The National Parks is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich but for everyone. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories, 40 interviews and what Ken Burns believes is the most stunning cinematography in history. The series chronicles the steady addition of new parks through the stories of the people who helped create them and save them from destruction. It is simultaneously a biography of compelling characters and a biography of the American landscape.