This book is a celebration. In these pages we put on splendid photographic display the glories by of 100 of America's most beautiful, most important, most intriguing places. There are vast national parks here and tiny corners of the country where might exist a sublime museum or a storied ballpark. From the scenic coast of Maine to the thunderous volcanoes of Hawaii, from far northern Alaska to the tip of the Florida Keys-with stops in between in San Francisco, Santa Fe and in our nation's capital, to name but three-LIFE celebrates the bounteous natural and man-made artistry that is a great source of American pride. This book is a journey. In the evocative words that accompany the photographs, LIFE takes you on the road. Whether it's a slow drive through the rolling landscape of Kentucky's horse country or a dramatic descent into an underground labyrinth of caves, the frisson of being in the scene is palpable. There is history to be learned -at Gettysburg, at Concord in Massachusetts, at the Alamo. There are tips to be filed away-the best gardens to visit this summer, what's not to be missed during that getaway to Newport or Mackinac or Santa Catalina. This book is a showcase. Herein we present portfolios from three of the finest American nature and landscape photographers ever: Joel Meyerowitz, Michael Melford and the legendary Ansel Adams. Each of these men made memorable pictures of many places, but focused intently on one place above others. And so we let Meyerowitz give us his vision of Cape Cod, Melford take us on a tour of the Hawaiian islands and Adams show us the monumentality of his beloved Yosemite. The photographs in these portfolios are suitable for framing, as is the bonus Ansel Adams print included in America the Beautiful. This book is, finally, an invitation. It is meant to entertain you, certainly, but also to inspire you. There are 100 places celebrated here, and it is a lucky American who gets to visit them. So we invite you to see your country in these pages. And, then -to get up and go.