King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think about Nature

by William C. Tweed

Overview

A naturist and historian for the National Parks Service offers a lively history of the giant sequoias of California and the love of nature they inspired.
 
Former park ranger William C. Tweed takes readers on a tour of some of the world’s largest and oldest trees in a narrative that travels deep into the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the American West, and all the way to New Zealand. Along the way, he explores the American public's evolving relationship with sequoias, also known simply and affectionately as Big Trees.
 
It’s no surprise that the sequoia groves of Yosemite and Calaveras were early tourist destinations. The species was the embodiment of California's superlative appeal. These giant redwoods were so beloved that special protections efforts sprang up to protect them from logging interests—and so began the notion of National Parks. Later, as science evolved to consider landscapes more holistically, sequoias once again played a major role in shaping this new perspective. Featuring a fascinating cast of adventurers, researchers, politicians, and environmentalists, King Sequoia reveals how one tree species transformed Americans' connection to the natural world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597143561
Publisher:	Heyday
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	319
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

William C. Tweed brings humans closer to nature using the knowledge and skills he developed during thirty years as a chief naturalist, historian, and writer with the National Park Service. His published works include Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks: The Story Behind the Scenery (KC Publications, 1980); Challenge of the Big Trees: A Resource History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (coauthored with Larry Dilsaver, Sequoia Naturalist History Association, 1990); Death Valley and the Northern Mojave: A Visitor's Guide (coauthored with Lauren Davis, Cachuma Press, 2003); and Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks (University of California Press, 2010). Tweed makes his home in Bend, Oregon.