BOOK REVIEW: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO NATIONAL PARKS OF UNITED STATES

Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! How's life treating you? Today a mix of fashion and reading. This post originally contained more links to dresses, but since the site where those dresses are located is no longer available, I removed the links. What remains is what review and recommendation of a National Geographic book.

I believe this is my first time reviewing a National Geographic book, but I hope it won't be my last. As much as I love reading literature and fiction, it is nice to branch out a bit from time to time and read something different. I was always fascinated by National Parks in USA. There are so many of them. So, I thought, why not read and review this one? It's been a while since I reviewed a non-fiction book, so this should be fun. Reading this book was exactly that- fun. An easy read that won't be hard to review at all.

WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS IT? 

This book is certainly an excellent guide to national parks of USA. I would say it's exactly what it presents itself to be.  I got what I expected from it, I'd say. This little book is packed with useful information and a lovely selection of photographs. Its pocket size, so don't expect too much from these NG photographs, they're quite small- and so is the writing, which strains the eyes a bit. I think this one is meant to be more of a reference book and that's how it works. The printing is great, though. I imagine this book would hold well over the years.

 I didn't buy it, I just read a copy from the library. The study of parks is obviously short but the writing is descriptive enough to get you a feeling of them. It is well written and interesting book about US national parks. I don't plan to buy it, as it is not the kind of book I could use. I might buy a National Geographic book eventually, but it won't be a small size one. I included some photographs, if you would like to have a look at this book. 

I always say that national parks are the first thing I'd like to see if I ever visit the United States. So, while we were in the library my husband pointed out that I would enjoy a book like this one. I sure did. As I said, it's a great reference book.

 One of the things I liked is that the information presented is incredibly specific. For example, the foliage in X park is best in X month. Y park offers the most in Y period. You might want to stay more than just a few hours in X park and so on. 

Yes, the specific information I found in here was most welcome. On the other hand, a few more personal sentences wouldn't have hurt. I like how informative the writing was, but it would be great to read a more personal account of these parks, even if it was a single sentence. 

There are so many of them, after all. It is easy to get lost in all that information. A bit more of history would be welcome. An anecdote or to would have been appreciated. They could have included recommendations from real visitors. I think that would have given the book a more 'real' feel. I understand the editors didn't have a lot of space, but little 'personal' details could have made a lot of difference. 

Nevertheless, it is a great book. I imagine it would be most useful to someone actually living in USA because they would have the best options of visiting all these parks all year round, but it is also a good reference for travellers, especially those who are nature lovers. 

If you love to watch National Geographic or are familiar with them, you can probably guess what you can expect from them. To conclude, this book is a lovely guide to national parts of United States. 

This book did make me want to learn more. It also made me learn something, so that's always good!

WHAT DID I LEARN? 

USA HAS 63 NATIONAL PARKS- NOT SURPRISING, AS IT IS A LARGE COUNTRY!

I quizzed Wikipedia for more information.

The United States has 63 national parks, which are congressionally designated protected areas operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior.^[1] National parks are designated for their natural beauty, unique geological features, diverse ecosystems, and recreational opportunities, typically "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena."^[2] While legislatively all units of the National Park System are considered equal with the same mission, national parks are generally larger and more of a destination, and hunting and extractive activities are prohibited.^[3] National monuments, on the other hand, are also frequently protected for their historical or archaeological significance. Eight national parks (including six in Alaska) are paired with a national preserve, areas with different levels of protection that are administered together but considered separate units and whose areas are not included in the figures below. 

Thank you for reading and visiting!