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John Burroughs' America: Selections from the Writings of the Naturalist
A rich selection of passages from the authors 25 books includes delightful pieces, written with grace and elegance, about the rewards (and frustrations) of trout fishing; the lives and habits of foxes, chipmunks, hawks, weasels, honeybees, and other creatures; the rhythms of the seasons, and many other topics. Enhanced with 28 charming woodcut illustrations.
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1951
99 people want to read
About the author
John Burroughs
915 books175 followersIn 1837, naturalist John Burroughs was born on a farm in the Catskills. After teaching, and clerking in government, Burroughs returned to the Catskills, and devoted his life to writing and gardening. He knew Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and Walt Whitman, writing the first biography of Whitman. Most of his 22 books are collected essays on nature and philosophy. In In The Light of Day (1900) he wrote about his views on religion: "If we take science as our sole guide, if we accept and hold fast that alone which is verifiable, the old theology must go." "When I look up at the starry heavens at night and reflect upon what is it that I really see there, I am constrained to say, 'There is no God' . . . " In his journal dated Feb. 18, 1910, he wrote: "Joy in the universe, and keen curiosity about it all—that has been my religion." He died on his 83rd birthday. The John Burroughs Sanctuary can be found near West Park, N.Y., and his rustic cabin, Slabsides, has been preserved. D. 1921.
According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress, John Burroughs was the most important practitioner after Henry David Thoreau of that especially American literary genre, the nature essay. By the turn of the 20th century he had become a virtual cultural institution[peacock term] in his own right: the Grand Old Man of Nature at a time when the American romance with the idea of nature, and the American conservation movement, had come fully into their own. His extraordinary popularity and popular visibility were sustained by a prolific stream of essay collections, beginning with Wake-Robin in 1871.
In the words of his biographer Edward Renehan, Burroughs' special identity was less that of a scientific naturalist than that of "a literary naturalist with a duty to record his own unique perceptions of the natural world." The result was a body of work whose perfect resonance with the tone of its cultural moment perhaps explains both its enormous popularity at that time, and its relative obscurity since.
Since his death in 1921, John Burroughs has been commemorated by the John Burroughs Association. The association maintains the John Burroughs Sanctuary in Esopus, New York, a 170 acre plot of land surrounding Slabsides, and awards a medal each year to "the author of a distinguished book of natural history".
Twelve U.S. schools have been named after Burroughs, including public elementary schools in Washington, DC and Minneapolis, Minnesota, public middle schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California, a public high school in Burbank, California, and a private secondary school, John Burroughs School, in St. Louis, Missouri. Burroughs Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park is named in his honor.There was a medal named after John Burroughs and the John Burroughs Association publicly recognizes well-written and illustrated natural history publications. Each year the Burroughs medal is awarded to the author of a distinguished book of natural history, with the presentation made during the Association's annual meeting on the first Monday of April.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...
http://research.amnh.org/burroughs/
According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress, John Burroughs was the most important practitioner after Henry David Thoreau of that especially American literary genre, the nature essay. By the turn of the 20th century he had become a virtual cultural institution[peacock term] in his own right: the Grand Old Man of Nature at a time when the American romance with the idea of nature, and the American conservation movement, had come fully into their own. His extraordinary popularity and popular visibility were sustained by a prolific stream of essay collections, beginning with Wake-Robin in 1871.
In the words of his biographer Edward Renehan, Burroughs' special identity was less that of a scientific naturalist than that of "a literary naturalist with a duty to record his own unique perceptions of the natural world." The result was a body of work whose perfect resonance with the tone of its cultural moment perhaps explains both its enormous popularity at that time, and its relative obscurity since.
Since his death in 1921, John Burroughs has been commemorated by the John Burroughs Association. The association maintains the John Burroughs Sanctuary in Esopus, New York, a 170 acre plot of land surrounding Slabsides, and awards a medal each year to "the author of a distinguished book of natural history".
