THE STATE PARKS: Their Meaning in American Life

As Conrad L. Wirth, the Director of the National Park Service, states in his Foreword to this book: ""No comprehensive survey and report on the state parks has been attempted since the publication of Beatrice Ward Nelson's State Recreation in 1928 and Herbert Evison's A State Park Anthology in 1929. And, when these books were written, many of the states not only had no state parks, but had no well-based hopes of having any."" Mr. Tilden's work has amply corrected this state of affairs. It is ""directed toward legislators, conservation agencies and organizations, schools, and particularly the general public."" While he does not attempt to describe every area and shrine covered by the designation, he has certainly included all of any size or reputation. To quote Mr. Wirth again: ""Freeman Tilden was chosen as author because of his discerning mind and inimitable style....It is intended that this book will stand as a companion piece of his 1951 publication, The National Parks--What They Mean To You and Me."" It should, and will be consulted as a most valuable source of information by vacationers, picnickers, and campers everywhere. If his style is hardly ""Inimitable"", it is charged throughout with an infectiously lively interest in his subject.