BEFORE THEY'RE GONE

One family’s year-long adventure exploring the national parks of the United States.

Worried about the increasing evidence that global warming is affecting America’s national parks, Backpacker northwest editor Lanza crammed a year full of visits to 10 sites with his wife and two young children. Based on the premise that his children needed to see these natural wonders before the parks completely disappeared, the book is part family travelogue and part ecological observation. Scientists are not “talking about the distant future; they’re talking about ecological calamities and social breakdown on a scale unprecedented in human history, which many adults alive today will witness.” With this thought ever-present, Lanza writes with a bittersweet tone. He relishes his children’s joy as they discover these natural wonders for the first time and remembers his own first experiences. However, there is also a darker side to the narrative, as the author contemplates the sometimes-drastic changes that have taken place in the last 30-40 years. Glaciers that no longer exist in Glacier National Park, the erosion of shorelines as sea storms grow in strength, the death of Joshua trees in California’s Joshua Tree National Park—each site is under attack from events instigated primarily by humans. Although Lanza has opened the doors to this world to his children and readers alike, he offers no solutions to the current problems. His best advice: See what you can of these natural wonders before it’s too late.

Intriguing premise; decent execution—certainly of interest to environmentalists and other eco-minded readers.