Book Review - A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

Title: A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

Author: Randall K. Wilson
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: Pending...

Description (Audible): Discover the epic history of the first US national park in this historical adventure for fans of American history, the Wild West, and the hit show. 

It has been called Wonderland, America's Serengeti, the crown jewel of the National Park System, and America's best idea. But how did this faraway landscape evolve into one of the most recognizable places in the world? As the birthplace of the national park system, Yellowstone witnessed the first-ever attempt to protect wildlife, to restore endangered species, and to develop a new industry centered on nature tourism. 

Yellowstone remains a national icon, one of the few entities capable of bridging ideological divides in the United States. Yet the park's history is also filled with episodes of conflict and exclusion, setting precedents for Native American land dispossession, land rights disputes, and prolonged tensions between commercialism and environmental conservation. Yellowstone's legacies are both celebratory and problematic. A Place Called Yellowstone tells the comprehensive story of Yellowstone National Park as the story of the nation itself.

Description (ChatGPT): Randall K. Wilson’s A Place Called Yellowstone is a sweeping, richly told history that brings to life the geological, political, and cultural evolution of America’s first national park. Wilson masterfully weaves together the deep time of Yellowstone’s volcanic origins, the dramatic stories of early explorers and conservationists, and the fraught, ongoing debates around land use, Indigenous rights, and wildlife management. 

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its narrative drive: bureaucratic wrangling, frontier personalities, and the clash between exploitation and preservation become vivid and engaging rather than dry. Wilson doesn’t shy away from the park’s darker legacies, including dispossession of Native American lands and ecological missteps like predator removal—and he shows how these tensions have shaped modern policies and identities. 

Other Reviews - Los Angeles Times