With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Ken Burns's love story--America's parks

Documentary film maker Ken Burns, creator of "The Civil War," is releasing a new series, "National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Burns told KIRO Radio's Dave Ross, "National Parks" isn't a travel diary or nature film, but a true story of people with stars you've heard of: the Roosevelts, John Muir, and John D. Rockefeller.

"What you have is a human drama set against some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth," said Burns.

The film maker, who grew up watching his father develop his own amateur photographs, says the tale of America's national parks is a love story, includes heroes and villains, and addresses huge struggles.

There's no agenda in "National Parks." Burns says he's just trying to tell stories. The 12 hour series starts in 1851 in what is now Yosemite Park and ends in the 1980's in Alaska....
Read entire article at http://www.mynorthwest.com