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The Writings of John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
508 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1913
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1079 people want to read
About the author
John Muir
624 books1,419 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 115 reviews
January 6, 2019
Like it? Like it a lot? Like it? Like it a lot?
Which will it be?
Some chapters are very good(4*).
Other chapters were good but not super special(3*).
Am I glad I read it? Yes, certainly. The guy's early years are interesting, and he writes clearly and simply.
Do I think others interested in nature will enjoy reading this? Yes.
Do I think those interested in the life of a renown, early naturalist will enjoy this? Yes.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
I also think it is a great book to give to young people interested in nature. I want to get it for my son, and he is NOT so young anymore! Both he and my grandson will enjoy reading it.
John Muir (1838-1914) left Dunbar, Scotland, at the age of eleven. His fervently religious father picked up the family and moved them to the wilderness of Wisconsin. John’s early years in Dunbar, Scotland, are covered too. Flogging and fighting were the norm, in a way that is hard to comprehend today, but it did not hurt him, it made him strong.
In the woods and fields of Wisconsin, the nearest town being Portage, John, the oldest son, his father, his two-year older sister and his two-year younger brother set up house and farm. Then John’s mother, his oldest sister and his three youngest siblings followed. All had to be done from scratch, and John tells what this was like--what he enjoyed and what was downright hard, toiling work. He was not allowed to read books; as far as his father was concerned the Bible was the only book man needed! John reasoned with his father--to read the Bible some people need glasses, so learning about other sciences was equally important! Grudgingly, his father agreed that he could get up early if he wanted to read. This John did. Getting up at one in the morning gave him five hours of reading time, which led to the idea of inventing a machine that would wake a person up at a given time. John was a born inventor, making clocks, a thermometer, a barometer and eventually a mechanical device that rolled him out of bed at a given hour, automatically turned on the light and rolled a book out on to his desk! This, when he went to university in Madison. How he got himself there is told too. John Muir was not lazy; he was determined to achieve his goals. The book follows him until 1860 when he graduated from university.
Appreciation of and curiosity about mature drew John from the start. We see with his eyes what he sees, be it the beauty of fireflies or fall’s colorful leaves. We learn with him what he discovers about birds and flora and bugs. And the farm’s hogs and oxen and ponies and honey bees. He learns about them from observing, and he relates what he observes to us. There is a great story about a loon and the family tomcat. He had a pony that brought home the cows in the evening if he was himself delayed. Another pony is stolen by Indians. Discovery of nature, in all its aspects, flora and fauna, filled John’s life from his earliest years. John was way ahead of his time in understanding that animals are capable of thinking.
I was recommended to read this book before My First Summer in the Sierra. John Muir’s upbringing had to have been an important element in shaping who he came to be. To understand the adult, it is helpful to know of his youth and his early years are interesting!
I downloaded this from Librivox. It does not cost you a thing to listen to. For nothing you get a lot! It is narrated by Sue Anderson. She does a decent job for an untrained narrator. It sounds at times a little unprofessional, but I heard and understood every word clearly
Both the personal details of Muir’s childhood and what he tells us about domestic and wild animals and fauna I found fascinating. Don’t miss this.
Which will it be?
Some chapters are very good(4*).
Other chapters were good but not super special(3*).
Am I glad I read it? Yes, certainly. The guy's early years are interesting, and he writes clearly and simply.
Do I think others interested in nature will enjoy reading this? Yes.
Do I think those interested in the life of a renown, early naturalist will enjoy this? Yes.
Do I recommend it? Yes.
I also think it is a great book to give to young people interested in nature. I want to get it for my son, and he is NOT so young anymore! Both he and my grandson will enjoy reading it.
John Muir (1838-1914) left Dunbar, Scotland, at the age of eleven. His fervently religious father picked up the family and moved them to the wilderness of Wisconsin. John’s early years in Dunbar, Scotland, are covered too. Flogging and fighting were the norm, in a way that is hard to comprehend today, but it did not hurt him, it made him strong.
In the woods and fields of Wisconsin, the nearest town being Portage, John, the oldest son, his father, his two-year older sister and his two-year younger brother set up house and farm. Then John’s mother, his oldest sister and his three youngest siblings followed. All had to be done from scratch, and John tells what this was like--what he enjoyed and what was downright hard, toiling work. He was not allowed to read books; as far as his father was concerned the Bible was the only book man needed! John reasoned with his father--to read the Bible some people need glasses, so learning about other sciences was equally important! Grudgingly, his father agreed that he could get up early if he wanted to read. This John did. Getting up at one in the morning gave him five hours of reading time, which led to the idea of inventing a machine that would wake a person up at a given time. John was a born inventor, making clocks, a thermometer, a barometer and eventually a mechanical device that rolled him out of bed at a given hour, automatically turned on the light and rolled a book out on to his desk! This, when he went to university in Madison. How he got himself there is told too. John Muir was not lazy; he was determined to achieve his goals. The book follows him until 1860 when he graduated from university.
