December 10, 2010
Bruce Bytnar's book is packed with fascinating episodes that he experienced as a U.S. Park Ranger. Throughout its pages, he describes his career with the Park Service, as well as the various challenges he faced later on. The everyday problems that he dealt with ranged from wildlife poachers to inept supervisors and bureacracies. Despite all of this, his tone remains positive and inspiring.
"A Park Ranger's Life" was published during my Seasonal Law Enforcement Academy, and I found it to be a helpful read. Overall, the author's stories provided extremely valuable insight into my desired career field, and I was glad I had read it after working as a NPS ranger this summer. Not only does Bytnar describe the ups and downs of the work, but he also provides a detailed look into other assignments, such as working on a forest fireline.
I also enjoyed how the author described how his personal life was affected during his career. Park housing and family relationships are discussed, which are an extremely important part of working as a ranger. Few, if any, books take pause to examine this lesser-known component of how rangers live.
"A Park Ranger's Life" makes an excellent read for anyone considering working as a Protection (LE) ranger. I also enjoyed the book, since I lived near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina and frequented it for hiking and camping.
I am looking forward to reading it again soon.
You can still order copies of A Park Ranger's Life from on line sources in time for Christmas gifts. The book is also available on Amazon Kindle for those digital readers out there.
Wheatmark Publishing
http://www.wheatmark.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BS&Product_Code=9781604943450
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Park-Rangers-Life-Thirty-two-Protecting/dp/1604943459/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Barnes and Noble.com
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Park-Rangers-Life/Bruce-W-Bytnar/e/9781604943450/?itm=1&USRI=a+park+ranger's+life
If you are in Virginia you can find signed copies at the book stores listed in the right hand column of this blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment