It was the United States Department of Interior that commissioned Ansel Adams to document the country's national parks. Though the project was suspended after just one year because of World War II, Adams was still able to create quite a few astonishingly beautiful photographs of the American landscape. Arresting images of Yellowstone's geysers, the Grand Canyon's ravines, Glacier and Grand Teton national parks' mountains and the southwest's ancient adobes fill the book's pages. Perusing this palm-sized volume is akin to touring the country's natural monuments with this most gifted nature photographer along as a companion.