Glacier National Park: A Culmination of Giants

by George Bristol

Overview

Bristol takes readers on a journey through the history of Glacier National Park, beginning over a billion years ago from the formation of the Belt Sea, to the present day climate-changing extinction of the very glaciers that sculpted most of the wonders of its landscapes. He delves into the ways in which this area of Montana seemed to have been preparing itself for the coming of humankind through a series of landmass adjustments like the Lewis Overthrust and the ice ages that came and went.
 
First there were tribes of Native Americans whose deep regard for nature left the landscape intact. They were followed by Euro-American explorers and settlers who may have been awed by the new lands, but began to move wildlife to near extinction. Fortunately for the area that would become Glacier, some began to recognize that laying siege to nature and its bounties would lead to wastelands.
 
Bristol recounts how a renewed conservation ethic fostered by such leaders as Emerson, Thoreau, Olmstead, Muir, and Teddy Roosevelt took hold. Their disciples were Grinnell, Hill, Mather, Albright, and Franklin Roosevelt, and they would not only take up the call but rally for the cause. These giants would create and preserve a park landscape to accommodate visitors and wilderness alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943859481
Publisher:	University of Nevada Press
Publication date:	07/05/2017
Series:	America's National Parks
Edition description:	1
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	223,913
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

George Bristol has visited Glacier National Park since 1961. In 1999 he co-founded The Glacier Fund which became the Glacier National Park Conservation. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction xxi

1 Laying the Foundation: Three Giants-Sedimentation, Crystal Movement, Erosion 3

2 Footprints: The Original People 11

3 The Coming of Napikwan: Explorers, Settlers, and a One-Eyed Baron with Vision 27

4 Except for the Founding Fathers 43

5 Louis Hill, George Bird Grinnell, and the Fight to Save a Crown 55

6 Molding a National Park: 1910-1929 74

7 The National Park Service and Park Makers: 1915-1933 93

8 A Road, Another Roosevelt, and the CCC 114

9 Post-War America: A Renewed Love Affair Creates a Dilemma 133

10 Looking Ahead 149

11 The Main Thing Is the Whole Thing 165

Appendix A Franklin D. Roosevelt Radio Address from Two Medicine Chalet, Glacier National Park 175

Appendix B Report of Presidential Visit to Glacier National Paik 179

Bibliography 191

Further Reading 199

About the Author 203

Index 205

What People are Saying About This

Mrs. Laura W. Bush

“Glacier is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. George Bristol’s love for the park is perfectly displayed on these pages as he examines Glacier’s past and prepares readers for the next 100 years of America’s best idea, our national parks.” 

Editorial Reviews

"George Bristol extols the splendid attractions of Glacier National Park with unbridled enthusiasm.  His well-researched book recognizes that the preservation of this great mountainous land did not just happen."
—The Inside Trail


​"...this new book will be a welcome addition to the park's literature, particularly as a visitor's traveling companion to the 'crown of the continent.'"
—The Western Historical Quarterly


“Glacier is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. George Bristol’s love for the park is perfectly displayed on these pages as he examines Glacier’s past and prepares readers for the next 100 years of America’s best idea, our national parks.”
—Mrs. Laura W. Bush, former First Lady of the United States​

From the Publisher

?"...this new book will be a welcome addition to the park's literature, particularly as a visitor's traveling companion to the 'crown of the continent.'" 

Western Historical Quarterly

"George Bristol extols the splendid attractions of Glacier National Park with unbridled enthusiasm.  His well-researched book recognizes that the preservation of this great mountainous land did not just happen."

The Inside Trail