Death in Yellowstone by Lee Whittlesey

Title: Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park (2nd Edition)

Author: Lee Whittlesey

Publisher: Roberts Rinehart 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages:412

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; 52 Books -- W26

The chilling tome that launched an entire genre of books about the often gruesome but always tragic ways people have died in our national parks, this updated edition of the classic includes calamities in Yellowstone from the past sixteen years, including the infamous grizzly bear attacks in the summer of 2011 as well as a fatal hot springs accident in 2000. In these accounts, written with sensitivity as cautionary tales about what to do and what not to do in one of our wildest national parks, Whittlesey recounts deaths ranging from tragedy to folly—from being caught in a freak avalanche to the goring of a photographer who just got a little too close to a bison. Armchair travelers and park visitors alike will be fascinated by this important book detailing the dangers awaiting in our first national park.

I grabbed this book from the new releases shelf at the library.  I'll admit that the title made me pick it up.  And I'm glad I did.  While the book really is about recording all deaths in Yellowstone (and immediate surrounding area), I found another aspect of the book more intriguing.  Occasionally the author has a story about early life in the park, sometimes before it even was a park.  Those glimpses into history were much more interesting to me than the death stories.  Overall, a very interesting random read for the week.