Yosemite: The Grace & Grandeur

Most people who have viewed the many natural wonders in the United States place Yosemite somewhere near the top in terms of remarkable beauty, grandeur and spirituality. If you have not yet been there, I certainly hope you will plan to do so. You probably already know the area from having seen many of the remarkable landscape shots done by Ansel Adams. Many people who have been to Yosemite feel that they know it well from having seen it from the bottom of Yosemite Valley and having viewed Mr. Adams's remarkable photography.I have had the pleasure of visiting Yosemite many times from when I was just a youngster growing up in California. Each time I go, I plan to see another part of the park. Interestingly, I find myself drawn more to the areas outside of the bottom of Yosemite Valley than to those areas where most visitors congregate. For example, when I took my wife there for her first visit, we went first to the Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias. I was hooked on this book when it started out the same way, after an introductory section that focuses on the geological, historical and political background of Yosemite. When I discovered that the book pays a lot of attention to the high country where most visitors never go (even though you can drive through Tioga Pass), I decided that it was important to encourage people to read this book. It will open your eyes, mind and heart to the full scope of Yosemite. By being in color, those images provide a totally different perspective on Yosemite. These views will help those who have been to Yosemite recapture the feelings that they had while there. For potential visitors, the book is an excellent resource for planning a worthwhile trip. I was especially pleased to see that the wildlife were well captured in the images. No book that I have read and enjoyed captures Yosemite so well for me as this one. I hope you will decide to read it.After you have finished the book, I urge you to find ways that you can commune with nature more frequently in places that inspire the positive parts of who you are.

"Yosemite - the Grace & Grandeur" is a must-have for anyone who plans to visit this beautiful park or who wants to re-live the memories of having visited it. While it's chock-full of beautiful photos (it's also called "A Pictorial Discovery Guide"), it also contains wonderfully written text about everything from the Park's history to its wildlife. We just got back from a visit to the park a couple of weeks ago, and immediately knew this one was a keeper!