[.uk] Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into National Parks (ISBN 1592237843)

A Different Sort of Travel Guide: Fascinating Park Trivia:
This latest Uncle John publication proclaims on its back cover "It's time to hit the Trail!" Hit the history books is more like it. This wonderful little volume is full of fascinating trivia about the national parks and monuments found in the US and Canada. Each chapter is brief enough to be read during a single trip to the throne room of your house, and for the most part the prose is enjoyable enough to keep you coming back. Favorite stories for me were "The Great Pig War" in which the US and England nearly managed to go to war over a dead pig (San Juan Island National Historic Park) and the Mojave National Preserve's "lonely phonebooth." For the most part the history and folklore seemed accurate enough, though the authors did slip a little when they wrote that Ansel Adams had saved King's Canyon with pictures of its Giant Sequoia Grove. There is no such grove in King's Canyon proper. General Grant Grove is now administered as a part of King's Canyon National Park, but it has been protected since 1890. In any event, King's Canyon was preserved because it so closely resembled Yosemite. On the other hand, virtually every other element of the book is accurate. Indeed, this is one of the few sources I have ever read that correctly notes Hot Springs Arkansas is the oldest National Park, dating back to 1835, long before the Yosemite Grant or the creation of Yellowstone National Park. So, by all means get this rather unusual travel guide. It probably won't help much with actual trip planning, but it is nice for whiling away the time between trips: especially that portion of the time when you are otherwise preoccupied.

Uncle John is still producing:
Interesting tid bits about National Parks. Suggest you read this before visiting the parks. You might decide to change your routings, in some cases.

Great book:
As an avid BRI reader, I was really looking forward to this book. It has lived up to all my expectations. If anyone is interested in national parks in the US and Canada, this is "must" reading.

Great Book:
I am very pleased with how soon this book was received. The book is very interesting and informative regarding National Parks. It is a hard book to put down once you start reading.

More of a serious facts rather than fun:
The book was good and tells you good information. But it is not typical of a bathroom reader than is more fun facts.