| Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 46 reviews)
Sales Rank: 44076
Category: Book
Author: Lee Whittlesey
Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
Studio: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
Manufacturer: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
Label: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 1570980217
Dewey Decimal Number: 978.752
EAN: 9781570980213
ASIN: 1570980217
Publication Date: June 25, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Intriguing stories of how people have died in Yellowstone warn about the many dangers that exist there and in wild areas in general.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 Let's take a dip in that boiling hot cauldron October 15, 2008
I'll say at the outset that while I liked certain aspects of ''Death in Yellowstone'', it was published more than a dozen years ago and contains no updates. Anyone searching for information on recent deaths in Yellowstone will not find anything in this book. With that out of the way, I did find the book interesting although somewhat macabre.
''Death in Yellowstone'' contains details on the more than 300 unexpected deaths in the park other than traffic accidents or those of natural causes. Many of the stories are very tragic, but it underscores the fact that visiting a wild, natural area contains some risks. And those risks increase if people do not pause and think about what they are doing.
The most engrossing (and most detailed) deaths involve visitors who have fallen into the hot springs and other geothermal pools within Yellowstone. I found these compelling because I could almost put myself in the place of these unfortunate souls who either ventured too close to danger or, in the case of children, wandered into boiling hot pools not realizing how treacherous they are.
The rest of the book covers bear attacks, lighting strikes, falls, poisonings from eating plants, burns, and even plane crashes. It may surprise readers that deaths from animal bites or attacks (usually bear or bison) are extremely rare, and drowning deaths are the most common. It's worth noting that most drowning deaths seemed to occur when a sudden storm overturned boats or caused rivers to run swiftly.
The author spells out the stories in plain language. There is not much buildup to the event - he often discloses the end result up front then fills-in the story that led to someone's tragic death. While some of the stories (mostly the hot springs and bear attacks) are detailed, in many cases the author is just plucking slim details from newspaper stories published many decades ago. I got little sense of what actually happened and after awhile it was just name after name, death after death.
The book is heavily footnoted and thoroughly documented, but there are very few pictures, maps, or charts. I would have also liked to have seen more details about the landscape or geography covered. I've never been to the park and had time visualizing what the scenes looked like. I'll recommend the book but only rate as 3 stars.
 Worth reading before going there June 7, 2008
We are going to yellowstone this summer so I thought this would be a good read, as sad and gross as some of it is, it was a real eye opener and I think anyone with kids should read it before they go. I will be taking a child and I will be watching him like a hawk. The book itself starts out well but it does putter out towards the end like other readers reported. Still worth a read.
If you ever plan on visiting YNP read this book!!! April 5, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've lived in Yellowstone Park for about 6 years now, and every summer I'm appalled how easily the tourists leave thier common sense at the gate. This should be required reading before anyone is allowed to enter. This book is as entertaining as the Darwin Awards, with a few sad twists, and some fun wild west shinanigans thrown in. Some of the accounts are far more detailed than others, as there was more research information available. It has personal meaning to me, because I frequent the cemeteries mentioned in the book, and it gives more depth to that experience. (If you're ever in the Gardiner, MT area check out Tinker Cemerery--very cool, very old. There's also one by the horse corrals at Maammoth Hot Springs, you can park there and take a short hike on the trail--it's mostly employees from the days the army was running the place.) Bottom line--this is a terrific, necessary book. If you fall or jump into a pool of boiling geyser water you will die--if you're lucky it'll be quick. The animals are wild, and most of them a hell of alot stronger and faster than you. Yellowstone is definitely worth the trip. Just, please, if you come here don't be stupid. Happy trails!
 Morbid but very interesting! January 8, 2008
As the title suggests, many stories are recounted in detail. Some of these stories are a bit shocking, and we are reminded that the wildness of nature knows nothing about the sanctity of human life. The book would be especially interesting to prior visitors who are somewhat familiar with Yellowstone National Park.
Morbidly Interesting, and a Personal Note December 23, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
The last decade has seen a slew of books dealing with deaths in the national parks. The authors assure us that they publish these volumes to warn visitors of the dangers they face in the parks. The reality of course is that many in the literate public are fascinated by death, especially in unusual or exotic circumstances, and these books cater to that morbid demand. Nonetheless, they make for interesting reading and serve as a cautious reminder that visits to the wilderness, while safer than certain neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas, still contain very real hazards. This volume by Lee Whittlesey, was one of the first in this genre, and is still one of the best.
From grizzly attacks to death by poisonous gasses and murders, Whittlesey exhaustively covers all known deaths in Yellowstone from before the founding of the park to 1995 when the book was published. For me the descriptions of people falling into the hot springs were by far the most riveting, and the most grusome, portions of the book. Cooked alive, the victims of these accidents rarely died quickly, but often instead lingered on for many hours, a pretty horrific way to go. Whittlesey also catalogs the many mistakes victims and some lucky survivors made to help visitors to the park avoid similar fates.
One thing that sets this book apart from others in this genre is that Whittlesey, in addition to experience as a park tour guide and ranger, is a lawyer. This background shows itself in various ways. The book includes, for example, extensive discussion of court cases that resulted from fatalities in Yellowstone and how they have influenced park management. It also shows in the author's broader philosophy about the deaths in the park. True accidents, he argues, are rare. For the most part, people who have died in the parks were, he argues, actually negligent when it came to their own safety and sometimes the safety of others. This attitude towards the victims shows itself throughout the book, and most of the time Whittlesey makes a pretty convincing case.
But not always. When discussing the 1986 death of William Tesinsky (by mauling from a grizzly bear) Whittlesey notes, "Bear 59 was a semi habituated bear, ... But she had never even approached a human aggressively." This is not entirely true. I should know, because I was chased by Bear 59 on June 20 of that very year while hiking (alone) between the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and Yellowstone Lake. Indeed, it was my report to the Lake ranger station that led to the temporary closure of that trail, and the bear's eventual relocation by the Park Service. At that time, Bear 59 had two cubs and a large person walking nearby was, as the ranger explained to me, considered a threat. But 59 no longer had the cubs with her when she killed and partially ate the unfortunate Mr. Tesinsky. No doubt, as Whittlesey says, he was too close for 59's liking while trying to get the perfect photograph. But the retelling of this story, that follows the park's official report which I saw a few years later, is interesting in that it does not mention my earlier encounter with 59. Whittlesey the lawyer argues that, much as we don't want to admit it, negligence is more common than accident. He forgot to add that humans, including park rangers, might sometimes unintentionally omit certain bits of information that do not fit their preconceived notions.
(I asked a ranger about what had become of my incident report during a 1998 visit to the park. She said that it had not been included since the bear had not actually come into physical contact with me. I understand that answer, but it certainly does undermine the claim the bear had never before shown aggressive tendencies. In my case, I was unaware of her existence till I saw her charge out of the woods, two cubs at her heals, and easily 50 yards away.)
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