An Island in Time

Book excerpt: On September 13, 2012, Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco turned fifty. Mixing wilderness, history, and agriculture, Point Reyes is a hybrid park unlike any other in America. An Island in Time traces the triumph of its creation, the rescue effort that saved it from early abandonment, and its frequent identity crises since. Sixty images by regional photographers make it clear why people care. Celebrating what has been accomplished in half a century at Point Reyes, Hart takes a clear-eyed look at the several (and ongoing) arguments about what this remarkable piece of land should ultimately be. The nationally noted debate about the fate of a historic oyster farm within the park takes its place as the latest in a series of struggles to define the terms. In 1962, Harold Gilliam's classic book Island in Time: The Point Reyes Peninsula helped complete the drive to create the National Seashore. In 2012, An Island in Time: 50 Years of Point Reyes National Seashore tells the rest of the story-and illuminates the choices now at hand.