbooks: Montana W. C. McRae From the Publisher: Journey with Bill McRae and Judy Jewell as they explore every corner of the Big Sky State. This fifth edition helps readers hike in Glacier National Park, fish the Upper Yellowstone, search for dinosaur nests on Egg Mountain, and experience American Indian culture. It also includes thorough coverage of transportation, restaurants, and accommodations, including bed and breakfasts, guest ranches, and campsites. Our Price: $17.95

Alaska on My Mind Falcon Press Pub From the Publisher: Alaska’s world-famous natural beauty and its citizens’ unique lifestyles come alive in this exceptional collection of color photos. From the busy urban centers of Anchorage and Fairbanks to the isolated Indian villages, this book captures the spirit of living and working in Alaska. 160 color photos. Our Price: $32.95

Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park Tim Cahill From the Publisher: "Lost in My Own Backyard brings author Tim Cahill together with one of his - and America’s - favorite destinations: Yellowstone, the world’s first national park." Cahill stumbles from glacier to geyser, encounters wildlife (some of it, like bisons, weighing in the neighborhood of a ton), muses on the microbiology of thermal pools, gets spooked in the mysterious Hoodoos, sees moonbows arcing across waterfalls at midnight, and generally has a fine old time walking several hundred miles while contemplating the concept and value of wilderness. Our Price: $19.95

100 Hikes in Washington’s Glacier Peak Region: The North Cascades Ira Spring Our Price: $16.95

Blood Lure Nevada Barr From the Publisher: "In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon returns to the West, where she is sent on a training assignment to study grizzly bears in Waterton-Glacier National Peace Park, straddling the border between Montana and Canada. But back in her beloved mountains, where the air is pure and cool, Anna fails to experience the spiritual renewal she expected. Instead, nature seems to have become twisted, carrying a malevolence almost human in its focus." "Along with a bear researcher, Joan Rand, and a volatile and unpredictable teenage boy, Anna hikes the back country, seeking signs of the bears. On their second night out, the tables are turned: one of the bears comes looking for them. Daybreak finds the boy missing and a camper dead, her neck snapped, the flesh of her face cut away. Feeling betrayed by nature and humanity, Anna must find the beast stalking the trails - and enter deep into a gripping wilderness life-or-death mystery."--BOOK JACKET. Synopsis: The Barnes and Noble ReviewNevada Barr’s Blood Lure once again features Anna Pigeon, the likeable, slightly misanthropic heroine of nine increasingly popular mysteries, all set against the lovingly evoked backdrop of America’s National Parks. This time out, Anna -- a law enforcement officer and peripatetic Ranger -- finds herself detached from her regular duties in Mississippi’s Natchez Trace Park and assigned to a research project in Northern Montana. The project, which involves collecting DNA samples from the indigenous bear population of Glacier National Park, seems, at first, like an idyllic interlude. But the idyll comes to an abrupt end when murder, mayhem, and human malfeasance rear their ugly heads. The novel begins on a peaceful note as Anna, accompanied by veteran bear researcher Joan Rand and teenage Earthwatch volunteer Rory Van Slyke, tracks her quarry through the rugged beauty of the Montana landscape. In the middle of their second night out, a large, apparently savage grizzly bear attacks the researchers’ campsite. When the dust settles, Joan and Anna find themselves shaken but unscathed. Rory, however, has disappeared, having fled into the surrounding forest in a blind, headlong panic. When dawn comes, Park Service personnel conduct a full-scale search, in the course of which they locate not just Rory but the corpse of a mutilated woman. The woman’s neck has been broken, and large sections of her face have been carefully carved away. The dead woman is eventually identified as Carolyn Van Slyke, Rory’s abusive -- and highly promiscuous -- stepmother. Rory, of course, becomes an immediate suspect, as does his father, the pathetic, browbeaten Lester Van Slyke. Two other candidates rapidly materialize: a teenage hiker who calls himself Geoffrey Micholson, and William McCaskil, a professional con man with a host of aliases and an extensive criminal record. Faced with a crime that offers too many suspects and too little concrete evidence, Anna abandons her DNA research project and throws herself into a protracted -- and dangerous -- homicide investigation. The narrative evolves into a devious, ingeniously plotted mystery whose numerous clues are casually and cleverly scattered throughout the text. Blood Lure, however, is a great deal more than just a well-constructed thriller. It is also a powerful evocation of the natural world, and its recreation of the complex ecology of Glacier National Park is precise, detailed, and absolutely convincing. Equally convincing is Barr’s ongoing portrait of Anna Pigeon, a smart, self-sufficient woman who is much more at home in the world of wild animals than in the predatory society of men. She is a credible, sympathetic heroine with heart, brains, and hidden depths. It’s a pleasure encountering her once again. --Bill Sheehan Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com). From The Critics: Daneet Steffens...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Grade A- Laurie Davie - Romantic TimesLike her heroine, Barr is a ranger who’s worked in national parks all over the country. Her gorgeous descriptions of the natural world enhance this taut, suspenseful tale, and the unexpected ending will surprise and enchant you. All is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Entertainment WeeklyAll is not well in grizzly country...Barr’s red herrings and sly twists culminate in one huge payoff. Publishers WeeklyThe latest entry in this excellent series featuring National Park Service ranger Anna Pigeon is one of Barr’s best. Anna has been assigned to work temporarily in Montana’s Glacier National Park, where she seems more at home than in her recent forays to East Coast parks, and learns how to do DNA studies on wildlife by working with a biologist, Joan, on a study of grizzly bears. Anna, Joan and a young, inexperienced volunteer, Rory, are sent out into the park’s wilderness areas to set lures for the grizzlies. They use a powerful and nasty-smelling concoction, mixed with cow’s blood, that the grizzlies find irresistible. Once the bears rub up against the trees or barbed wire that have been coated with the lure, samples of their DNA can be collected from the hair and skin left behind. In their remote campsite one night, Anna and Joan amazingly survive a grizzly bear attack on their tents unscathed, only to find that Rory has gone missing. As park rangers and rescue teams hike the mountainous park looking for the missing teenager, they find instead the dead body of a woman whose face has been horribly mutilated. Rory is an obvious suspect, as is the bear who attacked the camp. Barr focuses on the wilderness park and its endangered population of grizzlies rather than on Anna’s personal life and problems, and this makes for a tightly plotted, satisfying read. The author’s masterful descriptions of the natural world immeasurably enhance an exciting, suspenseful story that is sure to flirt with bestseller lists. Mystery Guild main selection and Literary Guild alternate selection. (Feb. 5) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Read all 9 "From The Critics" andgt; Our Price: $29.95

Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park 2nd Edition Vicky Spring Our Price: $16.95

Bicycling America’s National Parks: Oregon and Washington: The Best Road and Trail Rides from Crater Lake to Olympic National Park (2001) David Story From the Publisher: The first and only guide to bicycling the national parks and wilderness areas of Oregon and Washington. Bicycling is becoming an ever-more popular option as some national parks are closing roads to cars. This complete adventure guide to the national parks of Oregon and Washington features 58 road and mountain bike rides through the parks’ most spectacular natural areas. The stunning geographical diversity of Washington and Oregon is perfectly captured by their national parks and recreation areas, and the best way to explore these spectacular national treasures is to get out of your car and onto a bike. David Story has sought out routes of all levels and lengths for both road bikes and mountain bikes in this new guide. From the arid sagebrush landscape of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, to the glaciers capping Mount Rainier National Park, to the volcanic legacy of Crater Lake, to the temperate rain forest of Olympic National Park, the national public lands of the Pacific Northwest offer stunning views, invigorating air, and a mix of easy to strenuous rides. These riding opportunities can only improve with time, as the parks continue to restrict automobile use to better preserve and protect their natural beauty. Each of the 58 ride descriptions include a detailed map, tour directions, information about the trail or road surface, sights along the way, and the length and difficulty of the ride. In addition, a trip-planning appendix for each park tells you where to stay or camp, do your laundry, eat, buy supplies, and repair or rent a bike. 58 rides are described and mapped in detail. Part of a new national series: Bicycling America’s National Parks. Heavilyillustrated:Includes 25 professional color photographs of the parks, 75 black and white photographs, and 60 maps. Our Price: $17.95

