John   Clayton   is   very   talented writer,    who,    as    said    in    one review   on   his   book?   “explores the   vast   historical   and   cultural history    of    one    of    the    most popular      national      parks      to uncover    why    Yellowstone    is so                 beloved                 in "   W   o   n   d   e   r   l   a   n   d   s   c   a   p   e   :     Yellowstone   National   Park   and the   Evolution   of   an   American Cultural Icon."” JBN:   What   are   you   reading   right now?     Are     there     any     authors (living   or   dead)   that   you   would name as influences?   John   Clayton:   Researching   my next   book,   I   am   now   reading   several   academic   texts   about   the evolution   of   environmental   policy.   For   pleasure,   I’ve   recently   read books   by   Montana   authors,   including   Anne   Helen   Petersen’s   Too Fat,   Too    Slutty,   Too    Loud,    about    celebrity    feminism,    and    David Abrams’   Brave   Deeds,   a   novel of   the   Iraq   War.   My   influences include      “literary      journalists” such     as     J.     Anthony     Lukas (Common          Ground,          Big Trouble),   Tracy   Kidder   (House, Soul   of   a   New   Machine),   and Michael   Lewis   (The   Big   Short, Moneyball)    as    well    as    pop- culture   writers   such   as   Chuck Klosterman    (Sex,    Drugs,    and Cocoa    Puffs),    historians    such as    William    Cronon    (Nature’s Metropolis),   and   nature   writers such    as    Gary    Ferguson    (The Carry Home, Land on Fire). JBN:    Please    tell    more    about your                new                book Wonderlandscape:   Yellowstone National        Park        and        the Evolution      of      an      American Cultural   Icon.   How   came   idea to      write      about      it?       Why Yellowstone    park?    What    you mean       when       you       speak about Evolution   of   an American Cultural Icon?  John   Clayton:   Wonderlandscape   focuses   on   why   Yellowstone   is famous   and   how   that   has   changed   over   the   years.   I   wrote   the   book because   I   realized   that   people   around   the   world   have   heard   of Yellowstone,    and    think    they    know    it.    It’s    famous    in    a    way    that Montana   or   Glacier   National   Park   or   other   special   places   aren’t famous. I wanted to understand why. I   have   an   unusual   way   of   looking   at   the   history   of   Yellowstone:   it’s the   history   of   what   people   want   from   Yellowstone.   Yellowstone’s diverse    wonders    continually    meet    our    nation’s    changing    needs: half-tame   wildlife,   rugged   frontier,   unpeopled   wilderness,   etc.   The book     is     called     Wonderlandscape     because     Yellowstone     was originally   nicknamed   “Wonderland”   (it   came   to   prominence   just   a few    years    after    Lewis    Carroll’s   Alice    in    Wonderland)    yet    public perceptions     of    Yellowstone     have     evolved     from     a     geological freakshow to a rich landscape.   JBN: How long you worked on this book? John   Clayton:   Six   years   ago   I   decided   to   write   a   book   about Yellowstone.   It   took   me   two   years   of   research   before   I   developed the core idea of Wonderlandscape.   JBN: Who helped you to do most of your research job? John   Clayton:    I   did   all   the   research   myself!   I   benefitted   from   a weeklong   fellowship   from   the   Buffalo   Bill   Center   of   the   West,   in Cody,   to   study   their   archives   of   the   1988   fires.   I   also   spent   several days   at   the   Park   archives,   in   Gardiner.   Many   other   libraries   and archives played smaller roles in my research. Yay libraries!   JBN:  Do you have now in mind to write something else?   John    Clayton:    Yes,    I    am    working    on    a    book    about    the    early interactions   of   John   Muir   and   Gifford   Pinchot.   Muir,   defender   of Yosemite   National   Park   and   co-founder   of   the   Sierra   Club,   is   often seen   as   philosophically   opposed   to   Pinchot,   founder   of   the   U.S. Forest    Service    and    advocate    of    “multiple    use.”    But    their    early collaborations   are   epitomized   by   a   delightful   camping   trip   they   took in (what was not yet established as) Glacier National Park in 1896. JBN:    You    write    mostly    about    Montana,    in    books    described    at www.johnclaytonbooks.com.   Describe   this   state   in   few   sentence please   John   Clayton:   Gosh,   if   I   could   do   that,   I   wouldn’t   have   to   write   all these books!  To be continued…

John Clayton

  John Clayton:   Wonderlandscape focuses on why Yellowstone is famous and how that has changed over the years.