Twelve U.S. schools have been named after Burroughs, including public elementary schools in Washington, DC and Minneapolis, Minnesota, public middle schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California, a public high school in Burbank, California, and a private secondary school, John Burroughs School, in St. Louis, Missouri. Burroughs Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park is named in his honor.There was a medal named after John Burroughs and the John Burroughs Association publicly recognizes well-written and illustrated natural history publications. Each year the Burroughs medal is awarded to the author of a distinguished book of natural history, with the presentation made during the Association's annual meeting on the first Monday of April.
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...
http://research.amnh.org/burroughs/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 21, 2016
This book is very interesting and well written. I read this book because I wanted to learn something about the mercurial "naturalist," John Burroughs. Who was he, and how was it that he became chummy with the rich and famous, like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone (his camping buddies)? Still, why isn't he as famous as his fellow naturalist and contemporary, John Muir? It turns out that Burroughs was more of a literary figure than an environmental activist, which John Muir was. Burroughs saw himself as a great writer, in the tradition of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, rather than as an environmentalist. He was actually a nature lover, and not a "naturalist," in the scientific sense. He was also willing to turn a blind eye to environmental misdeeds of his wealthy businessmen friends. For example, he was critical of what cars were doing to nature, until Ford sent him a free car. Then he had nothing more to say on the issue of cars and the environment. He was no scientist, even boasting that be had little interest in the scientific aspects of nature. Although others may have different opinions, I found Burroughs, the man, to be a rather shallow, but not uninteresting, person. The book provides excellent insight to the mindset of people of the era (1900-1920) regarding nature, and man's place within nature.
July 22, 2013
An excellent biography of one of the world's greatest nature writers and philosophers. He was an nature guru to many of the late 19th and early 20th century power brokers yet always made time to personally answer letter which came from students. A revealing portrait of a sometime very conflicted man who found peace and fulfillment when he was in the woods.
September 26, 2007
I totally loved this book. This guy was fascinating.
August 10, 2008
Renehan is a great biographer who gets the facts straight and tells a damn good story.
July 5, 2021
Along with John Muir, Burroughs was one of America's great naturalists. This excellent biography does him full justice.
December 13, 2022
A boring book about a nasty man.
August 16, 2019
Born in Catskills to farmers. Neighbor was Jay Gould.
Father didn't believe in Christmas gifts. JB hung up a stocking and awoke to find a piece of horse manure in it.
Later chided wife & son when they wanted to celebrate
School teacher in Catskill & Ulster (High Falls)
Married Ursula, who thought he wanted too much sex (she left him for a few months so he can learn the chaste life).
Gould & JB watched a man die to see if they could see the spirit depart. JB stayed only a few minutes.
Very interested in birds. In young days he would shoot birds, including the last wild passenger pigeon he would ever see.
Began keeping nature journals.
Often hiked to get away from domestic chores and henpecking; the woods were for men...
In Washington during war. Aided Whitman with wounded soldiers.
Advocate hiking and birdwatching - healthy, inexpensive & intriguing.
Fathered a son JULIAN by Irish maid, who was sent back home.
Built house in Riverby (West Park) with Slabsides behind it. Grew orchard, then vinyards.
Influenced by Emerson, friend to Whitman. In later years friend to wealthy men (Harriman, Ford, Rosevelt, etc.)
When Whitman died he wrote many books/articles on him.
Vice president of NY Audoban society.
On hunting trips with Rosevelt.
Famous for Nature essays - many schools named after him. Lots of correspondence from people.
Wanted wilderness more as a garden than a wilderness (as opposed to Muir). Thought the west was ugly (barren mountains, Yellowstone steam) - but later railed aginast rqvages of earth, industrializatrion, etc.
On cars: "A man may live now & travel without hardly coming in contact with the earth or air. He can go around the world in a parlor."
On streams: "You cannot have the same kind of attachment and sympathy with a great river. It does not flow through your affections like a lesser stream."
On stuffed animals: "A bird shot and stuffed and botanized is no bird at all... Do not go to museums to find Nature. Do not rely on schoolbooks... Nature is nothing at all when it is twice removed. It is only real when you reach out and touch it with your own hands. "
On exercise: "It is good to work up a sweat at least once every day and sustain it for at least an hour."
