Under the Stars: How America Fell in Love with Camping

by Dan White

Overview

Wide-ranging in research, enthusiasm, and geography, Dan White's Under the Stars reveals a vast population of nature seekers, a country still in love with its wild places.

“The definitive book on camping in America. . . . A passionate, witty, and deeply engaging examination of why humans venture into the wild.”—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

From the Sierras to the Adirondacks and the Everglades, Dan White travels the nation to experience firsthand—and sometimes face first—how the American wilderness transformed from the devil’s playground into a source of adventure, relaxation, and renewal.

Whether he’s camping nude in cougar country, being attacked by wildlife while “glamping,” or crashing a girls-only adventure for urban teens, Dan White seeks to animate the evolution of outdoor recreation. In the process, he demonstrates how the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, Roosevelt, and Muir—along with visionaries such as Adirondack Murray, Horace Kephart, and Juliette Gordon Low—helped blaze a trail from Transcendentalism to Leave No Trace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627791953
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/14/2016
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Dan White is the author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail, an NCIBA bestseller and Los Angeles Times "Discovery" selection. He has taught composition at Columbia University and San Jose State. He is the contributing editor of Catamaran Literary Reader and received his MFA from Columbia University. He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and daughter.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Under the Stars 1

1 Help Me, Henry 5

2 Exploring the Sewards with Zippy 26

3 Camping the Crazy Away 56

Hero of Camping: George Washington Sears 80

4 Acts of Transmission 84

5 Clash of the Neckerchiefs 98

Hero of Camping: The S'more 120

6 Wild Victorian Ladies 126

7 Gator Girls 143

8 Nine Mile Pond 159

9 The Odd Couple 179

Hero of Camping: Estwick Evans 198

10 Night at Badger Spring 200

11 How's the Road? 231

12 The Haunted Duffel Bag 252

Hero of Camping: Edward Abbey 269

13 The Immaculator 273

14 Kovu's Brother 296

15 Hell on Wheels 311

Epilogue: A Dose of Enchantment 343

Notes 353

Bibliography 381

Acknowledgments 387

Illustration Credits 391

Index 393

Editorial Reviews

Despite being knocked around, White…still manages to deliver a chatty and entertaining history of self-conscious American attempts to set off into the wild, along with digressions on topics including backpack design, s'mores, 19th-century nervous illnesses, wilderness toilets and the charms of retro camping gear.

The New York Times Book Review - Jennifer Schuessler

04/04/2016
Mixing history and firsthand account, White (The Cactus Eaters) traces the evolution and various iterations of recreational camping in the U.S. He begins, unsurprisingly, with Henry David Thoreau, the “father of the backyard campout.” From there, White undertakes his own adventures recreate camping history. He hires a wilderness guide and camps in the Adirondacks, a popular approach for 19th-century Romantic campers. He undertakes a “naked survival campout” to get a taste of the experience of Joe Knowles, who in 1913 entered the Maine woods with nothing and lived for two months simply for the challenge. The writing is light and humorous even as White explores social and cultural issues surrounding camping: the roots and implications of the “ethnicity gap” in camping and outdoor activities; the initial exclusion of women from the outdoors, and the women who pushed against those barriers, using the outdoors to “make a political statement.” The history is engaging, featuring familiar and unknown characters, and White does justice to camping in all its forms, including woodcraft, leave-no-trace backpacking, car camping, glamping, and RVing. The book does not purport to be a comprehensive history. Rather, it is a quite enjoyable stroll through the past, led by a talented writer who clearly appreciates the benefits of getting outside. (June)

Publishers Weekly

06/01/2016
White (The Cactus Eaters) weaves personal vignettes and history to describe the appeal of camping in America; how it took hold and evolved. While not an exhaustive history, the book is entertaining and considers the influence of such figures as Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and Theodore Roosevelt. The author's geographical forays include the Adirondacks, the Everglades, and the Sierras. White explores the history of the Boy Scouts, the advent of Leave No Trace camping, the phenomenon of "glamping," and the growing predominance of RVs. In the vein of Bill Bryson, White's own mishaps and wry humor keep the prose fresh and engaging. He addresses issues such as the lack of diversity in the average national park campground, the accessibility vs. preservation of wild places, and the importance of spending time outdoors as a spiritual pursuit in an increasingly cloistered and technologically dependent world. While White offers few solutions to some of the topics he discusses, such as sustainability, this is a worthwhile history of what seems a singularly American way of interacting with the natural world. VERDICT In an era when visits to national parks have grown exponentially, this book is an excellent and timely choice for readers.—Barrie Olmstead, Sacramento P.L

Library Journal

Dan White has written the definitive book on camping in America. Under the Stars is a passionate, witty, and deeply engaging examination of why humans venture into the wild.”
—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

“[A] chatty and entertaining history of self-conscious American attempts to set off into the wild….a sweet meditation on the intergenerational experience of camping.”
—New York Times

“[A]n imaginative volume on the lure and legends of camping . . . . The result is an amusing, inviting look at the outdoors life and the men and women who have given life to camping.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Whether sharing the backstory of everyone’s favorite fireside dessert (s’mores, of course), roughing it in the buff, or braving the wilderness with 21st-century amenities in tow, the disaster-prone White revels in a cherished national pastime—camping—with curiosity and humor.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Sharply funny . . . an absorbing narrative of how camping became an American pastime.”
—The Santa Cruz Sentinel

“Entertaining....[White] goes on to explore (and embrace)…the unpredictable beauty of sleeping under the stars.”
—Houston Chronicle

“Under the Stars is eloquent, witty and wide-ranging, covering everything from John Muir to the history of S'mores, with nude camping in cougar country tossed in.”
—Shelf Awareness for Readers

“Light and humorous even as White explores social and cultural issues surrounding camping . . . . Engaging, featuring familiar and unknown characters, and White does justice to camping in all its forms . . . . A quite enjoyable stroll through the past, led by a talented writer who clearly appreciates the benefits of getting outside.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Under the Stars is historically accurate, with beautiful descriptions of flora and fauna. But what sells this book is the personal narrative, allowing history to become a lively backdrop. Dan White writes with a humble, self-deprecating, and conversational wit.”
—The Story is Enough

“‘I never before had so interesting, hearty and manly a companion. I fairly fell in love with him.’ Yes, this is what John Muir said about Theodore Roosevelt, but I’m saying it now about Dan White after reading Under the Stars—an informative and lyrically written travel memoir about the American wilderness experience that’s also very funny and full of surprises.”
—Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen

“Dan White’s history of Americans at play in the woods is far more than just good old raisins and peanuts. It's a delicious grab bag of oddball characters, scenic vistas, leaky pup tents, and scofflaw marmots, all recounted with a self-deprecating storyteller’s style that makes it roll along like a good old campfire yarn.”
—Paul Schneider, author of The Adirondacks

“At least from the moment that W.H.H. Murray unleashed his army of ‘fools’ on the Adirondack backcountry, Americans have been trying to learn how to subsist happily in the woods. Dan White provides not only the history of camping, but also the present—marked always by a love for the wild places that remain.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home

“Pack your flashlight, pack your dog-eared Thoreau, pack your loincloth and your own biohazardous waste, and join Dan White on a rollicking through-hike of the wild, stirring, and weird past and present of the American campout.”
—Hannah Nordhaus, author of American Ghost

“Whether you are a seasoned backcountry cragsman or prefer a crackling campfire in your own backyard, you will love this fascinating examination on how and why we search for ourselves in the wild. From the time of the great trailblazers to the modern reality of changing demographics in outdoor recreation, White takes us on a thoughtful, moving, funny, and even spiritual adventure through America’s relationship to nature.”
—Paul Rosolie, author of Mother of God

From the Publisher

The definitive book on camping in America…A passionate, witty, and deeply engaging examination of why humans venture into the wild.”

author of Wild Cheryl Strayed