The Bright Edge
A Guide to the National Parks of the Colorado Plateau
"Lovely pictures, very informed and informative and appreciative text. There isn't anything quite like it: it ties all the parks and monuments into a coherent geographical and historical bundle." —Wallace Stegner
"An introduction to a way of thinking that proposes to do no less than convince you to preserve a rather large segment of western wilderness. Not that you’ll know this when you read it; the message is much too subtle and perceptive. An extraordinary book…some of the best photography and writing that the West has to offer." —Ann Zwinger
"Stunning photography. I must say I’m impressed." —Bruce Babbitt
The Colorado Plateau. Red rock country. The canyonlands. A vast desert parkland of almost unbelievable beauty on the bright edge of the world. The Plateau covers 130,000 square miles of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. This great stony fragment of the Southwest harbors our greatest concentration of national parks and wilderness outside Alaska. Its most famous parks—Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Mesa Verde—lure visitors from all over the world.
Steve's work as a ranger, naturalist, and writer in Plateau parks culminated with The Bright Edge, his "first book with a spine." Since these parks preserve examples of nearly all the region's environments, the book also becomes a guide to the Colorado Plateau itself.
Museum of Northern Arizona Press, 1979
