Dear Interior Secretary Zinke, before you and President Trump settle on a nominee for National Park Service director, please read these books.

They're relatively short reads, but as summer for all intents and purposes is here and your travel schedule has been full recently, let me summarize them for you.

The Case of the Indian Trader: Billy Malone and the National Park Service Investigation at Hubbell Trading Post

Author Paul Berkowitz packs three stories into this title: One that details what seems to be a grave injustice done to a man many describe as the last, and one of the best, of the country's true-to-life Indian traders; a second on mismanagement within one of the National Park Service's largest cooperating associations, and; a third that reveals an incredibly dark side of the National Park Service.

It is that final piece of the triangle that you need to focus on. After all, many in the general public see the National Park Service as their favorite government agency. But within The Case of the Indian Trader, Mr. Berkowitz peels back the luminous outer skin of the Park Service to reveal a dysfunctional culture, one that by his accounts has more than a few times placed itself above the law. It is a culture that at times seems to struggle with the question of whether the ends justify the means. One that, despite findings and warnings from the Interior Department's inspector general, outwardly seems to have resisted change.

Legacy of the Yosemite Mafia: The Ranger Image and Noble Cause Corruption in the National Park Service

This is the latest work by Mr. Berkowitz -- who, by the way, was a special agent for the National Park Service -- and is so new that we at the Traveler haven't quite finished it for a review. But you could view it as a sequel of sorts to The Case of the Indian Trader, for once again the author digs into the culture of the Park Service in an attempt to understand its struggles at times with law enforcement and proper management. As Andrea Lankford, herself a former ranger and author of Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks, told me, "In short, it is an extremely accurate and insightful perspective on an ongoing problem within NPS culture and the dysfunctional way the agency has viewed park (law enforcement) and other first response needs."

National Parks: The American Experience

Finally, Secretary Zinke, you should read, if you haven't already, National Parks: The American Experience, by Dr. Alfred Runte. This is a foundational primer every National Park Service employee should be required to read. Dr. Runte (a Traveler contributor) lays down the history of national parks and the National Park Service, and examines the nation's movement to preserve nature in the park system. Naturally, if you're talking preservation, you have to discuss the threats to it, and this book does it in the context of the National Park System.

There are many more books you should add to your reading list, Mr. Secretary. Certainly Worth Fighting For, Robert Danno's account of how he was railroaded for blowing the whistle on superiors who ignored well-established federal laws and agency policies and procedures in allowing a billionaire to chop down trees in a scenic easement along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Then there's Desert Solitare by Ed Abbey, Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash; Ms. Lankford's aforementioned Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks, and; Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History, by Richard West Sellars.

But we're guessing you're short on time, so stick to the first three, and expand with the others in the months to come.

We settled on the first three as must-reads because there's a cancer of sorts eating away at the National Park Service, one that is a key source of the relatively low morale within the rank-and-file. If you've glanced recently at the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, you know that the Park Service in the most recent survey landed 262 out of 305 agencies surveyed for workplace bliss. Out of the federal agencies that work in the energy and environmental sectors, the Park Service ranked 15th...out of 15.

Sure, Park Service pay scales probably have something to do with low morale, and the staffing situation that leaves many employees with collateral duties. But if you spend a few minutes looking at this survey, you'll see that the agency's workforce doesn't think very highly of its leaders. In the category of "Effective Leadership," the Park Service ranked 278 out of 303 agencies. In terms of "Effective Leadership: Empowerment," it stood 265 out of 303. In terms of "Fairness," the Park Service leaders ranked 249 out of 303. Worse, yet, "Senior Leaders" ranked 284 out of 303 when it came to "Effective Leadership," and in terms of "Strategic Management," the agency scored 289 out of 304.

Notice the trend, Mr. Secretary?

Recent events in the agency aren't likely to help these scores. Former Park Service Director John Jarvis ignored the Interior Department's ethics rules, saying it would take too long to follow them to publish a book on "American Values and Our National Parks." Northeast Regional Director Mike Caldwell recently was found to have run up nearly $18,000 in travel reimbursements that he wasn't entitled to claim. And most recently, the superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park has been reassigned pending the outcome of an Office of Inspector General investigation. What that investigation is all about has been a very well-kept secret, but if you have to reassign a superintendent, well, it can't be too good.

And, of course, there's the whole chapter written on sexual harassment in the National Park System, from Grand Canyon and Yellowstone to Canaveral National Seashore, Chatahoochee River National Recreation Area, and DeSoto National Memorial. 

Those first two books by Mr. Berkowitz portray the culture of the Park Service, and provide insights that can help explain some of the managerial foibles as well as the low morale. The third title, by Dr. Runte, provides a grounding in the history of the national parks and the National Park Service, and their evolution. 

All three are vital titles for guiding the Park Service in the years to come, and helping the agency improve on its disturbing rankings when it comes to a place to work.

Oh, and when you interview candidates for the job, Secretary Zinke? Ask them if they've read these books.