Synopses & Reviews
"The definitive book on camping in America....A passionate, witty, and deeply engaging examination of why humans venture into the wild." Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild
An irreverent history of American camping
From the Sierras 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, Dan 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.
Review
"Pack your flashlight, pack your dog-eared Thoreau, pack your loincloth and your own biohazardous waste, and join Dan White on a rollicking through-hike of the wild, stirring, and weird past and present of the American campout." Hannah Nordhaus, author of American Ghost
Review
"At least from the moment that W.H.H. Murray unleashed his army of 'fools' on the Adirondack backcountry, Americans have been trying to learn how to subsist happily in the woods. 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
Review
"Dan White’s history of Americans at play in the woods is far more than just good old raisins and peanuts. It's a delicious grab bag of oddball characters, scenic vistas, leaky pup tents, and scofflaw marmots, all recounted with a self-deprecating storyteller’s style that makes it roll along like a good old campfire yarn." Paul Schneider, author of The Adirondacks
Review
"Light and humorous even as White explores social and cultural issues surrounding camping....Engaging, featuring familiar and unknown characters, and White does justice to camping in all its forms....A quite enjoyable stroll through the past, led by a talented writer who clearly appreciates the benefits of getting outside." Publishers Weekly
Review
"'I never before had so interesting, hearty and manly a companion. I fairly fell in love with him.' Yes, this is what John Muir said about Theodore Roosevelt, but I’m saying it now about Dan White after reading Under the Stars — an informative and lyrically written travel memoir about the American wilderness experience that’s also very funny and full of surprises." Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
About the Author
Dan White is the author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail, an NCIBA bestseller and Los Angeles Times "Discovery" selection. He has taught composition at Columbia University and San Jose State. He is the contributing editor of Catamaran Literary Reader and received his MFA from Columbia University. He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and daughter.