John Jameson is Professor of History at Kent State University. He has explored Big Bend since childhood.

The Story of Big Bend is worth the read for anyone wanting to learn what lives within the park, both in scenery and species, and the efforts undertaken by those willing to fight for it. As any natural area, its story will outlive us. Perhaps that is why we keep returning to it. (Austin Cultural Events Examiner) Jameson has a personal relationship with Big Bend, and his appreciation of the park will be apparent to even the casual reader. His work offers students of national parks a valuable case study of the often convoluted process by which such areas are established. More importantly, it affords park enthusiasts a glimpse into the lively historical and vital contemporary issues that contribute to their experience while visiting this jewel of the national park system. (Environmental History)

• List of IllustrationsPrefacePrologue. A "Fabulous Corner of the World": An Introduction to Big Bend1. The Campaign for Texas' First National Park2. Texas Politics and the Park Movement, 1935-19443. A Park for the People from the People: Land Acquisition at Big Bend4. Promoting a Park to "Excel Yellowstone": Publicity and Public Relations5. From Dude Ranches to Haciendas: A Half-Century of Planning6. The "Predator Incubator" and Other Controversies: Managing Natural Resources7. "The Ultimate 'Tex-Mex Project'": Companion Parks on the Rio Grande8. Life and Work in a Desert Wilderness: Visitor and Employee ExperiencesEpilogue. Big Bend at Fifty: Into the Twenty-first CenturyNotesBibliographyIndex

John Jameson is Professor of History at Kent State University. He has explored Big Bend since childhood.

The Story of Big Bend is worth the read for anyone wanting to learn what lives within the park, both in scenery and species, and the efforts undertaken by those willing to fight for it. As any natural area, its story will outlive us. Perhaps that is why we keep returning to it. (Austin Cultural Events Examiner) Jameson has a personal relationship with Big Bend, and his appreciation of the park will be apparent to even the casual reader. His work offers students of national parks a valuable case study of the often convoluted process by which such areas are established. More importantly, it affords park enthusiasts a glimpse into the lively historical and vital contemporary issues that contribute to their experience while visiting this jewel of the national park system. (Environmental History)

• List of IllustrationsPrefacePrologue. A "Fabulous Corner of the World": An Introduction to Big Bend1. The Campaign for Texas' First National Park2. Texas Politics and the Park Movement, 1935-19443. A Park for the People from the People: Land Acquisition at Big Bend4. Promoting a Park to "Excel Yellowstone": Publicity and Public Relations5. From Dude Ranches to Haciendas: A Half-Century of Planning6. The "Predator Incubator" and Other Controversies: Managing Natural Resources7. "The Ultimate 'Tex-Mex Project'": Companion Parks on the Rio Grande8. Life and Work in a Desert Wilderness: Visitor and Employee ExperiencesEpilogue. Big Bend at Fifty: Into the Twenty-first CenturyNotesBibliographyIndex

John Jameson is Professor of History at Kent State University. He has explored Big Bend since childhood.

The Story of Big Bend is worth the read for anyone wanting to learn what lives within the park, both in scenery and species, and the efforts undertaken by those willing to fight for it. As any natural area, its story will outlive us. Perhaps that is why we keep returning to it. (Austin Cultural Events Examiner) Jameson has a personal relationship with Big Bend, and his appreciation of the park will be apparent to even the casual reader. His work offers students of national parks a valuable case study of the often convoluted process by which such areas are established. More importantly, it affords park enthusiasts a glimpse into the lively historical and vital contemporary issues that contribute to their experience while visiting this jewel of the national park system. (Environmental History)

• List of IllustrationsPrefacePrologue. A "Fabulous Corner of the World": An Introduction to Big Bend1. The Campaign for Texas' First National Park2. Texas Politics and the Park Movement, 1935-19443. A Park for the People from the People: Land Acquisition at Big Bend4. Promoting a Park to "Excel Yellowstone": Publicity and Public Relations5. From Dude Ranches to Haciendas: A Half-Century of Planning6. The "Predator Incubator" and Other Controversies: Managing Natural Resources7. "The Ultimate 'Tex-Mex Project'": Companion Parks on the Rio Grande8. Life and Work in a Desert Wilderness: Visitor and Employee ExperiencesEpilogue. Big Bend at Fifty: Into the Twenty-first CenturyNotesBibliographyIndex