11/12/25: Books and a beverage: National Parks-America's Best Idea

Ron K. - Discussion leader

• Join us for an engaging discussion of ideas and experiences.
• No need to have read the book
• But if you have a chance to read, please come with your ideas and thoughts!
• Time: Arrive 5:50 and we will start at 6
• Location: We will meet at the Karaoke lounge 6655 Delmar Blvd, University City, MO 63130 (but we are just using the space - there will not be food or beverages). It is a bit tricky to find, but the entrance is from North side of Delmar Blvd. See photos below that shows a map.
• Bring a beverage and/or snacks if you wish.
• Social: After the book discussion, we plan go to a Delmar loop restaurant for a bite for those interested.
• You can acquire the book here From Amazon (there are lots of used book options)

Info on the Amazon website: The National Parks is a glorious celebration of an essential expression of American democracy. America’s national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation’s most magnificent and sacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite and the creation of the world’s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, through the most recentadditions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundred sites and 84 million acres.

The authors recount the adventures, mythmaking, and intense political battles behind the evolution of the park system, and the enduring ideals that fostered its growth. They capture the importance and splendors of the individual parks: from Haleakala in Hawaii to Acadia in Maine, from Denali in Alaska to the Everglades in Florida, from Glacier in Montana to Big Bend in Texas. And they introduce us to a diverse cast of compelling characters—both unsung heroes and famous figures such as John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ansel Adams—who have been transformed by these special places and committed themselves to saving them from destruction so that the rest of us could be transformed as well.