Short Synopsis
Dan White, the author of The Cactus Eaters, presents an irreverent history of American camping.

Full Synopsis
From the High Sierra 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, 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.

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

"[A]n informative and lyrically written travel memoir." ---Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen

"A chatty and entertaining history . . . a sweet meditation on the intergenerational experience of camping, in its mundane, generally undramatic glory." ---New York Times

"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

"[T]houghtful, moving [and] funny…" ---Paul Rosolie, author of Mother of God