Larger	Letters from Yellowstone Author: Diane Smith
	Book Information Publisher: Penguin Books Book Type: Paperback Rating: 10 ISBN-13: 9780140291810 - ISBN-10: 0140291814 Publication Date: 6/1/2000 Pages: 226 Book Reviews

In the spring of 1898, A. E. (Alexandria) Bartram--a spirited young woman with a love for botany--is invited to join a field study in Yellowstone National Park. The study's leader, a mild-mannered professor from Montana, assumes she is a man, and is less than pleased to discover the truth. Once the scientists overcome the shock of having a woman on their team, they forge ahead on a summer of adventure, forming an enlightening web of relationships as they move from Mammoth Hot Springs to a camp high in the backcountry. But as they make their way collecting amid Yellowstone's beauty the group is splintered by differing views on science, nature, and economics.

In the tradition of A. S. Byatt's Angels and Insects and Andrea Barrett's Ship Fever, this delightful novel captures an ever-fascinating era and one woman's attempt to take charge of her life.

"A beautifully written and highly original first novel. It's been a long time since I've read a first book that pleased me more." --Larry McMurtry

"Simply and brilliantly captures that time when the American wilderness was still a pristine, awe-inspiring place." --Rocky Mountain News