Appreciation of and curiosity about mature drew John from the start. We see with his eyes what he sees, be it the beauty of fireflies or fall’s colorful leaves. We learn with him what he discovers about birds and flora and bugs. And the farm’s hogs and oxen and ponies and honey bees. He learns about them from observing, and he relates what he observes to us. There is a great story about a loon and the family tomcat. He had a pony that brought home the cows in the evening if he was himself delayed. Another pony is stolen by Indians. Discovery of nature, in all its aspects, flora and fauna, filled John’s life from his earliest years. John was way ahead of his time in understanding that animals are capable of thinking.
I was recommended to read this book before My First Summer in the Sierra. John Muir’s upbringing had to have been an important element in shaping who he came to be. To understand the adult, it is helpful to know of his youth and his early years are interesting!
I downloaded this from Librivox. It does not cost you a thing to listen to. For nothing you get a lot! It is narrated by Sue Anderson. She does a decent job for an untrained narrator. It sounds at times a little unprofessional, but I heard and understood every word clearly
Both the personal details of Muir’s childhood and what he tells us about domestic and wild animals and fauna I found fascinating. Don’t miss this.
September 22, 2016
After reading Alaska Days with John Muir, written by his friend and traveling companion Samuel Young, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Muir's own account of his early life: beginning in East Lothian, Scotland, where he was born in 1838; immigrated with his father and brother to America in 1849; settled in Wisconsin, near Portage, where they broke ground for their new home and farm; and there worked long, hard hours to make a go of things so his mother and siblings could join them. Being a born and raised Midwesterner myself, it was particularly interesting to read about the area, the flora and the fauna, in its early, unspoiled state.
I learned many new things about Muir as well. Did you know he was an inventor, for instance? Can't wait to read more of his first-hand accounts as he becomes the great environmentalist and explorer. What an amazing man!
I learned many new things about Muir as well. Did you know he was an inventor, for instance? Can't wait to read more of his first-hand accounts as he becomes the great environmentalist and explorer. What an amazing man!
December 10, 2018
So as well as being the father of the national parks, a fearless wanderer, a raconteur, a force for all that is good in the world, John Muir was also Caractacus Potts. This book recounts his childhood from his earliest days in Dunbar, Scotland, the family's move to Wisconsin where they set up their first farm and tells of his developing love for nature, animals, the wild and for doing absolutely insane things, on a whim, just because he can.
This was perhaps the most enjoyable of his books I've read yet, Muir, for me, is at his best when describing his personal experiences, then his writing takes on an immediacy that's less present in his more academic writing about biology, botany and geology. This book is packed full of them, his tales of learning to swim by being told to go to the pond and watch frogs, his heartbreaking tale of the family's first pony, his time as a young teen when he realised he could read as much as he wanted if he just got up early enough, prompting a routine of rising at one am, and then later inventing an alarm clock to facilitate this.
Muir's inventions are some of the most comic things he's ever recounted in any of his books. There was a bed that stood up and ejected the sleeper at the desired time of rising, a reading device to swap books in and out, giving each an allotted time in front of the reader and so many different clocks. The thing is, they all worked, to the extent Muir was famous around the local area as a genius inventor, long before he was famous for his writing or preservation work.
There really is no end to the wonders of the man and the modesty and humility with which he relates it all is utterly endearing. Read this, read everything he's written.
This was perhaps the most enjoyable of his books I've read yet, Muir, for me, is at his best when describing his personal experiences, then his writing takes on an immediacy that's less present in his more academic writing about biology, botany and geology. This book is packed full of them, his tales of learning to swim by being told to go to the pond and watch frogs, his heartbreaking tale of the family's first pony, his time as a young teen when he realised he could read as much as he wanted if he just got up early enough, prompting a routine of rising at one am, and then later inventing an alarm clock to facilitate this.
Muir's inventions are some of the most comic things he's ever recounted in any of his books. There was a bed that stood up and ejected the sleeper at the desired time of rising, a reading device to swap books in and out, giving each an allotted time in front of the reader and so many different clocks. The thing is, they all worked, to the extent Muir was famous around the local area as a genius inventor, long before he was famous for his writing or preservation work.
There really is no end to the wonders of the man and the modesty and humility with which he relates it all is utterly endearing. Read this, read everything he's written.
November 4, 2012
This is a book I re-read, this time for a book group, where each student read a different book by a naturalist. They’ve been studying nature writing and the teacher wanted to take them deeper into how the writers were changed by their own environment, thus the group and talk about how we also might be changed by both our reading and our personal experiences. For example, in Muir’s book, I loved the deeply detailed descriptions of all the birds observed in his new home in Wisconsin (he was born in Scotland), but the importance of this book to me came from Muir’s marvelous descriptions of the Passenger Pigeons, and then their extinction because of ignorance where people thought there was a limitless supply, and the killing and killing of thousands, sending them on the road to extinction. Even in this re-visiting of the book, I continue to be startled and sad and outraged that I can no longer see these birds, nor can I have the thrill of seeing so many flocks of birds that they darken the sun for a while. It is hard to imagine such a thing. If you want a good story of Muir’s roots, and how he began his journey toward being so influential in saving nature, this is a good beginning.
December 27, 2022
John Muir’s personal accounts of moving from Scotland to Wisconsin interested me as I spent at least 15 years of my youth in Wisconsin. I could relate to his description of Winter and some of the birds and other wildlife. The more I learn of Muir— my interest grows as I have a fondness for nature and people who respect it. Muir’s energy and motivation is noteworthy as he describes the events and surroundings he encountered.
April 8, 2024
John Muir’s memoir is a reflective archive of a life lived both as a boy in 19th century Scotland and as a teenage immigrant to the wilderness of Wisconsin. Much of his account, whilst fascinating to the modern reader in how starkly different life as a child in Scotland and indeed America is today as compared to the 1840’s, is very matter of fact and lacking in any analytical or critical depth - his reflections on his memories of work and play and the many joys he found in the wildlife of his youth, while rich in descriptive detail, often read more like a bestiary or catalogue of admiration than a memoir of any great reflection. That said, Muir clearly uses anecdotes to dig into meaningful moments of his early life in a philosophical sense when it comes to the theme of the interconnectedness of life on Earth, as he sees it.
Frequent anecdotes about the shared sanctity - and indeed unifying fears and terrors - of all life is evident when Muir discusses witnessing the brutalities of the natural world as a boy:
"The solemn awe and fear in the eyes of that old mother and those little pigs I never can forget; it was as unmistakable and deadly a fear as I ever saw expressed by any human eye, and corroborates in no uncertain way the oneness of us all."
Pained and shocked by such a closeness to the sometimes callous reality of primal fear and violence, Muir identifies with the fears and pains of the animals he has witnessed butchered and wasted. This “oneness” becomes a defining theme in both Muir’s writing and reflections but also in his character as a young man exploring and making sense of the moral dilemmas of his environment.
He develops this idea throughout this chapter, even suggesting his advocacy for abstaining from animal consumption, but at the very least questioning the established hierarchical separation of man from the rest of our otherwise interconnected animal kingdom:
"Think of the passenger pigeons that fifty or sixty years ago filled the woods and sky over half the continent, now exterminated by beating down the young from their nests together with the brooding parents, before they could try their wonderful wings (…) None of our fellow mortals is safe who eats what we eat, who in any way interferes with our pleasures, or who may be used for work or food, clothing or ornament, or mere cruel, sportish amusement."
If not questioning the ethical right to any of these activities, Muir at the very least is exploring his rejection of the privileged separation of man from the animals as a species to roam and pillage with impunity the abundance of shared lives and stories on the planet, perhaps comforted and certainly vindicated in this thought by the idea that “vast multitudes” of such precious life as he sees them, our fellow denizens of the wilderness, “had a good time in God’s love before man was created”, phraseology that bares careful consideration in a more modern context: would Muir have the same use of the word created in an America and a world that is ever more secular, given his general apathy of his Father’s conversely highly religious lifestyle and views? Muir’s Darwinian reflections would suggest otherwise.
This emotive reflection is tempered with lengthy discussion about the microscopic specifics of a vast range of fauna and creatures that populated the Wisconsin woodlands he immigrated too, darwinian only in their very detailed descriptive style - Muir budgets a cool fifteen pages for describing birds. This was quite relentless and becomes dry in the absence of any meaningful analysis; more catalogue than critical.
That said, Muir’s moments of poignant consideration for the abundance of life he found himself surrounded by and how it appears to shine through all of the toil and darkness of 19th century poverty, illness, backbreaking manual labour and sheer absence of fostering his creative and technical genius, is inspiring. Despite exhausting circumstances, even as a boy, Muir discusses flowers, and how his “eyes were opened to their inner beauty, all alike revealing glorious traces of the thoughts of God, and leading on and on into the infinite cosmos”, an idea of evolution and universal continuity and connectedness that many reject even today.
A detailed catalogue of observations from a boy with some reflection on their inherent meaning, but equally a powerful message to the future for the need for conservation and preserving a sanctity not of arbitrary human values but of the lives often sacrificed to maintain them.
Frequent anecdotes about the shared sanctity - and indeed unifying fears and terrors - of all life is evident when Muir discusses witnessing the brutalities of the natural world as a boy:
"The solemn awe and fear in the eyes of that old mother and those little pigs I never can forget; it was as unmistakable and deadly a fear as I ever saw expressed by any human eye, and corroborates in no uncertain way the oneness of us all."
Pained and shocked by such a closeness to the sometimes callous reality of primal fear and violence, Muir identifies with the fears and pains of the animals he has witnessed butchered and wasted. This “oneness” becomes a defining theme in both Muir’s writing and reflections but also in his character as a young man exploring and making sense of the moral dilemmas of his environment.
He develops this idea throughout this chapter, even suggesting his advocacy for abstaining from animal consumption, but at the very least questioning the established hierarchical separation of man from the rest of our otherwise interconnected animal kingdom:
"Think of the passenger pigeons that fifty or sixty years ago filled the woods and sky over half the continent, now exterminated by beating down the young from their nests together with the brooding parents, before they could try their wonderful wings (…) None of our fellow mortals is safe who eats what we eat, who in any way interferes with our pleasures, or who may be used for work or food, clothing or ornament, or mere cruel, sportish amusement."
If not questioning the ethical right to any of these activities, Muir at the very least is exploring his rejection of the privileged separation of man from the animals as a species to roam and pillage with impunity the abundance of shared lives and stories on the planet, perhaps comforted and certainly vindicated in this thought by the idea that “vast multitudes” of such precious life as he sees them, our fellow denizens of the wilderness, “had a good time in God’s love before man was created”, phraseology that bares careful consideration in a more modern context: would Muir have the same use of the word created in an America and a world that is ever more secular, given his general apathy of his Father’s conversely highly religious lifestyle and views? Muir’s Darwinian reflections would suggest otherwise.
This emotive reflection is tempered with lengthy discussion about the microscopic specifics of a vast range of fauna and creatures that populated the Wisconsin woodlands he immigrated too, darwinian only in their very detailed descriptive style - Muir budgets a cool fifteen pages for describing birds. This was quite relentless and becomes dry in the absence of any meaningful analysis; more catalogue than critical.
That said, Muir’s moments of poignant consideration for the abundance of life he found himself surrounded by and how it appears to shine through all of the toil and darkness of 19th century poverty, illness, backbreaking manual labour and sheer absence of fostering his creative and technical genius, is inspiring. Despite exhausting circumstances, even as a boy, Muir discusses flowers, and how his “eyes were opened to their inner beauty, all alike revealing glorious traces of the thoughts of God, and leading on and on into the infinite cosmos”, an idea of evolution and universal continuity and connectedness that many reject even today.
A detailed catalogue of observations from a boy with some reflection on their inherent meaning, but equally a powerful message to the future for the need for conservation and preserving a sanctity not of arbitrary human values but of the lives often sacrificed to maintain them.
April 22, 2017
What a soul stirring and uplifting, even spiritual experiences I had while going through the wondrous and magical moments of young Muir.
His strict, Christian upbringing, thrashing at home and school couldn't kill the wildness and spirit of living, the young lad had. The thrill of running around, playing 'schooters' with his brother David, climbing lessons at the castle, the fright of the 'dandy doctors' haunting the school are reminiscent of how little kids create their own fantasy worlds, taking risks to explore breaking the rules set by adults.
The coming of his family to America, further nurtures his love for Nature. One finds moving accounts of birds of various kinds, snakes, pets ( a pony and dog called watch), deers, squirrels, Badgers etc.The fear of the mother pig, the courage of a geese to help his kind, the bravery of the kingbird to protect his nest show us that essentially we have a unity with other beings. If we try to understand them, will we live harmoniously. Otherwise, human will keep on killing others seeing them as dollar bills, which Muir laments repeatedly, telling us about the shameful hunting sport pursued by young boys.He clearly disagrees with the human supremacy story propogated by the church in those days.
He was also a young inventor who made clocks and barometers. His tireless spirit and love for the wild made me wake up quite early to feel the gift given to us.
His strict, Christian upbringing, thrashing at home and school couldn't kill the wildness and spirit of living, the young lad had. The thrill of running around, playing 'schooters' with his brother David, climbing lessons at the castle, the fright of the 'dandy doctors' haunting the school are reminiscent of how little kids create their own fantasy worlds, taking risks to explore breaking the rules set by adults.
The coming of his family to America, further nurtures his love for Nature. One finds moving accounts of birds of various kinds, snakes, pets ( a pony and dog called watch), deers, squirrels, Badgers etc.The fear of the mother pig, the courage of a geese to help his kind, the bravery of the kingbird to protect his nest show us that essentially we have a unity with other beings. If we try to understand them, will we live harmoniously. Otherwise, human will keep on killing others seeing them as dollar bills, which Muir laments repeatedly, telling us about the shameful hunting sport pursued by young boys.He clearly disagrees with the human supremacy story propogated by the church in those days.
He was also a young inventor who made clocks and barometers. His tireless spirit and love for the wild made me wake up quite early to feel the gift given to us.
April 16, 2021
Growing up in Northern California and an often as possible visitor to Yosemite National Park I became acquainted with the legend of naturalist John Muir and his life’s dedication and accomplishments in protecting the environment and its animal occupants. This autobiography of his youthful years does a couple of very positive (and interesting) things: First, it highlights his developing interests in, affection for and protective instincts of nature and its animal creatures. Second, it details the youthful years he spent in dawn to dusk physical labor on his Scottish immigrant family farm in Wisconsin. This of course left little time for education. But Muir persevered in his desire for knowledge, and this coupled with a genius level intellect and knack for invention carried him forward. That’s the up side of the book. The down side, which negatively influenced my star rating, is Muir’s seemingly over abundance of ego in relating how he outperformed everyone else in virtually every task he was given or undertook, from plowing furrows for planting to intellectual pursuits. Thus two stars for the presentation rather than three or four for his accomplishments.
May 2, 2019
This is more like it. Actual stories and memories of youth.
updated after second read:
I'm upping this to 4 stars. What a hard, hard life. He almost died at least 4 times. The stories he tells are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, always interesting.
updated after second read:
I'm upping this to 4 stars. What a hard, hard life. He almost died at least 4 times. The stories he tells are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes uplifting, always interesting.
February 1, 2018
Work hard, and notice everything.
August 5, 2023
A quick read - the best part is his wonder toward the natural world in the general area that contributed much to my own interest in the natural world.
Muir had an instinct that faith need not be divorced from science but an upbringing that did not really permit him to fully and truly explore that good instinct.
Muir had an instinct that faith need not be divorced from science but an upbringing that did not really permit him to fully and truly explore that good instinct.
October 15, 2024
John's story was so fascinating and enjoyable to read. A historical figure I never knew anything about and just happened to stumble upon his name and books in a gift shop in the Smoky Mountains. His adventurous spirit and curiosity for nature were inspiring. Pleasantly surprised by this book and may go on to read more writings from John Muir.
September 18, 2019
Some parts were really interesting, and I am glad to have read it to better understand John Muir’s background. However, some parts were dreadfully boring and in some ways I pushed through in a “I just can’t wait to be done with this one” kind of way. The last two chapters were my favorites.
November 17, 2024
A nice, often nostalgic view of his youth, with some beautiful details and passages, some generic farming details, some insights into the nature of his boyhood home, and some usual boyhood shenanigans. Felt in some places a bit rushed, and some parts dragged, but overall a worthwhile, succinct account. The descriptions of wildflowers and birds were my favorites.
Read
September 14, 2018|Read for Advanced Creative Writing: Memoir|
June 3, 2018
3.5 stars
An insightful and engaging glimpse into the formative years of a renowned naturalist.
July 30, 2025
What a truly fascinating and wonderful story!
September 23, 2020
An autobiography of a scottish Immigrant from a farming family relates his impressions of his early life.
John Muir is known for his contributions to the oudoors and conservation. I was highly surprised to learn that he was highly mechanical and invented a number of quirky machines in the mid to late 1860’s up through his univrristy days (the cost: an exorbitant amount of $32 a year.)
Even though born to a strict and harsh life, he experienced and shared wonder of the natural world with family and his friends. That sense of wonder, not available to his hard-worked father, seeped over into education. The world was a marvel and with so much to learn and be excited about.
Having this sense of wonder of the world, especially as a child, is one of the most precious gifts we can pass on. That has become increasingly challenging with the novelty of the internet, the complexities of life, and the continued diaconnect from nature - or perhaps that’s the replacement of nature by man-made distractions.
John Muir is known for his contributions to the oudoors and conservation. I was highly surprised to learn that he was highly mechanical and invented a number of quirky machines in the mid to late 1860’s up through his univrristy days (the cost: an exorbitant amount of $32 a year.)
Even though born to a strict and harsh life, he experienced and shared wonder of the natural world with family and his friends. That sense of wonder, not available to his hard-worked father, seeped over into education. The world was a marvel and with so much to learn and be excited about.
Having this sense of wonder of the world, especially as a child, is one of the most precious gifts we can pass on. That has become increasingly challenging with the novelty of the internet, the complexities of life, and the continued diaconnect from nature - or perhaps that’s the replacement of nature by man-made distractions.
November 16, 2021
Tough work to settle Wisconsin.
February 2, 2015
Muir looks back on his childhood in Scotland and in Wisconsin. From Scotland, where he was until 7, we get the stories of schoolkids fighting and exploring, and of the discipline learned. From Wisconsin, Muir writes an ode to the animals and plants he encountered, as well as his story about growing up. He really focuses on the plants and animals, though -- his mother and sisters immigrate a year after Muir and his father and brothers do, and Muir doesn't bother to tell you much about them. It's all about the natural. Near the end of this short book, you also learn that Muir is an inventor, and some of the inventions he described (especially the combination Murphy bed/alarm clock/timed study desk) sounded quite elaborate (I was thinking like Pee Wee Herman's breakfast machine in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure"). The book was obviously written many decades after the fact, and you wonder how much Muir embellished, because he comes across as a "natural" natural scientist - noticing everything from flower and bug to pigeon and sky) at a young age and untrained -- and as a genius inventor. His writing does show his passion for the topic and his Midwestern sensibility -- seems like an interesting man.
August 6, 2017
This is a delightful story of a curious, creative, inventive boy's youth in the Wisconsin wilderness. John Muir had such an affinity for wildlife, especially birds, and a great memory for the significant detail, making this memoir a treasure. It was also a good reminder to be good stewards of this beautiful planet, as John Muir wrote about the extreme abundance of passenger pigeons in his time. "Extinct" is such a sad word! Most of the book was entertaining and enjoyable, though. My husband and ten year old son enjoyed this book as much as I did. I look forward to reading more of Muir's writing.
July 25, 2015
This is a delightful little book about John Muir's early life first in Scotland and later in the US. This man truly delights in nature and his descriptions of his discoveries are beautiful and very engaging. He became one of America's early conservationists and while at University he also created some very interesting inventions. I really enjoyed this book and give it 4.5 stars !!!
September 12, 2008
I thought this was a wonderful! I truly admire how well John Muir respected nature, and what a thinker he was! He really was an amazing person! I can't believe he invented so many things as a child/teenager.
August 18, 2010
Very interesting man. A self-taught inventor, and man curious about everything. This book is obviously just the beginning of the story, and made me want to read more. I recommend this one to nature lovers.
February 17, 2016
Really enjoyed this book. A wonderful insight into the growing years of an amazing man who was a key player in the creation of our National Parks. One also gets a first person perspective of the early settler's life in the mid west.
September 24, 2017
I'd heard in passing the name of John Muir but knew nothing of him until now. A look into the beginnings of a remarkable life. He writes conversationally, so that the book feels like him sitting next to you and telling you a story.
February 3, 2013
John Muir: naturalist, humanitarian, inventor, great lover? I know so. John Muir was a fantastic lover; gentle, but a real power house when he needed to be. I remember the first time I visited him at his Northern Wisconsin farm in the peak of summer…
Rivers twisted by, heated all day by the scorching late summer sun. Sometimes, the water laid long and wide across the country, other times, it became forced to pour, chortling, vigorously over mossy boulders. Walking through a patch of Balsam Firs I heard the pitched wailings of many birds. John grabbed my hand and used it as a pointer calling out the name of the singer, “Whippoorwill, Mocking bird, Woooood Peeeecker,” he screamed excitedly. I giggled like a school girl, but then gasped quickly, when I caught his dark almond eyes boring into me, penetrating me; his long hobo beard draping him in layers of mystery. For some reason I didn’t feel lost at all with him; even in a dark woods. He pointed out honey bee hives, let me stick my head into Gopher hole catacombs, and allowed me to see the tracks of the Winnebago Indian that stole “Ol’ Joe”, his horse. He guided me down a path through droves of Oak and Maple, that he had carved himself when he harvested the wood to make his simple log cabin. I could smell maple syrup flowing somewhere near by.
Behind his house, in the barn, he would show me something truly special. At first, It appeared big and phallic in the shadow of the pig oil lamp. The musk of the barn was overpowering. However, upon closer examination, I saw the intricacies of a scientific masterpiece. Wait a tick. Those are chimes! My God, was that a pendulum! My lord it really was---It was a mechanical clock. Amazing! How unexpected to see something so linked to the modern world out here in the middle of the woods. And then as if he had planned it, a tiny bird shot forth and let out its long winded cuck—cooooooooo! Truly beautiful, and I’m not bashful about saying, that would only be the first climax of the day. There was indeed, a rare sexy genius hidden behind those homemade clothes and back woods ways.
The spices and meats simmering in the pot only added to the pheromones that were floating through the air. I sat at the only table in the house made from old growth Heart Pine and Mountain Lion sinew. We ate hungrily, a delicious stew, made of venison, rabbit, gopher, and the secret ingredient (John wasn’t bashful about admitting) field mice. Nothing was wasted in John’s naturalistic world. I looked about his homestead, looking for clues to his peacefulness, but there was nothing. Literally, there was nothing. Just those eyes staring at me, filling me with his lack of wealth. Exhilarating!
I was lovesick in his world and he knew it. Recognizing my notion he carried me to his bedroom, pointing out as he lie me down that it was crafted from a mixture of Eastern Red Cedar and Common Juniper. I could only wonder what surprises and secrets I was in for next. I lie on my belly and he spread something warm and wet across my bare back. He massaged me like I was the only person in the world, as if passion had no future or past, there was only now. The present was all that ever mattered. My muscles melted away off my bones, now it was the rest of my body that craved satisfaction. “ Where did you get that massage oil?” I asked, trying to slow down what couldn’t be stopped.
“It’s bear grease from my last big kill up near Platteville,” he answered.
“GRRRRRR.” I said
To say that it wasn’t the most passion I have ever felt would be lie. To say that it wasn’t the most satisfied I have ever felt would be a lie. To say that it wasn’t the most romantic I have ever felt, would also be a lie. At one point I remember my head facing towards the window and John while continuing to make love to me pointed up into the star lit night and said, “Let Orion and his belt and his mighty sword be your only lover.” I love you John Muir I thought at that moment.
Later, after we were both satiated and the fire of sunrise began to creep over the window ledge, John, always with more to do, got up and went into the corner. When I turned to look I couldn’t help but smile. He was sitting comfortably, incubating a giant egg. Oh John, my naturalist!
Rivers twisted by, heated all day by the scorching late summer sun. Sometimes, the water laid long and wide across the country, other times, it became forced to pour, chortling, vigorously over mossy boulders. Walking through a patch of Balsam Firs I heard the pitched wailings of many birds. John grabbed my hand and used it as a pointer calling out the name of the singer, “Whippoorwill, Mocking bird, Woooood Peeeecker,” he screamed excitedly. I giggled like a school girl, but then gasped quickly, when I caught his dark almond eyes boring into me, penetrating me; his long hobo beard draping him in layers of mystery. For some reason I didn’t feel lost at all with him; even in a dark woods. He pointed out honey bee hives, let me stick my head into Gopher hole catacombs, and allowed me to see the tracks of the Winnebago Indian that stole “Ol’ Joe”, his horse. He guided me down a path through droves of Oak and Maple, that he had carved himself when he harvested the wood to make his simple log cabin. I could smell maple syrup flowing somewhere near by.
Behind his house, in the barn, he would show me something truly special. At first, It appeared big and phallic in the shadow of the pig oil lamp. The musk of the barn was overpowering. However, upon closer examination, I saw the intricacies of a scientific masterpiece. Wait a tick. Those are chimes! My God, was that a pendulum! My lord it really was---It was a mechanical clock. Amazing! How unexpected to see something so linked to the modern world out here in the middle of the woods. And then as if he had planned it, a tiny bird shot forth and let out its long winded cuck—cooooooooo! Truly beautiful, and I’m not bashful about saying, that would only be the first climax of the day. There was indeed, a rare sexy genius hidden behind those homemade clothes and back woods ways.
