National Parks: Our American Landscape Paperback – March 1, 2011

This is a wonderful book, but you should understand what you're buying. It is a photo only book. There is no park information whatsoever, just pictures. The pictures are gorgeous. A couple minor issues: not every park is represented in the book (most are from the same parks over & over) and I was a bit disappointed that many of the fold out pictures were of animals and not the landscapes. There were other pictures in the book that seemed more deserving of the fold-outs.Overall, I'd say it's a good coffee table book and one I probably wish I'd just checked out in a library instead of purchasing.

I think the photography in this book is nice, and the selection of subjects is good as well. But I feel the book could have been better, and that there are better books on America's National Parks with more impressive photographs.

Ian Shive brought the life and colors of the national parks to the pages of this book. His visions of the parks are not just beautiful but unimaginable.I was amazed by his technique and his patience for great photos. He combined the best of wilderness, wildlife, history and human footprint in this book.Some of these pictures, such as a coyote tracking its prey, morning dew on a spiderweb, rainbow over Denali, or a pink Death Valley landscape from sunset, are rarely things that you can plan on seeing when you visit the parks. It really requires endurance, will, and great attentions to detail to make it happen and Ian Shive has them all.The printing quality of the book is great as well. Highly recommended!!

The book is gorgeous, but I was disappointed that too many of the photos were "wasted" in my opinion. I didn't want to see pictures of a bird or a leaf, a snake, some flowers, or a school of fish. I wanted nothing but panoramic views of the parks' main attractions. Still a beautiful book, great for a gift to someone who loves America's National Parks. I am, nevertheless, pleased to own the book and will enjoy deciding which park to visit next by looking at the beautiful photography.

I'm not the kind of guy who would usually describe a book as "beautiful and breathtaking", but this one really is. The photography is just amazing. From the panoramic landscapes to the closeups, the images just make you feel like you're actually there. I'm a great fan of National Parks, and this book makes me wish to visit them more often.The book is neatly bound and the quality of the paper it is printed on makes the photos shine even more. The text very appropriately complements the photography.Just one minor criticism: Among my favorite parks, Zion is only photographed once, and there is not a single picture of Bryce Canyon. Well, maybe next time. Five stars anyway.

I bought this as a gift for our French friends. The first time I opened the book (softback) the spine broke off of the book. Arrrgh. I ended up pasting it back on, but this was not good. The construction is poor. Maybe the hardback book is better. Otherwise the book has beautiful pictures of our National Parks and is a great memory book to give as a gift.

I love the National Parks and have visited a lot of them. And I have seen tons of pictures from the National Parks. However, the photographs from this book are amazing. Actually, amazing is not enough to describe their beauty. Then there are the captions, which make the pictures come alive. Not only I bought the book for myself, I bought another one for my son, who also loves National Parks.

Let me just say that the book looks awesome. I opened it up and just took a glimpse. It smelled as if it was fresh off the press. I heard some cracking when the pages were turned as with any newly printed book. Then I realized the soft cover came off. Then realized that it was the actual cover with the spine exposed. This was within 2 hours of opening the book. It looks like the printing house used the cover that covers the hard edition and attempted to glue it to the pages. Poor performance on the printing house. I probably would keep it but I'm afraid that the book will self destruct. IAN SHIVE did a great job with this book up until choosing this publisher/printing house.Book-5 starsBook construction-0 stars