Mackinac Bridge

Mackinac Bridge
Mackinac Bridge, taken from the ferry on the way to Mackinac Island.

Thursday, July 16, 2020

"Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park" by Lee H. Whittlesey

I almost hate to admit that I enjoy reading the "Death in" books.  Maybe "enjoy" isn't the word I am looking for, but I do find them so fascinating.

Well, Lee H. Whittlesey has given us, "Death in Yellowstone" noting all of the deaths that have occurred in that National Park.  Lee's book is mindbogglingly thorough.

There are a LOT of ways that death has happened in this park.  In fact, there are some ways that are almost exclusive to Yellowstone.  I absolutely don't want to get too detailed here, but there are some natural boiling hot water pools at Yellowstone.  There are bears.

AND, the area has a lot of history too.  OLD history- so there are deaths that have happened involving Indian wars and stage coaches.

Lee's writing style is perfect for this volume too.  The details of each case are given a good amount of attention.  Its obvious that he took his time combing through archives and old papers.  Interestingly, he even has some personal connections to some of the tragedies.

I took some time and read through this one slowly, as each story is fascinating.  This would make for some interesting reading before or during a trip to the park!


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