An ode to our national parks, timed for the centennial, by the beloved author of When Women Were Birds Longlisted for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year America’s national parks are breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why more than 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now Terry Tempest Williams, the New York Times bestselling author of the environmental classic Refuge and the beloved memoir When Women Were Birds , returns with The Hour of Land , a literary celebration of our national parks and an exploration of what they mean to us and what we mean to them. From the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas, Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique, The Hour of Land is a meditation and a manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America. "Williams's language has its own visceral beauty. . . . The Hour of Land is one of the best nature books I've read in years."―Andrea Wulf, The New York Times Book Review "If you have never set foot in a national park, love the wilderness, like history, or enjoy great storytelling, The Hour of Land is calling you."― The Philadelphia Inquirer "Terry Tempest Williams is a force of nature in at least two ways. First, she pleads forcefully on behalf of the natural world, especially national parks, wilderness areas, and endangered species. And, second, she writes as she damn well pleases. . . . The author's trademark poetic prose dominates every page."―Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post "[A] necessary new book . . . Williams shows how national parks can be both symbols of and actual catalysts for the things that are best about America, offering a montage of grandeur that can not only make one tear up in gratitude and an embarrassing sort of patriotic pride but also demonstrate the real value of these 'wholesome' feelings to human emotional life, spurring one to engage differently with the world. . . . Williams' is only one voice in the polyphonic story of the American landscape. But it is an especially valuable one in addressing how land, even that which is nominally preserved in a state of Edenic purity, shifts with this country’s social history as much as it does through geology and time."― Jenny Hendrix, Slate "Whether contemplating the spiritual life she finds 'inside the heart of the wild' or marveling at the peaks and monuments that comprise 'our best idea' – the National Parks system – Williams movingly urges us to remember that 'heaven is here.'" ―O Magazine "Williams ( When Women Were Birds ), a longtime environmental activist, adds a meditative element to memoir as she shares her abiding love for America’s open spaces. . . . In passionate and insightful prose, Williams celebrates the beauty of the American landscape while reinforcing the necessity of responsible stewardship."― Publishers Weekly "A broadly ambitious and deeply impassioned collection of essays . . . There are few nonfiction writers who can capture the essence of the American wilderness landscape as eloquently as Williams. . . . Her distinctive prose style is capable of conveying a deep spiritual dimension within the physical setting. . . . An important, well-informed, and moving read for anyone interested in learning more about America’s national parks."― Kirkus Reviews "Readers who like their prose ardent and their politics leaning left will take particular pleasure in The Hour of Land. . . . Williams is frequently a lyrical writer and an intrepid thinker. . . . Reading her is better than buying a commemorative postage stamp ― she delivers us into a more thoughtful grove."―Karen R. Long, Newsday "An impassioned call to preserve and protect our national park system, America’s network of natural splendor, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. . . . Repeatedly, [Williams] calls for us to listen to the land, to respect it, to behave more responsibly. . . . [She] raises issues about movements to sell public lands, off-road vehicle damage and other 'acts of greed,' water use, toxic emissions from oil and gas development apparently causing increased infant mortality, and other problems. Williams awakens readers to present issues easily obscured by the National Park Service’s carefully cultivated, idyllic image. . . . She hopes to shake us from our fondness for souvenir T-shirts."―Irene Wanner, The Seattle Times " The Hour of Land is about National Parks as battlegrounds. What it means to hold land in trust, who defines its best uses, the tangibility of park boundaries, and whether and how we will reconcile our history with our present and future, are all tested on these lands. . . .