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Hour of Land : A Personal Topography of America's National Parks by Terry Tempest Williams (2016, Hardcover)
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- Buy It NowThe Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherFarrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN-100374280096
ISBN-139780374280093
eBay Product ID (ePID)219173025
Product Key Features
Book TitleHour of Land : a Personal Topography of America's National Parks
Number of Pages416 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicEnvironmental Science (See Also Chemistry / Environmental), General, Ecology, Regional, Parks & Campgrounds, Essays
Publication Year2016
IllustratorYes
GenreNature, Travel, Science
AuthorTerry Tempest Williams
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.4 in
Item Weight24 Oz
Item Length8.5 in
Item Width6.4 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2015-042477
Reviews"Williams ( When Women Were Birds , 2012), an ardent, often rhapsodic, always scrupulous witness to the living world and advocate for the protection of public lands, celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service in this enrapturing and encompassing chronicle of her deeply inquisitive, meditative, and dramatic sojourns in a dozen national parks. Guided by a finely calibrated moral compass and acute attunement to the spirit of the land . . . this is a uniquely evocative, illuminating, profound, poignant, beautiful, courageous, and clarion book about the true significance of our national parks."--Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) 'A broadly ambitious and deeply impassioned collection of essays . . . There are few nonfiction writers who can capture the essence of the American wilderness landscape as eloquently as Williams . . . her distinctive prose style is capable of conveying a deep spiritual dimension within the physical setting . . . An important, well-informed, and moving read for anyone interested in learning more about America's national parks.'-- Kirkus Reviews "Taking us through American national parks and monuments, their history, their present reality, the rocks and birds and trees of them, traveling through place, the memory of place, its history, somehow, whether through the spectrum of poetry or personal story, natural history, history, or science, The Hour of Land reveals the very bones and sinew of our land. A redheaded woodpecker, Theodore Roosevelt's grief, Terry Tempest Williams's straight-backed father, a horseback ride with her husband through the terrain of the Civil War--slowly, place by place, our country begins to emerge. The South's Civil War outlook is linked to that of today's Sagebrush Rebellion here in the West; a planned wall in Big Bend to the inevitable desecration of nature; fratricidal rage to the glorious indifference of the Arctic, righteous rage to the devastation of oil spills, of the earth; Alcatraz to injustice everywhere. The conflagration of Glacier National Park sets the pages on fire, and yet the monument to Cesar Chavez offers the possibility of change: the Hour of Land is at hand. Terry Tempest Williams has literally shown us our country, its physical body, the bones of its history, the urgent reality of our roles in its future. A manifesto that everyone must read and then act upon." --Betsy Burton, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Williams ( When Women Were Birds , 2012), an ardent, often rhapsodic, always scrupulous witness to the living world and advocate for the protection of public lands, celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service in this enrapturing and encompassing chronicle of her deeply inquisitive, meditative, and dramatic sojourns in a dozen national parks. Guided by a finely calibrated moral compass and acute attunement to the spirit of the land . . . this is a uniquely evocative, illuminating, profound, poignant, beautiful, courageous, and clarion book about the true significance of our national parks."--Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) "A broadly ambitious and deeply impassioned collection of essays . . . There are few nonfiction writers who can capture the essence of the American wilderness landscape as eloquently as Williams . . . her distinctive prose style is capable of conveying a deep spiritual dimension within the physical setting . . . An important, well-informed, and moving read for anyone interested in learning more about America's national parks." -- Kirkus Reviews "Taking us through American national parks and monuments, their history, their present reality, the rocks and birds and trees of them, traveling through place, the memory of place, its history, somehow, whether through the spectrum of poetry or personal story, natural history, history, or science, The Hour of Land reveals the very bones and sinew of our land. A redheaded woodpecker, Theodore Roosevelt's grief, Terry Tempest Williams's straight-backed father, a horseback ride with her husband through the terrain of the Civil War--slowly, place by place, our country begins to emerge. The South's Civil War outlook is linked to that of today's Sagebrush Rebellion here in the West; a planned wall in Big Bend to the inevitable desecration of nature; fratricidal rage to the glorious indifference of the Arctic, righteous rage to the devastation of oil spills, of the earth; Alcatraz to injustice everywhere. The conflagration of Glacier National Park sets the pages on fire, and yet the monument to Cesar Chavez offers the possibility of change: the Hour of Land is at hand. Terry Tempest Williams has literally shown us our country, its physical body, the bones of its history, the urgent reality of our roles in its future. A manifesto that everyone must read and then act upon." --Betsy Burton, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, "A collection of essays that''s a personal journey as much as a meditation on the purpose and relevance of national parks in the 21st century . . . Williams''s language has its own visceral beauty . . . The Hour of Land is one of the best nature books I''ve read in years, filled with seductive prose . . . It''s impossible to do Williams''s thought-provoking insights and evocative images justice in a short review. My only advice is to read the book. And then read it again, with pen in hand. And then visit a national park, because as Williams reminds us, they are ''portals and thresholds of wonder,'' the ''breathing spaces for a society that increasingly holds its breath.''" --Andrea Wulf, The New York Times Book Review "Williams ( When Women Were Birds , 2012), an ardent, often rhapsodic, always scrupulous witness to the living world and advocate for the protection of public lands, celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service in this enrapturing and encompassing chronicle of her deeply inquisitive, meditative, and dramatic sojourns in a dozen national parks. Guided by a finely calibrated moral compass and acute attunement to the spirit of the land . . . this is a uniquely evocative, illuminating, profound, poignant, beautiful, courageous, and clarion book about the true significance of our national parks."--Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review) "Williams ( When Women Were Birds ), a longtime environmental activist, adds a meditative element to memoir as she shares her abiding love for America''s open spaces . . . In passionate and insightful prose, Williams celebrates the beauty of the American landscape while reinforcing the necessity of responsible stewardship." -- Publishers Weekly "[Williams''s] writing is poetic, passionate and unexpected . . . By turns sad, despairing, and hopeful, even thrilled in the presence of natural beauty, The Hour of Land is emotive, intelligent and well-traveled. It is only right that Williams should celebrate the Park Service''s centennial with such a remarkable collection of wisdom and scintillating lines." --Julia Jenkins, Shelf Awareness "A broadly ambitious and deeply impassioned collection of essays . . . There are few nonfiction writers who can capture the essence of the American wilderness landscape as eloquently as Williams . . . her distinctive prose style is capable of conveying a deep spiritual dimension within the physical setting . . . An important, well-informed, and moving read for anyone interested in learning more about America''s national parks." -- Kirkus Reviews "Taking us through American national parks and monuments, their history, their present reality, the rocks and birds and trees of them, traveling through place, the memory of place, its history, somehow, whether through the spectrum of poetry or personal story, natural history, history, or science, The Hour of Land reveals the very bones and sinew of our land. A redheaded woodpecker, Theodore Roosevelt''s grief, Terry Tempest Williams''s straight-backed father, a horseback ride with her husband through the terrain of the Civil War--slowly, place by place, our country begins to emerge. The South''s Civil War outlook is linked to that of today''s Sagebrush Rebellion here in the West; a planned wall in Big Bend to the inevitable desecration of nature; fratricidal rage to the glorious indifference of the Arctic, righteous rage to the devastation of oil spills, of the earth; Alcatraz to injustice everywhere. The conflagration of Glacier National Park sets the pages on fire, and yet the monument to Cesar Chavez offers the possibility of change: the Hour of Land is at hand. Terry Tempest Williams has literally shown us our country, its physical body, the bones of its history, the urgent reality of our roles in its future. A manifesto that everyone must read and then act upon." --Betsy Burton, The King''s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, Praise for When Women Were Birds "Williams displays a Whitmanesque embrace of the world and its contradictions . . . As the pages accumulate, her voice grows in majesty and power until it become a full-fledged aria." - San Francisco Chronicle, "Taking us through American national parks and monuments, their history, their present reality, the rocks and birds and trees of them, traveling through place, the memory of place, its history, somehow, whether through the spectrum of poetry or personal story, natural history, history, or science, The Hour of Land reveals the very bones and sinew of our land. A redheaded woodpecker, Theodore Roosevelt's grief, Terry Tempest Williams's straight-backed father, a horseback ride with her husband through the terrain of the Civil War--slowly, place by place, our country begins to emerge. The South's Civil War outlook is linked to that of today's Sagebrush Rebellion here in the West; a planned wall in Big Bend to the inevitable desecration of nature; fratricidal rage to the glorious indifference of the Arctic, righteous rage to the devastation of oil spills, of the earth; Alcatraz to injustice everywhere. The conflagration of Glacier National Park sets the pages on fire, and yet the monument to Cesar Chavez offers the possibility of change: the Hour of Land is at hand. Terry Tempest Williams has literally shown us our country, its physical body, the bones of its history, the urgent reality of our roles in its future. A manifesto that everyone must read and then act upon." --Betsy Burton, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah
Dewey Edition23
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Decimal333.780973
Table Of ContentMAPPING THE TERRITORY 1. AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS: By definition 2. GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING: Keep promise 3. THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK, NORTH DAKOTA: All this is what the wind knows 4. ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, MAINE: --the stones, the steel, the galaxies-- 5. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA: --there is no prevailing-- 6. EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, IOWA: Death yes but as a gathering 7. BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS: Any wind will tell you 8. GATES OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL PARK, ALASKA: There is no private space 9. GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE, FLORIDA AND MISSISSIPPI: What more shall we do to others. To otherness 10. CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, UTAH: We are in some strange wind says the wind 11. ALCATRAZ ISLAND, GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, CALIFORNIA: The bodies are all gone from it, the purchases have been made 13. GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA: It is so extreme this taking-the-place-of, this standing-in-for, this disappearing of all the witnesses-- 14. CÉSAR E. CHÁVEZ NATIONAL MONUMENT, CALIFORNIA, AND THE FUTURE: I say to myself keep on--it will not be the end--not yet-- POSTSCRIPT THE GALLERY SOURCES AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SynopsisAmerica's national parks are breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why more than 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the environmental classic Refuge and the beloved memoir When Women Were Birds , returns with The Hour of Land , a literary celebration of our national parks, an exploration of what they mean to us and what we mean to them. From the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas and more, Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique, The Hour of Land is a meditation and a manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America.
LC Classification NumberE160.W54 2016
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Ratings and Reviews
Most relevant reviews
- Mar 31, 2021
An insightful and personal look at our National Parks
This wonderful book is not a travel log type book, but a personal account of our 12 National Parks and National Monuments. Terry Tempest Williams' writing style is beautifully descriptive, even poetic at times. She combines personal observations with insightful political, social and historical commentary. My favorite chapter was on Alcatraz National Monument.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