Thought people found religion becuase they were disatisfied with the world. He found joy in Nature.
EMERSON believed one shold study Nature to know one's self.
HENERY FORD was born in farm. In later years he brought family out to land to harvest hayfields outside of Detroit.
"I seldom go into a natural history museum without feeling as if I were attending a funeral."
"A man in the woods with a gun in his hand, is no longer a man, -- he is a brtue."
I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.
The secret of happiness is something to do.
Father didn't believe in Christmas gifts. JB hung up a stocking and awoke to find a piece of horse manure in it.
Later chided wife & son when they wanted to celebrate
School teacher in Catskill & Ulster (High Falls)
Married Ursula, who thought he wanted too much sex (she left him for a few months so he can learn the chaste life).
Gould & JB watched a man die to see if they could see the spirit depart. JB stayed only a few minutes.
Very interested in birds. In young days he would shoot birds, including the last wild passenger pigeon he would ever see.
Began keeping nature journals.
Often hiked to get away from domestic chores and henpecking; the woods were for men...
In Washington during war. Aided Whitman with wounded soldiers.
Advocate hiking and birdwatching - healthy, inexpensive & intriguing.
Fathered a son JULIAN by Irish maid, who was sent back home.
Built house in Riverby (West Park) with Slabsides behind it. Grew orchard, then vinyards.
Influenced by Emerson, friend to Whitman. In later years friend to wealthy men (Harriman, Ford, Rosevelt, etc.)
When Whitman died he wrote many books/articles on him.
Vice president of NY Audoban society.
On hunting trips with Rosevelt.
Famous for Nature essays - many schools named after him. Lots of correspondence from people.
Wanted wilderness more as a garden than a wilderness (as opposed to Muir). Thought the west was ugly (barren mountains, Yellowstone steam) - but later railed aginast rqvages of earth, industrializatrion, etc.
On cars: "A man may live now & travel without hardly coming in contact with the earth or air. He can go around the world in a parlor."
On streams: "You cannot have the same kind of attachment and sympathy with a great river. It does not flow through your affections like a lesser stream."
On stuffed animals: "A bird shot and stuffed and botanized is no bird at all... Do not go to museums to find Nature. Do not rely on schoolbooks... Nature is nothing at all when it is twice removed. It is only real when you reach out and touch it with your own hands. "
On exercise: "It is good to work up a sweat at least once every day and sustain it for at least an hour."
Thought people found religion becuase they were disatisfied with the world. He found joy in Nature.
EMERSON believed one shold study Nature to know one's self.
HENERY FORD was born in farm. In later years he brought family out to land to harvest hayfields outside of Detroit.
"I seldom go into a natural history museum without feeling as if I were attending a funeral."
"A man in the woods with a gun in his hand, is no longer a man, -- he is a brtue."
I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.
The secret of happiness is something to do.
February 25, 2009
I learned that Walt Whitman was a racist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2022
"Facing the mystery "
December 15, 2022
A capably told life of a very complex and flawed man stunned by the beauty of nature.
December 23, 2022
I happened to find a copy of this book in a used book store recently and it’s my first time reading writings by John Burroughs. I would say that to enjoy this book you really should have an interest in descriptive writing of nature and wildlife. Much of his writing is very poetic as well. It was a slow read for me, as it’s not necessarily a book that pulls you in and grabs your attention like a novel. But, I really enjoyed it for the many philosophical insights about life and nature.
October 23, 2009
Intend to just browse through this library book. In years past we have spent many hours driving through the Hudson River Valley and Catskill region. Many black and white illustrations on nature - birds, landscapes, waterfalls and more.
August 6, 2016
I'd never read Burroughs until I came across this compilation at a local book sale. He's a sharp-eyed observer of the natural goings-on in his Hudson Valley yard and woods, a true lover of nature with a flair for interesting details. I forgive him for shooting that passenger pigeon.
February 28, 2015
Tough to slog through. I wish I had more interest in it!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews