Fatal Accidents--Scalding, Mauling and Other Natural Disasters in Yellowstone National Park
Written: Apr 03 '01
Product Rating:
Pros: First half is filled with natural fatalities serving as useful lessons while touring Yellowstone.
Cons: Second half is not as educational and is more historical. Writing isn't as poignant.
The Bottom Line: This is a fine book if the reader skips the second half and doesn't mind graphic descriptions. It is well-worth reading before a trip into the wilds of Yellowstone.
martyfig's Full Review: Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness ...
"The Park Can Kill" (qtd. in Whittlesey).
Lee Whittlesey is the historical archivist for the Yellowstone National Park and has obviously done his homework. Throughout this novel, he details three hundred deaths at Yellowstone National Park since the park’s inception during the 1870’s.
The novel is not constructed chronologically. Instead, he lists each chapter under a type of fatality (i.e., deaths by scalding, mauling by animals, poisonous plants, noxious fumes, avalanches, falling, fires, drowning and murders). However, the strength of this piece is found in his descriptions of natural fatalities and accidents not in its man vs. man calamities. This isn’t a book of true-crimes taking place in the wilderness anyway although the second half of the book puts a strong concentration in that area.
Several chapters are so riveting that the book is hard to put down. The introduction, the first seven paragraphs, setting up the first chapter is an effective example of writing that puts a “hook” out for its audience, baiting us to continue. Indeed, it would be near impossible to pick up this book and not buy it from reading the first anecdote. A man dives into a pool to save his dog. An obvious tragedy immediately occurs.
Apparently, the hot spring was later measured at 202 degrees F— “but the spring looked so warm and benevolent,” a bystander might have murmured. However, it should be noted that this isn’t a “bashing” book designed to point out people’s stupidity in the wild. Many a pet owner would do just about anything to retrieve a loved pet in a perilous situation. Often times, these pools look benign, almost pleasant, the perfect place for a good hot mineral soak to relax.
This wasn’t the case in the first story. Whittlesey leaves you with something to think about and is very graphic. It should be noted that this book is not suitable for family reading or small children. However, if you delete the graphic details, the first two to three chapters could be very instructional in a family setting for offering advice on areas that the average reader may not even perceive as dangerous. As a parent, this book should be a must read (for parents only) before taking small children anywhere in the park, especially in the spring areas or along trails.
The advice Whittlesey offers isn’t necessarily obvious, and some of it should be noted if planning a vacation to Yellowstone. A good example of this kind of advice is when Whittlesey offers the audience five rock-solid reasons why you should never take a dog along on the trails in Yellowstone. It is terrifying to hear why this is so. The reasons why are perfectly logical—once you read his anecdotes.
Not all of his anecdotes are instructional. Many chapters are quite sad and show the waste of human lives. In his chapters on deaths from falling objects, a reader may well find himself forever resisting that primordial urge to hurl rocks off of a cliff, especially so when the bottom isn’t in one-hundred percent clear sight. There are several heart-breaking stories of children killed by falling rocks.
Not only rocks, but also most obviously, dangers from water were some of the more riveting tales in part one. Adventurous climbers, forever in pursuit of taking that “perfect picture,” have met tragic ends resulted in deaths from landing in the rough waters. Having visited Yellowstone Park shortly after reading this book, I personally found these descriptions to be the most haunting. Several people have met their death in the falls and areas of the Grand Canyon in the Yellowstone River. I visited one spot where a mother went over not one but both of the vicious falls. Needless to say, I gripped the railings like my hands were glued to them at all times as I watched the water splash and spray where she had allegedly went over. Every rock, no matter how small along the trail, I meticulously avoided for fear of sliding off the trail and landing into the river.
Deaths not only from the river but also in some of the numerous lakes are covered and should be visited with caution. There are two tragic tales of Boy Scouts meeting with calamity in the Yellowstone Lake, one of the most dangerous lakes imaginable. Again, the author relates to us some advice that we may not know or understand. The day I visited Yellowstone Lake, the wind was high and the lake reminded me of lake Michigan during a storm; it was hard to imagine anyone taking a canoe on that lake, and yet many people do just that. Do they know what necessary precautions to take?
This is quite the tale from beginning to the middle. The second half entitled, “Part Two: Death By Man” isn’t worth reading. The feel of the book changes dramatically. The audience is in the mood to hear of natural calamities not man-made. So the tale winds considerably down after that point. Still, for those first 128 pages, the book is worth the buy at a second-hand store; or better still, make sure you check it out for free at your public library before you leave for your Yellowstone Park vacation.
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