A Woman in the Great Outdoors: Adventures in the National Park Service

I've never before considered the complexities of providing the National Park experiences I have often enjoyed. Not a simple choice of careers. No easy answers. Jackson Hole and Teton have captivated me for years. Never guessed the intrigue behind my simple enjoyment of nature. I really enjoyed this book, even though I am not involved with any of these careers and have never been as enthralled with history as the author. Her enthusiasm and commitment is contagious. Surprisingly, it kept me turning pages not unlike my staple escapist mystery novels. Humor, humility, candor, brashness, irony, frustration, pride, hope, persistence, idealism, pragmatism, insecurity, confidence, tactlessness, and diplomacy....it's there. Interesting mix of the subjective and objective made the material more personal and interesting to me. Found additional insight into environmental, political and social issues always of interest. Apparently, women's challenges in the 70's & 80's were similar across many different career paths.

Melody Webb was a pioneering female in the National Park Service during the latter decades of the 20th century; woman superintendents and upper-level managers are now commonplace in that agency, but they definitely were not then. Her memoir deserves a wide readership on that account alone. But this is not a women's lib story. It is an insider's frank, critical, and also interesting account of office politics in an organization we seldom associate with offices or politics. Better yet, Webb is an engaging writer, who does not take herself too seriously, and whose native sense of humor comes through on every page. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the parks or the Park Service, in the changing places of women in recent decades, and above all for anybody who simply loves a good read about interesting people doing interesting jobs in the most interesting places in the world. Five stars, and six if they had 'em.

Melody Webb's book offers two messages: one, we are loving our national parks to death, and two, women have a role in managing them. She tells about her experiences as a public historian and as supervisor in several national parks with the purpose of elevating awareness of how management practices and use by visitors threaten these national treasures. While involved in work previously assigned to men, she never wavers from a feminine introspection and awareness of the impact of her personality and temperament on her professional life. She proves that a woman can succeed in roles traditionally assigned to men. This book is a must-read for young women who dream of entering professions once thought of as being open only to men.

Melody Webb's stunningly candid account of life in the National Park Service is by far the best memoir in the recent history of the agency. She tells it like it is, with candor and frankness, showing both the ideals that make the Park Service wonderful and the political murkiness that makes management nigh on impossible. Webb's picture makes sense; she is a close observer who is fair in her depictions of how the agency operates and of how those in power use their cachet. Shed tells a cogent and understandable story, free from the biases of casual observers and the axe-grinding of other participants. Well-written and well told, this is best memoir about the National Park Service that I have ever read - and I've read them all! This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know how the national parks are run.Hal RothmanHenderson NV

As bureau historian for the National Park Service from 1982 to 2000, I scrutinized every published memoir by former agency leaders. Melody Webb's account is unique in offering the perspective not of a director or other top official but of a historian and superintendent who dealt more closely with park resources and visitors. It offers remarkably candid and revealing insights into how our national parks are managed and the challenges faced by those managing them. It presents as well the particular opportunities and obstacles confronted by a woman advancing in a traditional male-dominated bureaucracy. Those seeking a better behind-the-scenery depiction of the parks and the park service will not soon find one.