Foreword by William CrononPrefaceAcknowledgmentsThe Peculiar Past of a National MonumentThe Seeds of ControversyPrimeval Parks and the Wilderness Movement"A Mere Millpond"Searching for an Alternate SiteWilderness for a New GenerationThe Great Evaporation ControversyThe Politics of PreservationA Symbol of WildernessTriumph of the Park SystemEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

The Echo Park controversy marks the beginning of the modern wilderness movement. Understanding it is essential for knowing the importance of wilderness in American culture. -- Roderick Nash, author of Wilderness and the American Mind A Symbol of Wilderness is a superb introduction to what has made the wilderness movement a significant force in 20th century environmentalism. This is a natural for classroom use. -- William L. Lang, Portland State University With the recent proliferation of dam-removal campaigns and rising concern over the ecological impacts of artificial reservoirs, this is a must-read for anyone-scholar, student, or general reader-seeking to comprehend the complex relationship between large-scale dams and the environmental movement. -- Donald C. Jackson, author of Building the Ultimate Dam: John S. Eastwood and the Control of Water in the West By every standard of narrative and historical scholarship, this book is a major contribution to our understanding of protected parks and wilderness. -- Alfred Runte, author of National Parks: The American Experience