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Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir’s Best Writings
Cultural Writing. Essays. Preservationist. Inventor. Lobbyist. John Muir was many things at once, and he is California's best-known icon- so much so that his image was chosen to appear on the new state quarter. But the best way to know the man who founded the Sierra Club and helped create Yosemite National Park is to read his own words. ESSENTIAL MUIR is the second volume in the California Legacy Essentials Collection. Taking the best of John Muir's writings on nature- in which he waxes ecstatic even as he accurately describes the scientific attributes of a flower-as well as his thoughts on religion and society, this book presents a fresh look at one of California's greatest literary figures. His love for nature was so powerful-and his description of it so compelling-it still inspires us a century later.
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
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About the author
John Muir
604 books1,426 followersJohn Muir (1838 – 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the best-known hiking trails in the U.S., the 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier.
In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life.
Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth".
Muir was extremely fond of Henry David Thoreau and was probably influenced more by him than even Ralph Waldo Emerson. Muir often referred to himself as a "disciple" of Thoreau. He was also heavily influenced by fellow naturalist John Burroughs.
During his lifetime John Muir published over 300 articles and 12 books. He co-founded the Sierra Club, which helped establish a number of national parks after he died and today has over 1.3 million members. Author Gretel Ehrlich states that as a "dreamer and activist, his eloquent words changed the way Americans saw their mountains, forests, seashores, and deserts." He not only led the efforts to protect forest areas and have some designated as national parks, but his writings gave readers a conception of the relationship between "human culture and wild nature as one of humility and respect for all life," writes author Thurman Wilkins.
His philosophy exalted wild nature over human culture and civilization. Turner describes him as "a man who in his singular way rediscovered America. . . . an American pioneer, an American hero." Wilkins adds that a primary aim of Muir’s nature philosophy was to challenge mankind’s "enormous conceit," and in so doing, he moved beyond the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau to a "biocentric perspective on the world."
In the months after his death, many who knew Muir closely wrote about his influences.
In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life.
Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth".
Muir was extremely fond of Henry David Thoreau and was probably influenced more by him than even Ralph Waldo Emerson. Muir often referred to himself as a "disciple" of Thoreau. He was also heavily influenced by fellow naturalist John Burroughs.
During his lifetime John Muir published over 300 articles and 12 books. He co-founded the Sierra Club, which helped establish a number of national parks after he died and today has over 1.3 million members. Author Gretel Ehrlich states that as a "dreamer and activist, his eloquent words changed the way Americans saw their mountains, forests, seashores, and deserts." He not only led the efforts to protect forest areas and have some designated as national parks, but his writings gave readers a conception of the relationship between "human culture and wild nature as one of humility and respect for all life," writes author Thurman Wilkins.
His philosophy exalted wild nature over human culture and civilization. Turner describes him as "a man who in his singular way rediscovered America. . . . an American pioneer, an American hero." Wilkins adds that a primary aim of Muir’s nature philosophy was to challenge mankind’s "enormous conceit," and in so doing, he moved beyond the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau to a "biocentric perspective on the world."
In the months after his death, many who knew Muir closely wrote about his influences.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 28, 2023
I have to give this 5 stars not only for the beautiful descriptions that John Muir gives us in these selections (journal entries), but also because of the admiration for this man that I gained through reading these pages.
John Muir had an insatiable desire to discover and learn and experience and explore all of the gloriousness that nature has to offer. His description of appreciating a storm so much that he climbed a tree during the storm to feel the wind like the tree limbs do and to notice the smells of the storm from up on the tree as compared to down on the forest floor was incredible to me. He also was in relentless pursuit of all the stories the glaciers left behind (calling them the manuscripts of the glaciers) and nothing could stop him from uncovering their secrets.
Be warned - you cannot read this book without feeling a need to get up and go! Get out there and notice all that nature has to offer us. It is truly glorious (Muir’s favorite description).
I will leave you with this quote from him - he was certainly ahead of his time. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
John Muir had an insatiable desire to discover and learn and experience and explore all of the gloriousness that nature has to offer. His description of appreciating a storm so much that he climbed a tree during the storm to feel the wind like the tree limbs do and to notice the smells of the storm from up on the tree as compared to down on the forest floor was incredible to me. He also was in relentless pursuit of all the stories the glaciers left behind (calling them the manuscripts of the glaciers) and nothing could stop him from uncovering their secrets.
Be warned - you cannot read this book without feeling a need to get up and go! Get out there and notice all that nature has to offer us. It is truly glorious (Muir’s favorite description).
I will leave you with this quote from him - he was certainly ahead of his time. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
March 24, 2014
An avid journal writer, most of his essays are taken from these journals. What an amazing man, so many varied interests, never knew he was a young inventor. This is a sampling from many different stages in his life, from his harsh upbringing with his very Christian father, to his leaving home and finding his way with little in the way of funds. Loved the introduction. The explanations of how the book was divided and what it meant. His love of life shines through as does his enquiring nature in all of these writings.
March 7, 2021
I can appreciate the impact of John Muir and his work, but a thrilling or easy read this was not.
October 25, 2023
This particular book speaks much of Yosemite where I bought this book. He has a wonderful eye for nature and ability to write about it in a scientific, yet almost poetic way. His self taught knowledge is amazing. Almost makes me want to camp. 🤣🤣
March 31, 2018
John Muir was born in 1838 in Scotland and spent his formative years in Wisconsin, where his family emigrated. His writings are better known in the USA. He died in 1914. This selection of essays were chosen by Fred D. White who describes Muir's legacy as complex and important. Muir led a remarkable life and spent much of his solitary life in Yosemite. Muir had a fierce love of all of nature, from squirrels to glaciers. He once described himself as a "poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and ornithologist-naturalist". A rather whimsical description but one that does rather sum up his desire to fuse rational and investigative sensibilities with aesthetic and spiritual ideas.
Read here about his faithful companion Stikeen (his dog), his reflections on the society of Eskimos and his touching tribute to the mighty baobob trees of Africa. Writings that inspire us more than a century after his death.
Read here about his faithful companion Stikeen (his dog), his reflections on the society of Eskimos and his touching tribute to the mighty baobob trees of Africa. Writings that inspire us more than a century after his death.
December 17, 2017
While I liked the stories of Muir's childhood in Scotland and Wisconsin, I found his descriptions of nature very tedious and hard to get through.
July 24, 2021
A few years ago, Jakob Dylan, who broke through in the 90s as the lead singer of the Wallflowers, released two solo albums. Critics often described them as "stripped down" or "bare" because they were not very glossily produced. I read an interview with Dylan once in which he took issue with that description, explaining that the music was not stripped down but was rather played. That understanding of music seems to still guide his musicianship, I think. When I watched Echo in the Valley, Dylan mostly wants to hit his notes and timing so that he can bring out the quality and craft of the songs. It's an approach that puts the performer out of the spotlight, in a way.
I see something similar in Muir's descriptions of the American wilderness. Much of the writing stands out for its clear description of glaciers and trees and plants. Here and there, readers will encounter a moment of speculation about the ice age or some meditative paragraph about how everyone on the planet is going through the galaxy together. But these accounts are far removed from Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods or Cheryl Strayed's Wild, two memoirs in which the writer is as central to the book as the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trails.
For better or worse, we now prefer more authorial presence in these wilderness travelogues. We want to read about plans, preparation, emotions, setbacks, goals and existential quests. The wild on its own doesn't seem as powerful, at least not in writing. But I worry that the environment is not as impressive to us--impressive independently of the way people think of it or use it--more broadly. The wonder of a mountain view is fleeting, enduring maybe as a desktop background, relative to the story of the person who took in that view. If a sun sets and there's no one there to see it, who cares...
I'm troubled by that line of thought, though I note that I skimmed much of Essential Muir, a short book that offers abridged excerpts of Muir's longer works.
I see something similar in Muir's descriptions of the American wilderness. Much of the writing stands out for its clear description of glaciers and trees and plants. Here and there, readers will encounter a moment of speculation about the ice age or some meditative paragraph about how everyone on the planet is going through the galaxy together. But these accounts are far removed from Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods or Cheryl Strayed's Wild, two memoirs in which the writer is as central to the book as the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trails.
For better or worse, we now prefer more authorial presence in these wilderness travelogues. We want to read about plans, preparation, emotions, setbacks, goals and existential quests. The wild on its own doesn't seem as powerful, at least not in writing. But I worry that the environment is not as impressive to us--impressive independently of the way people think of it or use it--more broadly. The wonder of a mountain view is fleeting, enduring maybe as a desktop background, relative to the story of the person who took in that view. If a sun sets and there's no one there to see it, who cares...
I'm troubled by that line of thought, though I note that I skimmed much of Essential Muir, a short book that offers abridged excerpts of Muir's longer works.
July 28, 2020
I love how much he loves the earth. I could have done without the detailed description of glacial activity and the scientific names for the plants he loves but then it wouldn’t be John Muir. I’m fascinated by his childhood and imaginative inventions. Some of his stories are enchanting. I want to climb trees during windstorms and lay out in the grass to see the stars. His enthusiasm is infectious.
“...going into the mountains is going home;... wildness is a necessity”
“How little do we know of ourselves, of our profoundest attractions and repulsion, of our spiritual affinities! How interesting does man become considered in his relations to the spirit of this rock and water! How significant does every atom of our world become amid the influences of those being unseen, spiritual, angelic mountaineers that so throng these pure mansions of crystal foam and purple granite.”
“ I am in the woods, woods, woods and they are in mee-ee-ee!”
“ Winds are advertisements of all they touch, however much or little we may be able to read them; telling their wanderings even by their scents alone.”
“...going into the mountains is going home;... wildness is a necessity”
“How little do we know of ourselves, of our profoundest attractions and repulsion, of our spiritual affinities! How interesting does man become considered in his relations to the spirit of this rock and water! How significant does every atom of our world become amid the influences of those being unseen, spiritual, angelic mountaineers that so throng these pure mansions of crystal foam and purple granite.”
“ I am in the woods, woods, woods and they are in mee-ee-ee!”
“ Winds are advertisements of all they touch, however much or little we may be able to read them; telling their wanderings even by their scents alone.”
June 13, 2023
Not a fan of JM’s writing, I read the revised the edition containing the best & worst of JM which did a good job demonstrating JM’s prejudices against indigenous peoples of American and people of colour.
February 4, 2025
None of his writings r super racist like they say they r but his writings are cool
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 11, 2024read during the high sierra backpacking trip, naturally
June 7, 2018
A beautiful selection of writings that depict a man and time not constrained by moderns needs and expectations of experiencing nature. Through these essays, I got a sense of what it meant to be in nature through Muir's eyes and why he had the outlook he did.
This isn't a collection of stories about pristine walks through tranquil woods. This book shows you all of nature and the various aspects that affect it. Whether Muir is engulfed in a raging tempest or fearfully scrambling for his life toward safety, these writings show what it means to truly love nature.
This isn't a collection of stories about pristine walks through tranquil woods. This book shows you all of nature and the various aspects that affect it. Whether Muir is engulfed in a raging tempest or fearfully scrambling for his life toward safety, these writings show what it means to truly love nature.
March 29, 2021
A slim but well-chosen selection of John Muir's writing that manages to create a full portrait not just of the man, but the various aspects of his personality and perspective that elevated him from precocious wanderer to national treasure and inspirational transcendentalist. White's introduction is equitably economical and evocative, summarizing a life that is hard to imagine and impossible to forget, filled as it was with generosity of spirit, kindness and consideration of the world and universe, and adventures great and small. Muir's work seems more important than ever, and as the American identity continues to evolve, his place in its consciousness (and subconsciousness) not only needs to be recognized, but celebrated as embodying the best things about who we are and aspire to be as a nation, as humans, as creatures in the cosmos insignificant but mighty and still coming into our own.
August 1, 2024
"Muir was racist. It's all right there in his own writing" is the only quote highlighted on the back cover of this book. I picked it up cautiously, ready to have yet another admirable historical figure become tainted.
But though this quote comes from the foreword, though it's highlighted so prominently, it doesn't seem well-supported to me. He certainly doesn't consider native people to be "Noble Savages" entirely above reproach as is fashionable in many quarters, but nothing in this volume (claiming to compile his worst writings) indicates racism.
Of negroes (as everyone called them at the time, as Booker T Washington called them, as Martin Luther King called them). He rides a while with an old negro man, and after a short description of their conversation comments "Many of these Kentucky Negroes are shrewd and intelligent, and when warmed upon a subject that interests them, are eloquent in no mean degree." Given that this story takes place only shortly after the Civil War (which his conversational partner lived through), I think it's fair to say that Muir's attitudes were ahead of his time, and quite acceptable by even strict modern standards.
Of the Eskimo: "They are better behaved than white men, not half so greedy, shameless, or dishonest... These people inspire me greatly, and it is worth coming far to know them, however slightly... But there was a response in their eyes which made you feel that they are your very brothers." If we grade on a curve remembering that Muir was writing in a much more racist time, this is truly impressively not-racist. If we don't grade on a curve, this is still better than the vast majority of us moderns seem to do on race relations.
Outside the question of racism, I'd say the book was good but not great. I learned that before his life as a conservationist, Muir was an inventor, and a rather prodigious one at that. I also finally read his account of climbing a great tree during a windstorm, an essay I've heard described secondhand several times and was delighted to find the original even more compelling. His theories on the glacial formation of the steep valleys of the high Sierra were I think fairly innovative at the time, and have since been vindicated.
But though this quote comes from the foreword, though it's highlighted so prominently, it doesn't seem well-supported to me. He certainly doesn't consider native people to be "Noble Savages" entirely above reproach as is fashionable in many quarters, but nothing in this volume (claiming to compile his worst writings) indicates racism.
Of negroes (as everyone called them at the time, as Booker T Washington called them, as Martin Luther King called them). He rides a while with an old negro man, and after a short description of their conversation comments "Many of these Kentucky Negroes are shrewd and intelligent, and when warmed upon a subject that interests them, are eloquent in no mean degree." Given that this story takes place only shortly after the Civil War (which his conversational partner lived through), I think it's fair to say that Muir's attitudes were ahead of his time, and quite acceptable by even strict modern standards.
Of the Eskimo: "They are better behaved than white men, not half so greedy, shameless, or dishonest... These people inspire me greatly, and it is worth coming far to know them, however slightly... But there was a response in their eyes which made you feel that they are your very brothers." If we grade on a curve remembering that Muir was writing in a much more racist time, this is truly impressively not-racist. If we don't grade on a curve, this is still better than the vast majority of us moderns seem to do on race relations.
Outside the question of racism, I'd say the book was good but not great. I learned that before his life as a conservationist, Muir was an inventor, and a rather prodigious one at that. I also finally read his account of climbing a great tree during a windstorm, an essay I've heard described secondhand several times and was delighted to find the original even more compelling. His theories on the glacial formation of the steep valleys of the high Sierra were I think fairly innovative at the time, and have since been vindicated.
May 28, 2022
2022: In my humble opinion, not worth the effort required.
I think I would have been better served if I had started with a biography of John Muir first, to sort of get the timeline of events here under my belt. This collection instead is basically a series of journal entries that jumped around time and space without identifying where we had gone. I would have appreciated a little effort from the editors to just let me have SOME indication of where the next essay was taking place! The book was very cumbersome to navigate.
It was also full of scientific names of plants that I have never heard of, which certainly didn't help. I get that I don't quite have the biology or botany background that Muir did, so I guess I can take some of the blame here. But I really didn't enjoy this read and this didn't help!
I did super appreciate the forward from Indigenous Women Hike founder Jolie Varela, because by the time I got to Muir's most egregiously racist essays, I sure was done with this guy. It was giving me big "these kids wouldn't let me play with them, so I took my ball and went home so no one could play" vibes. Except instead of taking his ball home, Muir was referencing shooting the Native Americans and stealing their land. So there's that.
Muir does go on some adventures, but if that's what you came to this book looking for, go pick up Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster instead.
I think I would have been better served if I had started with a biography of John Muir first, to sort of get the timeline of events here under my belt. This collection instead is basically a series of journal entries that jumped around time and space without identifying where we had gone. I would have appreciated a little effort from the editors to just let me have SOME indication of where the next essay was taking place! The book was very cumbersome to navigate.
It was also full of scientific names of plants that I have never heard of, which certainly didn't help. I get that I don't quite have the biology or botany background that Muir did, so I guess I can take some of the blame here. But I really didn't enjoy this read and this didn't help!
I did super appreciate the forward from Indigenous Women Hike founder Jolie Varela, because by the time I got to Muir's most egregiously racist essays, I sure was done with this guy. It was giving me big "these kids wouldn't let me play with them, so I took my ball and went home so no one could play" vibes. Except instead of taking his ball home, Muir was referencing shooting the Native Americans and stealing their land. So there's that.
Muir does go on some adventures, but if that's what you came to this book looking for, go pick up Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster instead.
August 30, 2018
I had never read Muir before, and now know why they usually make you read Thoreau and Emerson in high school. Muir infuses his writing with a lot of scientific accuracy that sometimes makes the audience lose interest. I did love his descriptions of wind (which almost made me like it) and hiking in Yosemite, as well as the last essay. Also the essay about hiking with the dog in Alaska. Not the best nature writing, but a suitable read for anyone who has spent significant time in Yosemite, Sierras, or Alaska. Also, I think this selection is well done, showing a range of interests Muir had (he was an inventor!) throughout his life, and how it developed.
September 3, 2021
3.75 - I loved learning about the boyhood of Muir before his travels began. He was a quirky and amazing fellow and very early protector of planet earth and all her glories. He explored all over the place far and wide carrying little with him as he went.
This book was a compilation of excerpts from many of his writings and gave a good overview of all that he explored, his thoughts and inventions and his hope for preserving the beauty of nature so early one. The forward was nicely written. I misplaced this short non-fiction book and therefore I experienced-a large gap in reading this otherwise short and simple book.
This book was a compilation of excerpts from many of his writings and gave a good overview of all that he explored, his thoughts and inventions and his hope for preserving the beauty of nature so early one. The forward was nicely written. I misplaced this short non-fiction book and therefore I experienced-a large gap in reading this otherwise short and simple book.
August 23, 2025
Aside from my deep admiration for Muir, I feel a certain kinship with him for the simple reason that I have traced some of his footsteps: I studied at the University of Wisconsin Madison, as he did, and I spent time working in the Sierra Nevada, the place that transformed him. When I was a grad student at the University of Wisconsin Madison and worked as an archivist's assistant in the Wisconsin Historical Society, I loved to gaze at the Muir paraphernalia exhibited in glass cases in the lobby. I also wanted to catch the mood of the conservation movement as research for a novel I was writing at the time.
June 23, 2024
John Muir has had an undeniable impact on nature conservation. His writings and opinions have undoubtedly helped expand America's best idea, the National Parks system. However it is also undeniable that he was a racist and a complicated person. His views on native people and black people are derogatory. He thought critically about the role and importance of nature but seems to have failed in thinking critically about people. These collections of essays/articles/letters explores this complicated relationship.
Favorite essay: A Windstorm in the Forest
Favorite essay: A Windstorm in the Forest
August 3, 2023
Although some selections from the book are filled with powerful reverie that inspires a trip to one’s nearest National Park, too much of it is instead rather boring journal-entires. Despite not being an overall engaging experience, one cannot expect coherence from a compilation such as this, so I do not treat it as harshly. It is well-written and well-edited, with the excerpts not being absurdly long nor short, and not abruptly ended.
September 18, 2024
This took me a while to finish because of how John Muir writes sometimes. My very favorite part of this book was the writing chosen for the end, “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West,” because I feel like it really captured everything Muir was about, as well as the feelings of a lot of us who venture outdoors. While some of the selected writings were slow, it’s not going to deter me from reading more of his writings. It may just take me a little longer to finish them
July 27, 2023
I picked up this book because I was fascinated by John Muir’s impact on American nature, and on the experiences we can have in national parks nowadays.
The book is a compendium of journal entries that read like very long poems, or at times prayers.
The descriptions are beautiful, but they aren’t enough to make the experience entertaining. Melodious they may sound, but boring they read.
The book is a compendium of journal entries that read like very long poems, or at times prayers.
The descriptions are beautiful, but they aren’t enough to make the experience entertaining. Melodious they may sound, but boring they read.
February 12, 2024
I am more intrigued than ever to learn more about John Muir. This book showed sides of him I had known. I always pictured an old gentleman soul sauntering about in nature. Perhaps later in life he was, but as a younger man, he was fit!!
I felt this collection lacked cohesiveness. Muir’s writing can drag on. Perhaps that is why I know his writing most from snippets and quotes.
I felt this collection lacked cohesiveness. Muir’s writing can drag on. Perhaps that is why I know his writing most from snippets and quotes.
March 8, 2024
Broad selection of his writings, some of which I was not necessarily looking for but still enjoyed. Definitely a few standout pieces— “A Near View of the High Sierra, “Stickeen vs. the Glacier,” and “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West.” Missing his writings on the Hetch Hetchy Valley!!
December 21, 2019
John Muir’s name adorns many a trail sign, and his writings prove his worthiness. He wastes no words and every sentence transports you to the Sequoia forest he’s exploring or the glacier he’s traversing. Beautiful descriptions of the flora and fauna and that are more poetry than prose.
January 2, 2022
Great resource for nature writing and observing God’s creation. Muir’s use of “glorious” is frequent but creatively used. I liked some writings better than others. Great starting point for Muir’s writings and now I have better idea of which of his works to explore more in the future.
October 11, 2022
So much about Muir learned - from his own writings - that I did not know, needed to know, and now know, including his racist diatribes. Even with all his beautiful and poetic language, this side is troubling.
May 15, 2024
I am not one to read introductions, but I am very glad I read this one. It informed me about the structure of this book. The best and worst of John Muir, a representation of him as a full person and not a character beyond reproach.
June 8, 2024
I read this book while visiting Muir Woods National Monument. It was an excellent overview of his significant conservation writing and passionate love of nature. It also did not gloss over his worst (very racist) writing, so told a more complete story of who he was.
November 28, 2024
MY VERDICT: An eye-opener journey through John Muir’s legacy, revealing both the poetic naturalist that inspired the conservation movement, and the flawed visionary who adopted the colonial mindset of his era.
My full review, with excerpts, is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/11/27/...
My full review, with excerpts, is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/11/27/...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews