National parks are supposed to provide a place of solace, reflection, observing beauty, learning, peace and recreation. Their beauty and resources, however, have also attracted plunders, developers and the jealous glances of greedy government officials. The National Park Service has responsibility for administering the 378 diverse units comprising 83.4 million acres of land. The NPS has done a good job in an extremely difficult mission. The book brings together the key issues threatening American national parks while at the same time shedding light on specific parks.