Sales have begun for “Beautiful Places: The Timeless Beauty of South Carolina State Parks.

The 140-page hardcover coffee table book contains more than 100 vivid color images from the 47 parks managed by the S.C. State Park Service and was produced as part of the parks’ celebration of 75 years of providing recreational opportunities and stewardship of the Palmetto State’s natural and cultural assets.

The book features the photography of jon o. holloway of Greenwood, a nationally known photographer whose work has appeared in such venues as National Geographic. He spent a year on the project, capturing the parks through the seasons.

Chad Prosser, director of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, is the book’s author. The history of the parks was researched and written by award-winning South Carolina writer Cal Harrison. A former journalist who works as managing editor of Computer Science Corporation , he has been writing about the state's history and conservation for more than 20 years. For this project, he spent nearly two years searching archives and traversing the parks by foot, canoe and even golf cart. Public broadcast nature host Rudy Mancke wrote the foreword. Financial support for the book was provided by FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. of Greenwood and BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg County.

“Beautiful Places” is being sold online and will be available in bookstores Sept. 1. The Web site is at
http://www.beautifulplacesalliance.org/   Improvements and programs at the parks and will be the recipient of all proceeds from the book’s sales.