Documentary Style
HistoricalThe National Parks: America's Best Idea
Whether you've visited these parks or dream of going, Burns reveals the improbable story of how they survived. A celebration of America's most inspiring conservation victories.
Year
2009
Type
series
Episodes
6
Language
English
Director
Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan
Genres
Summary
What if America's most breathtaking landscapes—the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite—had been sold to private developers and lost forever?
Ken Burns's stunning series chronicles how visionaries like naturalist John Muir, President Theodore Roosevelt, and advocate Stephen Mather fought fierce battles against mining, logging, and railroad interests to preserve these landscapes for everyone. Filmed over six years at spectacular locations, the series reveals through archival photographs and breathtaking cinematography how each park represents a hard-won victory that almost didn't happen.
Today these parks are among America's most beloved institutions, offering millions a connection to natural wonder that visionaries risked everything to protect.