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A fascinating history of the profitable paradox of the American outdoor experience: visiting nature first requires shopping No escape to nature is complete without a trip to an outdoor recreational store or a browse through online offerings. This is the irony of the American outdoor experience: visiting wild spaces supposedly untouched by capitalism first requires shopping. With consumers spending billions of dollars on clothing and equipment each year as they seek out nature, the American outdoor sector grew over the past 150 years from a small collection of outfitters to an industry contributing more than 2 percent of the nation's economic output. Rachel S. Gross argues that this success was predicated not just on creating functional equipment but also on selling an authentic, anticommercial outdoor identity. In other words, shopping for the woods was also about being--or becoming--the right kind of person. Demonstrating that outdoor culture is commercial culture, Gross examines Americans' journey toward outdoor expertise by tracing the development of the nascent outdoor goods industry, the influence of World War II on its growth, and the boom years of outdoor businesses.

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"Rachel S. Gross is a historian of the outdoor gear and apparel industry and an outdoor enthusiast. She is assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver, a history tour guide, and a curator of museum exhibits. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Melissa Redmond started her love affair with books when she was three. Her first introduction to audiobooks came at about the same time, when her dad, a Navy pilot, would read bedtime stories onto tapes and send them home while he was away on deployment. He did all the voices. Eventually, her love of the written word turned into a love of performance in various mediums. She graduated from the University of California San Diego with a degree in theater and has been working in theater, film, and voice-over ever since. Her voice has been described as ""A little smirk, a little sparkle . . . and just the right amount of smartass."" She's interested in a wide array of genres, with special affection for thriller, nonfiction, romantic comedy, and YA fantasy. When she isn't acting, she can be found hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area hills, dancing, and rescuing and rehabilitating injured marine mammals."

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