The companion volume to the new Ken Burns film: a sweeping, magnificently illustrated history of the American national park system from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite, to the most recent additions to the 84 million acres that comprise this grand national treasure. - Five extended interviews with people whose lives have been shaped by their connections to the American landscape (including Terry Tempest Williams).

- A vast array of breathtaking photographs, both archival and contemporary.