Travels in the Greater Yellowstone | 
enlarge | Author: Jack Turner Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Category: Book
List Price: $25.95 Buy New: $12.97 You Save: $12.98 (50%)
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Avg. Customer Rating: 2 reviews Sales Rank: 156557
Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 288 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8 Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0312266723 Dewey Decimal Number: 978.752 EAN: 9780312266721 ASIN: 0312266723
Publication Date: April 1, 2008 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Shipping: Expedited shipping available Shipping: International shipping available Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
Award-winning nature writer Jack Turner directs his attention to one of America’s greatest natural treasures: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Comprised of two national parks, three national wildlife refuges, parts of six national forests, and eleven wilderness areas, Greater Yellowstone is a vast array of differing environments and geographies. In a series of essays, Turner explores this wonderland, venturing on twelve separate trips in all seasons using various modes of travel: hiking, climbing, skiing, canoeing lakes, floating rivers, and driving his way across the landscape. He treks down the Teton Range, picks up the Oregon Trail in the Red Desert, and floats the South Fork of the Snake River. Along the way he encounters a variety of wildlife: moose, elk, trout, and wolves. From the treacherous mountains in the dead of winter, to lush river valleys in the height of fishing season, his words and steps trace one of the most American of experiences---exploring the West. Turner, who has lived in Grand Teton for three decades, designates Greater Yellowstone as ground zero for the country’s conflict between preservation and development. At a time when the battle to preserve a wild and natural environment is relentless, his accounts of the areas conflicts with alien species, logging, real estate, oil, and gas development are alarming. A mixture of adventure, nostalgia, and Americana, Turner’s rare experiences and evocative writing transform the sights and sounds of Greater Yellowstone into an intimate narrative of travel through America’s most beloved lands.
Praise for Teewinot:
"Bursting with a sense of place...a rewarding reading experience replete with ravishing observations of nature." - Publishers Weekly
"...a measured luxuriance in the landscape, a love song to the natural history of a place...Turner's writing is muscular, never swaggering, and almost lyrical, summoning a Teton Range in its rightful, sublime austerity." - Kirkus Reviews
"Teewinot is a rare book. The wonderful accounts of mountaineering serve as armature not only for Turner's meditative reverence for the Grand Tetons and his often evocative prose but also for an uncommon density of knowledge of place..." - Peter Matthiessen, author of Tigers in the Snow
"This is, simply stated, a wonderful and utterly engaging book." - Jim Harrison, author of Dalva and The Road Home
"Each place must find its muse. The Tetons have found theirs and his name is Jack Turner." - Terry Tempest Williams, author of Coyote's Canyon
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Mixed Bag May 26, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'll begin by saying that Turner's The Abstract Wild is one of the very best books I have ever read. Based on this book's subject and my own interests, I expected this one to fall far short of that and it did while remaining an enjoyable enough read.
This book consists of essays about Turner's experiences doing exactly what the title suggests. It occasionally gets repetitive, but there are some excellent moments. I believe Turner is at his best when exploring ideas and values, rather then writing travelogues, and my favorite essays here reflect that preference.
The piece on wolves is one of the best I've read on the subject, predicting the slaughter now underway since control was returned from the federal government to states like Wyoming. Along with history, ecology, wolf-haters and wolf-watchers, Turner explores our relationship with the wild and the ethics of reintroducing a species to an area and then encouraging the killing of the animals. Though more of a hike description, some of the same issues are touched on in the essay on grizzlies. The concluding essay on spending Christmas at Old Faithful is another highlight, raising many questions and paradoxes.
On the down side for me, three essays on fishing are three more than I needed even though they also raise ecological issues. Turner's rants against energy development destroying the area also got a little old. I'm against it too but that's why I'm not driving a truck all over the area for recreation like Turner is. Accusing Wyoming of wanting to have its cake and eat it too seems similar to what Turner's doing here with his choices. Maybe he thinks it would be OK to develop Alaska or someone else's favorite coastline to support his driving as long as it's not the area he considers more important.
A pleasant casual read, especially if you're familiar with the area I imagine, but another reading of The Abstract Wild would probably be a better use of your time.
Not Disappointed April 3, 2008 0 out of 7 found this review helpful
After an inordinate wait, I have begun 'Travels in Greater Yellowstone'. I have read Turner's other books and found them riveting, especially because he has a wonderful writing style. This reads as well if not better. Let's call it his 'smooth jazz tone' style. Very chill or hip, if you will. More when I finish the book...............
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