The spices and meats simmering in the pot only added to the pheromones that were floating through the air. I sat at the only table in the house made from old growth Heart Pine and Mountain Lion sinew. We ate hungrily, a delicious stew, made of venison, rabbit, gopher, and the secret ingredient (John wasn’t bashful about admitting) field mice. Nothing was wasted in John’s naturalistic world. I looked about his homestead, looking for clues to his peacefulness, but there was nothing. Literally, there was nothing. Just those eyes staring at me, filling me with his lack of wealth. Exhilarating!
I was lovesick in his world and he knew it. Recognizing my notion he carried me to his bedroom, pointing out as he lie me down that it was crafted from a mixture of Eastern Red Cedar and Common Juniper. I could only wonder what surprises and secrets I was in for next. I lie on my belly and he spread something warm and wet across my bare back. He massaged me like I was the only person in the world, as if passion had no future or past, there was only now. The present was all that ever mattered. My muscles melted away off my bones, now it was the rest of my body that craved satisfaction. “ Where did you get that massage oil?” I asked, trying to slow down what couldn’t be stopped.
“It’s bear grease from my last big kill up near Platteville,” he answered.
“GRRRRRR.” I said
To say that it wasn’t the most passion I have ever felt would be lie. To say that it wasn’t the most satisfied I have ever felt would be a lie. To say that it wasn’t the most romantic I have ever felt, would also be a lie. At one point I remember my head facing towards the window and John while continuing to make love to me pointed up into the star lit night and said, “Let Orion and his belt and his mighty sword be your only lover.” I love you John Muir I thought at that moment.
Later, after we were both satiated and the fire of sunrise began to creep over the window ledge, John, always with more to do, got up and went into the corner. When I turned to look I couldn’t help but smile. He was sitting comfortably, incubating a giant egg. Oh John, my naturalist!
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July 1, 2020I wish I might have known him, heard him, thanked him for his leadership. This book is impressive. I've known Muir's fame in California, heard of his leadership regarding Muir Woods, Yosemite, and on and on. However, here I find Muir revealed as highly capable, a superb historian, a truly remarkable inventor, a perceptive scientist, a superior writer of history and about nature.
He could write poetical Prose. Here is example from Muir's "Mountains of California" - "At your feet lies the great Central Valley glowing golden in the sunshine, extending north and south farther than the eye can reach, one smooth, flowery, lake-like bed of fertile soil. Along its eastern margin rises the mighty Sierra, miles in height, reposing like a smooth, cumulous cloud in the sunny sky, and so gloriously colored, and so luminous, it seems to be not clothed with light, but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city. Along the top, and extending a good way down, you see a pale, pearl-gray belt of snow; and below it a belt of blue and dark purple, marking the extension of the forest; and along the base of the range a broad belt of rose-purple and yellow, where lie the minor's gold-fields and the foot-hill gardens. All these colored belts blending smoothly make a wall of light ineffably adamant."
In this particular "story" he is recounting in vivid detail the three worlds of his early life: his first eleven years in Scotland; the years 1849–1860 in the central Wisconsin wilderness; and two-and-a-half most inventive years at the University of Wisconsin during that institution’s infancy.
He concludes this tale of his early life, ending with a few years at the University of Wisconsin, taking only the courses he thought useful to him. In his words: "picked out what I thought would be most useful to me, particularly chemistry, which opened a new world, and mathematics and physics, a little Greek and Latin, botany and geology. I was far from satisfied with what I had learned, and should have stayed longer. Anyhow I wandered away on a glorious botanical and geological excursion, which has lasted nearly fifty years"
The book ends with these three sentences:- "I gained a last wistful, lingering view of the beautiful University grounds and buildings where I had spent so many hungry and happy and hopeful days. There with streaming eyes I bade my blessed Alma Mater farewell. But I was only leaving one University for another, the Wisconsin University for the University of the Wilderness."
He could write poetical Prose. Here is example from Muir's "Mountains of California" - "At your feet lies the great Central Valley glowing golden in the sunshine, extending north and south farther than the eye can reach, one smooth, flowery, lake-like bed of fertile soil. Along its eastern margin rises the mighty Sierra, miles in height, reposing like a smooth, cumulous cloud in the sunny sky, and so gloriously colored, and so luminous, it seems to be not clothed with light, but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city. Along the top, and extending a good way down, you see a pale, pearl-gray belt of snow; and below it a belt of blue and dark purple, marking the extension of the forest; and along the base of the range a broad belt of rose-purple and yellow, where lie the minor's gold-fields and the foot-hill gardens. All these colored belts blending smoothly make a wall of light ineffably adamant."
In this particular "story" he is recounting in vivid detail the three worlds of his early life: his first eleven years in Scotland; the years 1849–1860 in the central Wisconsin wilderness; and two-and-a-half most inventive years at the University of Wisconsin during that institution’s infancy.
He concludes this tale of his early life, ending with a few years at the University of Wisconsin, taking only the courses he thought useful to him. In his words: "picked out what I thought would be most useful to me, particularly chemistry, which opened a new world, and mathematics and physics, a little Greek and Latin, botany and geology. I was far from satisfied with what I had learned, and should have stayed longer. Anyhow I wandered away on a glorious botanical and geological excursion, which has lasted nearly fifty years"
The book ends with these three sentences:- "I gained a last wistful, lingering view of the beautiful University grounds and buildings where I had spent so many hungry and happy and hopeful days. There with streaming eyes I bade my blessed Alma Mater farewell. But I was only leaving one University for another, the Wisconsin University for the University of the Wilderness."
January 10, 2021
Muir can be a bit overbearing with his disjoined anecdotes - Chapter 5 "Young Hunters" is the biggest culprit, one sequence of it being him listing a bird species and some childhood memory related to it - but there's an easy charm to his writing generally. His relationship with his father reflects, at the very least, his literary diet: his father comes across as the literary trope of the devout ludditical Christian who at times is led away from his fury by less-than-heartfelt quoting of scripture. It's sitcomish and balances out his morbid remembrance of animals pointlessly murdered by humans.
Which, to be clear, is the measure of his sincere love of animals. At one point he refers to birds broadly as "the bird people," which brings to mind the way indigenous cultures speak of animal communities (i.e. "buffalo nation"). It's a shame that indigenous people only appear as permanent outsiders who appear either as thieves (one steals and sells a horse), victims already evicted (as one conversation between a neighbor and Muir's father gets involves), or as as animal-like in how the "Indian trail" allows them to navigate paths the farmers can't (the prominent instances being deer and bees).
While this seems like bias more than malice, it leave a conflicting aftertaste in a book that I largely genuinely enjoyed. Had he been inclined to write more autobiography - a thing that even without the forward you can tell he never wanted to do by how often he comments on how his upbringing effected his self-image - it would have been interesting to see how this dynamic developed. Maybe for the best though. In his above mentioned tendency to recount a species as an artifact towards memory, you can see the yearnings of a nostalgic gaze.
Which, to be clear, is the measure of his sincere love of animals. At one point he refers to birds broadly as "the bird people," which brings to mind the way indigenous cultures speak of animal communities (i.e. "buffalo nation"). It's a shame that indigenous people only appear as permanent outsiders who appear either as thieves (one steals and sells a horse), victims already evicted (as one conversation between a neighbor and Muir's father gets involves), or as as animal-like in how the "Indian trail" allows them to navigate paths the farmers can't (the prominent instances being deer and bees).
While this seems like bias more than malice, it leave a conflicting aftertaste in a book that I largely genuinely enjoyed. Had he been inclined to write more autobiography - a thing that even without the forward you can tell he never wanted to do by how often he comments on how his upbringing effected his self-image - it would have been interesting to see how this dynamic developed. Maybe for the best though. In his above mentioned tendency to recount a species as an artifact towards memory, you can see the yearnings of a nostalgic gaze.
November 21, 2021
A boyhood and youth forged by hard work, faith, and a connection to creation. I didn’t know much of anything about John Muir prior to this and am intrigued by his upbringing. His sense for creation especially the creatures and details of all of Gods handiwork is unparalleled. I was struck by how important the connection to the wild was for him-and how utterly disconnected from so much that is truly real we are in the modern life.
We have to look far back to learn how great may be the capacity of a child’s heart for sorrow and sympathy with animals as well as human friends and neighbors.
So far from complete at times is sympathy between parents and children, and so much like wild beasts are baby boys, little fighting, biting, climbing pagans
Boys are often at once cruel and merciful, thoughtlessly hard hearted and tender hearted, sympathetic, pitiful, and kind in ever changing contrasts
Kings may be blessed; we were glorious, we were free,-school cares and scoldings, heart thrashing and flesh thrashing alike, we’re forgotten in the fullness of nature’s glad wildness
But those terrible fire lessons quickly faded away in the blithe wilderness air; for no fire can be hotter than the heavenly fire of faith and hope that burns in every healthy boys heart
Do they not rather show that the creator in making the pea vine and the locust tree had the same idea in mind, and that plants are not classified arbitrarily? …nature has attended to all that..giving essential unity with boundless variety
We have to look far back to learn how great may be the capacity of a child’s heart for sorrow and sympathy with animals as well as human friends and neighbors.
So far from complete at times is sympathy between parents and children, and so much like wild beasts are baby boys, little fighting, biting, climbing pagans
Boys are often at once cruel and merciful, thoughtlessly hard hearted and tender hearted, sympathetic, pitiful, and kind in ever changing contrasts
Kings may be blessed; we were glorious, we were free,-school cares and scoldings, heart thrashing and flesh thrashing alike, we’re forgotten in the fullness of nature’s glad wildness
But those terrible fire lessons quickly faded away in the blithe wilderness air; for no fire can be hotter than the heavenly fire of faith and hope that burns in every healthy boys heart
Do they not rather show that the creator in making the pea vine and the locust tree had the same idea in mind, and that plants are not classified arbitrarily? …nature has attended to all that..giving essential unity with boundless variety
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