Are there any good books on the history of Yosemite?

[stripgaga]

So I just visited Yosemite and I'm all in Yosemite mode now and trying to gather as much info as I can so I'll know more about it when I visit again next year. But anyway, are there any good books just on the history of Yosemite like its original inhabitants, its settlers, John Miur and his contributions to the park, etc? Every book I've seen that has history is usually a visitors guide that has like only one chapter on its history and the rest on activities to do in the park. I bought the book "One best hike - Half Dome" by Rick Deutsch in preparation for my HD hike I did and even though the book was small, the first few chapters were a general history of how Yosemite was formed, who was living there, how it became protected and how HD became hikeable, then it went into HD preparation. But I wish it could have expanded more on the history part.

So any recommendations?

[dan]

YOSEMITE; The Embattled Wilderness by Alfred Runte (University of Nebraska: 1990). It's probably out of print now, but there's plenty of used copies. Focus is on Yosemite from the standpoint of the beginnings of the environmental movement. This is my favorite general history.

The Yosemite Grant 1864-1906: A Pictorial History by Hank Johnston (2008). Focus is on the early human history of Yosemite Valley, and political battles over it's preservation. Contains several very interesting historical photographs.

One Hundred Years in Yosemite (1947) by Carl P. Russell. Still in print. First scholarly work on Yosemite history, and very well written. Available online at http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/

Yosemite: the Park and its Resources (1987) by Linda W. Greene. NPS-written history written for park managers to understand Yosemite. Well-written and thorough, although it may go into too much detail to be used as an introductory history. Read the early chapters at least. Available online at http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_resources/

[stripgaga]

sweet, thanks. so you said the first one is your favorite, but have you read all of the others as well?

[dan]

I've read them all, and more .

I've also scanned over a hundred Yosemite books and posted them online:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/

You didn't ask, but my favorite John Muir book is My First Summer in the Sierra http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/my_first_summer_in_the_sierra/
It's based on Muir's journal the first time he visited Yosemite. It shows his youthful exuberance for Yosemite and because it's based on his Journal it's written in conversational style and not in the stilted style common with books back then.

[stripgaga]

awesome, thanks very much for the recommendations! got some reading to do now. When I visited Yosemite recently, I saw this book at one of the stores called "Off the wall, Death in Yosemite." I didn't buy it when I was there because I had just spent 80 bucks on gifts for my family, but I regretted it. But fortunately, I just went to Barnes and Noble and saw it so I bought it. I've only skimmed through it since I just bought it yesterday and it's pretty big, like 600 pages. Have you read that one?

[dan]

"Off the wall, Death in Yosemite." . . . Have you read that one?

I've read reviews about it, but I haven't read it. I might read it sometime. I hope it's an interesting narration of selected incidents, rather than a boring encyclopedic listing of all Yosemite deaths.

I was listening to a talk given by someone in YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue). The people who die in Yosemite aren't so much the rock climbers, say, but casual visitors. Usually young men playing around the lip of Yosemite Falls or wet rocky areas in the Valley, slipping, and dieing.

[stripgaga]

I've read a little of it so far and it's definitely interesting, not boring at all. It's not really a list of death, it tells the deaths by stories and accounts of who was there, such as search and rescue. The chapters are split up into how deaths were recorded, like waterfalls, climbing, freak accidents, etc. The book is like a way to help inform about the tragedies in yosemite and how life can be saved more than just being about death. I guess kind of like those locked up prison shows that tel how and why puerile get locked up and how shitty prison is as a deterrent to help keep people out. There are other stories of death like accidental plane crashes in the valley and whatnot. It's been interesting so far.

[sally]

I think when you are looking for books on the history, it is advantageous to mention WHAT part of the history. I have just finished reading "The Making of Yosemite" by Jen Huntley that seems to be quite informative. It does cover the beginning of tourism in the Valley. It does come at the suject from a different angle that what you will read in others. It is easy to read and well resourced. Then if you want the history of the Native People, you read another author and they are very much a part of this history.

[stripgaga]

The part of history I'm interested in the most is the beginning of the Yosemite Valley as it pertains to its first inhabitants until Yosemite becomes a park and tourist spot, kinda like what you were mentioning Sally. I know plenty about the geology so I'm not looking for a science book on its physical formation but moreso on the people who first inhabited, how Yosemite was discovered, and how it went from being a natural resource for the natives and their being forced out to its transformation into a national park and early tourist history.

[dan]

The best and only contemporary account of the Yosemite Indians is Lafayette Bunnell's Discovery of the Yosemite.

Al Runte's book previously mention goes into preservation history, including crazy schemes such as James Hutchings trying to claim 160 acres of land in the middle of Yosemite Valley (when it was made a state park).

Hank Johnston's book goes into the early settlers and developments into the Valley.

There is no "one" book that does in on Yosemite history. There is one such book that was attempted by an author unfamiliar with Yosemite history (I call a "drive by" author)--the book was published but has since sunk into obscurity.