Review of Camping Grounds
Posted: 28 Jan 2025, 14:26
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Camping Grounds" by Phoebe S.K. Young.]
Have you ever enjoyed camping as a form of recreation? Are you interested in the history of camping from the American Civil War to today? Do you believe that all citizens should have the right to camp outdoors, whether it is for recreation, survival, or visible protest? Do you believe that camping in public spaces is not a right of all citizens? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will enjoy reading Camping Grounds by Phoebe S. K. Young.
Young used two concepts to focus on the history of camping practices in the US. Firstly, public nature was defined as "both outdoor spaces and ideas about those spaces as settings where people work out relationships to nature, nation, and each other,” and secondly, the nation’s social contract was defined as “the set of beliefs and structures that establish what citizens and the government owe to each other.”
This book examined the various forms of public nature and social contracts that have evolved from the nineteenth century to today. As the emphasis on owning farmland and being productive switched to producing industrial and consumer goods in urban settings, Americans changed their ideas about public nature. Recreational camping became a more popular way to connect with the outdoors. Camping became an activity employed by economically stable families for leisure. The military, transient workers, homeless people, and poor families used camping as a means of survival due to a lack of any other options for shelter. Military veterans used camping, in the nineteenth century, to protest government policy in a visible way. Recently, camping has been used by social movements as a visible form of protest against governments. Young examined all of these forms of camping as they have been manifested in American history from the nineteenth century to today. This information was well-researched and well-documented. The author provided hundreds of footnotes from various sources. They included the writings of Truman A. DeWeese, E. P. Meinecke, William T. Sherman, John Mead Gould, John Muir, Barrows and Barrows, John Steinbeck, Paul Petzoldt, and Daniel Yankelovich, to name a few.
I enjoyed reading this well-researched and thought-provoking book. The wealth of information about the history of camping in the United States was enlightening. I now see camping as an important activity for recreation, well-being, and visible protest. The author’s writing style was fluid and interesting. The editing was almost perfect. I noticed only one error. I could not find anything to dislike about this book.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars for the reasons mentioned above. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys camping and is interested in the history of camping in the USA.
******
Camping Grounds
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Have you ever enjoyed camping as a form of recreation? Are you interested in the history of camping from the American Civil War to today? Do you believe that all citizens should have the right to camp outdoors, whether it is for recreation, survival, or visible protest? Do you believe that camping in public spaces is not a right of all citizens? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will enjoy reading Camping Grounds by Phoebe S. K. Young.
Young used two concepts to focus on the history of camping practices in the US. Firstly, public nature was defined as "both outdoor spaces and ideas about those spaces as settings where people work out relationships to nature, nation, and each other,” and secondly, the nation’s social contract was defined as “the set of beliefs and structures that establish what citizens and the government owe to each other.”
This book examined the various forms of public nature and social contracts that have evolved from the nineteenth century to today. As the emphasis on owning farmland and being productive switched to producing industrial and consumer goods in urban settings, Americans changed their ideas about public nature. Recreational camping became a more popular way to connect with the outdoors. Camping became an activity employed by economically stable families for leisure. The military, transient workers, homeless people, and poor families used camping as a means of survival due to a lack of any other options for shelter. Military veterans used camping, in the nineteenth century, to protest government policy in a visible way. Recently, camping has been used by social movements as a visible form of protest against governments. Young examined all of these forms of camping as they have been manifested in American history from the nineteenth century to today. This information was well-researched and well-documented. The author provided hundreds of footnotes from various sources. They included the writings of Truman A. DeWeese, E. P. Meinecke, William T. Sherman, John Mead Gould, John Muir, Barrows and Barrows, John Steinbeck, Paul Petzoldt, and Daniel Yankelovich, to name a few.
I enjoyed reading this well-researched and thought-provoking book. The wealth of information about the history of camping in the United States was enlightening. I now see camping as an important activity for recreation, well-being, and visible protest. The author’s writing style was fluid and interesting. The editing was almost perfect. I noticed only one error. I could not find anything to dislike about this book.
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars for the reasons mentioned above. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys camping and is interested in the history of camping in the USA.
******
Camping Grounds
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
