A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park
4.6 | 92 ratings
Price: 19.96
Last update: 03-20-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- TahoeBarbGreat book full of interesting information.A very well written, comprehensive history of my favorite National park. I just made my fourth trip there this past summer with my teenage grandkids this time and this was very helpful educating them about the park.
- Robert F. QuinlanGrowth Of The First National ParkGood history on the formation of Yellowstone as a national park and the interplay of preservationists, railroads and hotel developers who advanced the national park. A bit heavier on early development than present day.
- andrea b rinikerRemarkable place, remarkable bookEven though we grew up with this history as locals, this excellent book provided both details and context we didn’t know!
- Amazon CustomerGood bookVery informative good book
- MBInvaluable Resource for a Trip to the ParkPulling together the vast history of Yellowstone into a coherent, inviting and highly readable narrative is an amazing feat and this book succeeds on all accounts. It does an especially nice job of illustrating Yellowstone's role as a special place in US history, both reflecting and challenging the way nature has been valued and treated over time. And it covers the story from the geological foundations of the park all the way up to the present day. If you are planning a trip to Yellowstone this summer, this book is the perfect companion.
- Amazon CustomerGreat book on Yellowstone!Having lived close to Yellowstone since I was born, I would highly recommend this book. I have been a tour guide in Yellowstone and thought I was quit knowledgeable but this book added a great deal to what I already knew.
I loved the documented research on the indigenous tribes that occupied the area around 10-13 thousand years ago.
I also got further insight into Chief Joseph and battles fought around Yellowstone in the 1870s.
If you are a first timer planning on coming to Yellowstone, read this book first! If you are like me and have been in Yellowstone hundreds of times, read this book! - DarleneUnbelievable history of YellowstoneThis book is so informative—tells the history of Yellowstone in such an interesting writing style. The amount of research involved is truly amazing!
- Sterling WestWanted to like this book… really.Before launching into a review of “A Place Called Yellowstone” I need to tell you that I would consider myself a Yellowstone-ophile. I’ve hiked over 600 miles of its backcountry trails. And have a Yellowstone library that consists of literally hundreds of books. I am therefore fairly well versed in park history, geography, and lore. Because of my love for the park I’m always looking for new books about Yellowstone to read, especially volumes about its geothermal wonders and its history. Imagine my excitement when this book “A Place Called Yellowstone” came out. I nabbed a copy and read it right away.
Now, imagine my dismay as I began reading and got only as far as page seven to find that this book puts Old Faithful Geyser in the “Lower Geyser Basin” [it’s in the Upper Geyser Basin], and when on page eleven the author gives voice to the erroneous “conspiracy theorists” idea that Yellowstone’s dynamic Caldera System operates on some predictable “cycle” of 600-700,000 years and is “due for another major event” I nearly threw the book in the trash. In a cursory reading of this book I found no less than a dozen cartographic-related errors including describing the Fountain Hotel as being at modern day Madison Junction, describing Fishing Bridge as near Grant Village (the two places are about 25 miles apart), and giving Giantess Geyser a “cone” [it is a fountain-type geyser]. The book referred to Park Superintendent Mike Finley as “supervisor Finley”, and to the Shaw & Powell Camping Company as “Shaw & Power”, and repeatedly referred to Mr. EC Waters as “Eli Waters” including in the index entry [the man’s name was Ela Collins Waters, but he always went by EC, so much so that he even named his boat the “EC Waters”] .
I wanted to be impressed by this book. It covers a grand sweep of Yellowstone’s history from it’s geologic origins, it’s Indigenous history and narrative (which is something missing from many Yellowstone histories), it’s exploration, it’s development as a national park and the legacy of it’s tourism history, through the park’s ongoing struggle with identity and purpose, including modern conservation and preservation issues involving grizzlies, bison, and wolves. As the sub-title of the book implies, it is indeed “the epic history of the world’s first national park”. And the author wove a compelling story, putting together important historical figures and events in a believable interconnected cause/effect-style narrative. The author’s writing style is very personable, enjoyable, and eminently readable. As I said, I wanted to like “A Place Called Yellowstone”.
BUT… in the end I found myself very disappointed - mostly because with all the glaring “issues”, it left me uncertain about the trustworthiness of the information. That is disconcerting, to say the least. If you are interested in Yellowstone (like I am) I won’t tell you to not read this book. But I would like to encourage you the reader to be cautious. As long as you read this book along with other more standard texts, you will be able to filter things out for yourself.
I will say that what drew me to this book in the first place was the publisher’s use of an image of Excelsior Geyser Crater on the dust jacket, rather than the usual Old Faithful or Grand Prismatic pic. But, from there “A Place Called Yellowstone” simply left me wondering how an author could do so much research on a topic they are obviously passionate about, yet get so many basic things wrong. I wanted to like this book…really.