Overview

The first comprehensive study of the park, past and present, Death Valley National Park probes the environmental and human history of this most astonishing desert. Established as a national monument in 1933, Death Valley was an anomaly within the national park system. Though many who knew this landscape were convinced that its stark beauty should be preserved, to do so required a reconceptualisation of what a park consists of, grassroots and national support for its creation, and a long and difficult political struggle to secure congressional sanction. This history begins with a discussion of the physical setting, its geography and geology, and descriptions of the Timbisha, the first peoples to inhabit this tough and dangerous landscape. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, new arrivals came to exploit the mineral resources in the region and develop permanent agricultural and resort settlements. Although Death Valley was established as a national monument in 1933, fear of the harsh desert precluded widespread acceptance by both the visiting public and its own administrative agency. As a result, Death Valley lacked both support and resources. This volume details the many debates over the park’s size; conflicts between miners, farmers, the military, and wilderness advocates; the treatment of the Timbisha; and the impact of tourists on its cultural and natural resources. In time, Death Valley came to be seen as one of the great natural wonders of the United States and was elevated to full national park status in 1994. The history of Death Valley National Park embodies the many tensions confronting American environmentalism.

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9780874179255

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Reviews

A compact yet well-researched history by noted UNLV history professor Rothman and Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . . Death Valley needs all the friends it can get, and Rothman and Miller are good ones. It's enough to make me want to gas up the Subaru and make a trip to Panamint Springs. I'll add their book to my shovel and spare tire because it's also a useful tool. Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and re-read, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. Mesquite Local News

A compact yet well-researched history by noted UNLV history professor Rothman and Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . . Death Valley needs all the friends it can get, and Rothman and Miller are good ones. It's enough to make me want to gas up the Subaru and make a trip to Panamint Springs. I'll add their book to my shovel and spare tire because it's also a useful tool. Mesquite Local News

A compact yet well-researched history by noted UNLV history professor Rothman and Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . . Death Valley needs all the friends it can get, and Rothman and Miller are good ones. It's enough to make me want to gas up the Subaru and make a trip to Panamint Springs. I'll add their book to my shovel and spare tire because it's also a useful tool. Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and re-read, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. --Mesquite Local News With this book, Rothman and Miller provide a most welcome addition to the literature of Death Valley. --Western Historical Quarterly-- Western Historical Quarterly The authors have done an admirable and thorough job of relating the valley's history within the framework of Death Valley as a national park. The have made exhaustive use of primary and secondary resources, including records created by Death Valley National Monument/Park administrations. . . This is an important contribution to the larger body of environmental history of the American West. --Nevada in the West-- Nevada in the West At 185 pages, it's a compact but well-research story first written by noted UNLV history professor Rothman an recently updated by Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and reread, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. --The Las Vegas Review Journal-- Las Vegas Review Journal All readers of this useful book . . . will have a clear sense of the park's contentious past, and likely agree with the authors' conclusion that 'managing Death Valley National Park never has been nor ever will be simple.' --Environmental History--Kevin C. Brown Environmental History (4/1/2015 12:00:00 AM) Hal K. Rothman and Char Miller are long-established heroes of U.S. environmental history. Therefore, their co-authoring Death Valley National Park is cause for celebration. Never before has this iconic landscape been examined with such judicious love and respect. Their prose sparkles and their research is impeccable. Highly recommended! --Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, history commentator for CBS News, and author of The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America Death Valley is truly one of our great national treasures. Rothman and Miller offer a compelling account of the people who inhabited and shaped the history of this remarkable landscape. --Dianne Feinstein, Senator Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and reread, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. --John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal

A compact yet well-researched history by noted UNLV history professor Rothman and Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . . Death Valley needs all the friends it can get, and Rothman and Miller are good ones. It s enough to make me want to gas up the Subaru and make a trip to Panamint Springs. I ll add their book to my shovel and spare tire because it s also a useful tool. Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and re-read, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. Mesquite Local News

All readers of this useful book . . . will have a clear sense of the park's contentious past, and likely agree with the authors' conclusion that 'managing Death Valley National Park never has been nor ever will be simple.' --Environmental History-- (04/01/2015) At 185 pages, it's a compact but well-research story first written by noted UNLV history professor Rothman an recently updated by Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and reread, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. --The Las Vegas Review Journal--Las Vegas Review Journal With this book, Rothman and Miller provide a most welcome addition to the literature of Death Valley. --Western Historical Quarterly--Western Historical Quarterly The authors have done an admirable and thorough job of relating the valley's history within the framework of Death Valley as a national park. The have made exhaustive use of primary and secondary resources, including records created by Death Valley National Monument/Park administrations. . . This is an important contribution to the larger body of environmental history of the American West. --Nevada in the West--Nevada in the West A compact yet well-researched history by noted UNLV history professor Rothman and Pomona College environmental professor Miller. . . . Death Valley needs all the friends it can get, and Rothman and Miller are good ones. It's enough to make me want to gas up the Subaru and make a trip to Panamint Springs. I'll add their book to my shovel and spare tire because it's also a useful tool. Death Valley National Park is destined to become dog-eared and re-read, the fine dust of the mystical desert place itself sprinkling its pages. --Mesquite Local News

Author Information

The late Hal K. Rothman (1958–2007) was Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. Char Miller is W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, USA.

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