Camping Grounds
Public Nature in American Life from the Civil War to the Occupy Movement
Phoebe S.K. Young
Reviews and Awards
Winner, Norris and Carol Hundley Book Award, Pacific Coast Branch or the American Historical Association
"This is a magnificent study of camping in the US, from the mid-19th century to 2019. Camping has had significantly different meanings at different times in US history, and Young explores three different eras. Early camping was primarily a way of sheltering while traveling, or while in a state of military transition, with emphasis on organizing people....Camping as a choice and pastime emerged later and played a role in changing views of class and race in the US....In the late 19th century, camping became an alternative to resort vacations, taking on social and economic implications. The camping equipment industry and planned campgrounds emerged. The popularity of camping in the second half of the 20th century created environmental and institutional problems, resulting in a wilderness ethic and economic opportunities....Relevant to social and environmental studies and law....Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals." -- Choice
"A varied and comprehensive overview of modern camping with ample detail and sociological perspective on the origins of camping and its roles in war, protest, consumerism, and class discrimination." -- Zebulin Evelhoch, Library Journal
"Young, an environmental historian, traces "camping" back to the Civil War and explores its implications for social justice and political discourse—beyond its more obvious role as a mere diversional outdoor activity." -- Lela Nargi, The Sierra Club
"In Camping Grounds, Phoebe Young presents the surprisingly political history of sleeping outside, in which veterans, vagrants, migrants, recreationists, protestors, bureaucrats, officials, police, and others have fought over the meaning of public nature, with profound implications for American life and the American social compact. Artfully written, creatively researched, a tour de force that will change the way you see your country." -- Louis S. Warren, University of California, Davis
"In this brilliant new book, Phoebe Young asks a seemingly simple question: 'What does it mean to camp and why does it matter?' The answer is strikingly complex and in its pursuit Camping Grounds offers a radically inclusive vision of America's public nature and environmental culture." -- Char Miller, author of Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream
"Phoebe Young strips the innocence from sleeping under the stars, revealing this quintessential American pastime as a precarious practice — one long bedeviled by class tensions, legal wrangling over the definition of camping, and ever-shifting claims on public nature." -- Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
"My recommendation?: gather 'round the campfire with a s'more, and read this smart, engaging book. Young exposes the 'simple life' of camping as a complex set of negotiations historically about your environments, your government, your fellow citizens...and yourself." -- Jenny Price, Stop Saving the Planet!: An Environmentalist Manifesto