The Susquehana River is the longest river in the eastern United States, running 444 miles from its headwaters in the Appalachian Mountains of New York to its outlet in Chesapeake Bay. Its storied history includes the early native populations of Susquehannock and Iroquois peoples, the key roles it played in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and environmental degradation brought on the by industrialization in the 19th century.

Revised with a new epilogue, "We the People," this fifth edition of National Parks: The American Experience continues the highly engaging story of how Americans invented and expanded the concept of national parks. A prominent adviser to the Ken Burns Emmy Award-winning documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Alfred Runte is renowned as the nation's leading historian on the meaning and management of these treasured lands. Further supported with period photographs and now twelve pages of color paintings, National Parks remains a stirring look into the lands that define America, from Yosemite and Yellowstone to wilderness Alaska. This is how we got our parks, and looking to the future, the challenges that remain in preserving them. Are "we the people" still up to the task? Yes, this history advises, but only if we consistently cherish the national unity that our commitment to the parks further demands.