Nature's Spectacle

John Sheail is a Research Fellow of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK Natural Environment Research Council). This will be his tenth book, his most recent being An Environmental History of Twentieth Century Britain.

• Preface  1. Acts of Defiance  2. America's Invention  3. Scenic Reserves  4. The Forest Reserves  5. Wildlife Reserves  6. National Monuments  7. Conservation and the American Parks  8. Parks and Empire-Making  9. The Making of a Parks' System  10. National Playgrounds  11. Parks as Contested Grounds  12. Parks and the Wider Governance  13. An Uncertain Legacy

"This book is the most rounded account of the international development of national parks that I have seen – meticulously researched yet very readable." – W.M. Adams, Moran Professor of Conservation and Development, University of Cambridge, UK "This major historical treatment provides a global view of the first century of the national park movement. The very broad coverage of many countries provides the reader with a stimulating account of grand ideas as they developed." – Paul F. J. Eagles, Professor, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Canada "Taken in by the title and luminous cover photo, the casual reader might expect this book to describe, with suitable illustrations, the natural glories of National Parks around the world. But this not what John Sheail's book is about. Those in the know, however, will not be surprised to find thorough scholarship; Sheail is well established as a reviewer and commentator upon environmental conservation endeavour." – Alan Mowle, Bulletin of the British Ecological Society