Glacier on My Mind Michael S. Sample (Photographer) From the Publisher: Take an unforgettable journey through Montana’s Glacier National Park with this magnificent portrait of the crown of the continent. The photographs are complemented by the inspirational words and wisdom of Charles M. Russell, Native Americans, nature writers and others. From The Critics: BooknewsColor photographs of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Montana and Alberta are accompanied by brief quotations from various sources, among them western artist Charles M. Russell, novelist John Steinbeck, and Blackfeet leader Chief Eagle Calf. 10x12 Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Our Price: $32.95

The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide: The Official Guidebook for Long Distance and Day Hikers Ron Strickland From the Publisher: From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific Northwest Trail is a unique hiking experience, offering a variety of backcountry scenery and outdoor adventure. Here is the official guide to the spectacular long-distance trail that stretches 1,200 miles from Glacier National Park in Montana to Washington’s Olympic National Park. Like other long-distance trails, the "PNT" is accessible to both ambitious thru-hikers and day- or weekend-hikers who want to tackle smaller segments. This comprehensive guide features detailed route descriptions, topographic maps, and more.Author Biography: Ron Strickland is an environmentalist who founded the Pacific Northwest Trail 30 years ago. His numerous books include Whistlepunks and Geoducks: Oral Histories from the Pacific Nothwest. Strickland lives in Seattle. Our Price: $19.95

WPA Guide to 1930s Montana William Kittredge From the Publisher: First published in 1939, this nostalgic guide includes chapters on Montana’s natural setting, history, economy, and cultural life as of half a century ago, plus separate entries for Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Missoula--which at the time boasted four hotels and five-cent bus fares. There then follow, in the WPA Guide tradition, 18 tours that crisscross the state and point out not only natural splendors along the way but also such noteworthy historic sites as Custer Battlefield, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Boothill Cemetery in Virginia City, and the site of the "holing-up" shanty of Calamity Jane. Fourteen additional tours--four for roads, ten for trails--guide readers through Glacier National Park. From The Critics: Booknews**** Originally published in 1939, by the Montana Department of Agriculture, Labor and Industry, as Montana: A State Guide Book, under which title it appears in BCL3. Chapters on the state’s natural setting, history, economy, and cultural life of half a century ago are accompanied by descriptions of 18 tours crisscrossing the state and 14 road and trail tours of Glacier National Park. This reprint is graced by writer William Kittredge’s fine foreword. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $23.95

Signposts of Adventure: Glacier National Park as the Indians Know It James Willard Schultz Our Price: $27.95

Glacier’s Secrets: Above the Clouds and beyond the Trails George Ostrom From The Critics: BooknewsGreat color photos of mountains that nearly pass belief! The hikers look to be over 65 years of age; the trails and routes are, therefore, accessible to strong youngsters. A beautiful and friendly book. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $15.95

Fishing Glacier National Park Russ Schneider From the Publisher: How does an angler know when and where to fish, how to get there, and what kind of gear will reel in the catch? The answers are all here in Fishing Glacier National Park. Glacier National Park offers some of the most beautiful and exciting sport fishing in Montana. Trout, whitefish, grayling, and pike swim in the park’s pristine alpine lakes, powerful rivers, and meandering streams. In this volume, Montana angler, fishing guide, and author Russ Schneider shares his intimate knowledge of this angler’s paradise. This guide provides descriptions of more than 250 lakes, rivers, and streams within the park and answers the questions every angler asks before striking out. Look inside to find: site descriptions, including the species present and the best times to fish; tips on techniques, lures, flies, bait, and tackle; information about trails, distances, terrain, availability of campgrounds, river access, and regulations; maps and photos; an illustrated section describing the habits and habitats of Glacier’s game fish. Whether you’re planning an afternoon or a week of angling adventures, take Fishing Glacier National Park along for the trip. (6 x 9, 174 pages, bandw photos, illustrati