William A. Turnage (1942–2017)

Adams the wilderness champion; illustrated.

Most people know Ansel Adams’ iconic photographs of gorgeous natural scenery in US national parks. But Adams’ passion for national parks went farther than documentation. He was also a forceful advocate who spoke and wrote in defense of preserving wilderness in national parks. This small gem pulls together familiar Adams images of national parks with his writing, both formal and informal, on national parks especially his most beloved Yosemite.

Adams’ most significant contribution to conservation was popularizing the concept of wilderness as spiritual retreat; a concept that demands we protect wilderness from too much human use, too much human carelessness, and even too much human love. This is where this book offers something enlightening and became more than just another pretty compilation of Adams’ photos. The images illustrate the places his words seek to describe, defend, and protect within the historical context of the national parks system formation and development at critical junctures.

The images are smaller scale than we are used to seeing them; however, they are sharp high-quality reproductions. This is not a comprehensive treatment of Adams’ views or a complete compilation of his writing. The selections in this book introduce his views to new readers and remind those, like me, who may have overlooked it that Adams was a serious conservationist.… (mer)