A Place Called Yellowstone

WINNER OF THE BARBARA AND DAVID ZALAZNICK BOOK PRIZE
Finalist for the High Plains International Book Award

“Wilson’s talent as a storyteller shines through in turning dry bureaucratic bumbling and crony corruption into a focus on individual exploits and entertaining tales. It makes for great reading.” —Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times

“Vivid and gripping . . . A Place Called Yellowstone is indeed an epic that chronicles facts, explores the relationship the park holds as an adventure site and protector of nature and wildlife, and brings past and present into stunning focus.” —K. M. Sandrick, Historical Novels Review

“A capably drawn portrait of an iconic American place that remains of world significance.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Tensions will always exist between the tourism industry and the conservation movement over Yellowstone’s precious resources, but Wilson’s account shows an unfolding awareness and sensitivity on both sides to the treasures that lie within those 2.2 million acres.” —Booklist

“In this fascinating account of America’s most famous landscape, Randall Wilson tells the history of Yellowstone Park and how it relates to the larger story of the American West. In vivid detail, Wilson weaves a compelling tale about a then-revolutionary concept—preserve a spectacular wilderness from commercial exploitation while opening it to the public. A Place Called Yellowstone is a must read for anyone who cares about Americans’ relationship to the natural world and the nation’s legacy of public lands.” —Peter Stark, author of Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation

“The Yellowstone landscape has stirred everyone who ever set foot there. What Wilson achieves in this book is a fascinating account of how a remote place on the map became something iconic. It’s a winding historical adventure—at times exhilarating, at times horrifying—that reveals what makes a place renowned. His tales of this tectonic landscape will move you!” ––Christopher J. Preston, author of Tenacious Beasts

“In A Place Called Yellowstone, Randall Wilson addresses a simple question: How did such a geographically isolated park evolve into a national icon that has shaped the way Americans interact with and value nature? His thoughtful, wide-ranging, and engaging answer takes us from the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano 2.1 million years ago to today’s first steps toward co-managing Yellowstone by the National Park Service and the Indigenous peoples who know it as a homeland.” ––Terence Young, author of Heading Out: A History of American Camping

“Randall Wilson’s lifelong passion for outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and backpacking in the Great American West led him to Yellowstone National Park more than twenty-five years ago, and like so many others Randy fell in love with the world’s first national park and all that it embodies. The result is this fine book, exceedingly well written and informative on environmental and human history beginning with the colossal explosions of the Yellowstone caldera that set the stage for what we see today, as well as the human dramas that have played out since the first Paleo Indians appeared more than 13,000 years ago to the arrival of the first European Americans in the area, the creation of Yellowstone Park, and then all the way through to the present day. Well written, massively researched, and personally experienced by Randy during countless visits to the park, A Place Called Yellowstone is highly recommended!” —Jeff Henry, fifty-year resident and employee in Yellowstone National Park, photographer and historian, and author of ten books on Yellowstone