John Muir: The Scotsman who saved America's wild places

by Mary Colwell, Mary Colwell

John Muir is regarded as the 'father of America's national parks' and is a towering figure in the history of that country's involvement with ecology.


Born into a harsh home in Dunbar, Scotland he would often escape to revel in the birds and wildlife of the area. When his father suddenly uprooted the family and moved to the United States, the oppression he associated with his childhood continued - and so did his involvement with the natural world.


Despite the difficulty of his formative years Muir grew up to be a man of great joy - first an inventor and then an explorer, he found his haven in the mountains of Sierra Nevada. He was a fascinating on the one hand a recluse, who sought solitude, and on the other a passionate activist, determined to save the places he loved.


A strong believer in both God and the essential goodness of humanity, he was the founder and first president of the Sierra Club. This wonderful memoir pays tribute to a giant of ecology and is essential reading for lovers of natural history.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Nature, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2014

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, concise, very readable, and a good introduction to John Muir. Author Mary Colwell covers Muir's life from his early boyhood in Scotland to his death in Los Angeles with enjoyable syntax and supports her work from Muir's own works.

This paragraph from Colwell's Epilogue might entice you to learn more about Muir and is worth reading:

" . . . John Muir provides more than one side of an argument, he allows me to relax in the face of so much debate and concern. When I think of John Muir I smile inside. His legacy is an outpouring of unsullied love for nature which is as relevant today as in the nineteenth century. He treasured the natural world truly, deeply, and sincerely. When in the presence of a flower or a mountain, he was lifted out of his own skin and was transported upwards and beyond, full of joy and respect. He saw fun and excitement, majesty and wonder everywhere. He saw creatures with characters and landscapes with moods. God was as present in the waving branches of a tree as in the devastating grinding of tectonic plates. He didn't pretend to have easy answers but was prepared to open himself to the unfolding story of the earth. He cared little for his own concerns when faced with the ineffable mystery of this living, vibrant world. That is refreshing in a world where humanity appears to be so weighed-down and inward-looking."

I would love to have meet John Muir and learn from him. If we had more John Muirs today, I believe our world would be appreciably better for it in many ways.

[Anne Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful, John Muir is a fascinating person, fully explored in this biography. Loved it. 😍

[Kent Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book about a beautiful man. It will reignite or awaken the deep spirituality and meaning to be found in nature.

[Sir Robbiethehoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having now and again inadvertently ended up on the ‘John Muir Way’ the 134 mile trail from Dunbar, John Muir’s hometown, to Helensburgh, spanning the breadth of Scotland, one decided to give this book a go.

It started off strongly and was engaging enough. However, the mid section felt samey and unnecessarily long and drawn out. The ending showed slight improvement.

I would quicker recommend the walk than the book. An interesting and intriguing man living in a tumultuous time in which nature was really for the first time punished by industrial progression.

[Ruben Van Der Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wel written, very interesting read!
I did find it somewhat out of balance, with many many pages dedicated to describing birds in his childhood, and just a few sentences dedicated to his trips around the world.
Still, as a whole it gives a beautiful description of John Muirs life and influence. Glad to have read it.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Colwell does a good job of describing John Muir’s early life and his relationship with nature.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so many lessons from this book, listened to audio and narrator was perfect.

[Star Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This look into one of the founding father's of federal reserve land that managed to preserve some of the final pristine landscapes of the Wild West, now recognized as some of the most visited National Parks, is absolutely amazing. I have always loved biology and geography subjects in school, yet somehow I had never been made aware of the impact John Muir had on the natural sciences. He was an intriguing blend of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nikola Tesla. The man made astonishing inventions that forwarded industry while travelling the continent searching for the beauty of God in nature. He had a hard life and still managed to just appreciate the beauty. Amazing.

The duality of his nature pulses with the very nature of modern society. There are large pushes in the technologies to make our lives distanced from the natural evolution process in medicine and manufacturing at the same time that major movements for a greener living with little impact on the environment are taking root.

I really cannot express the brilliance Mary Colwell has brought to John Muir's life in a mere book review. I have gone from never knowing the name John Muir to finding the beauty in my own surroundings. His light and spirituality has seriously made me look inside myself and my living decisions, which would not have been so vibrant of a search without the elegance of Mary Colwell's research. Her enthusiasm for the man and sharing his legacy have added to the sheer brilliance of an American hero and icon. This immigrant was why our country was founded, and his life can be a present reminder about seeing God in everything and everyone.

I supremely recommend this book to everyone. It can be a long read and might even need some extra mental fortitude to push through, but it is well worth the uplift it will give to your soul. 5 stars. No question.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books where a good writer meets a good topic. John Muir is of course impressive, inspiring, and interesting. But Colwell is an erudite, clear writer, who doesn't merely convey the narrative, but whose lovely prose isn't obtrusive either. She capably distills many threads and Muir's own complex writing into a flowing narrative driven by key themes, such as the balance between development for human needs and conservation. She captures the complexity of Muir's character, who both a loner and socially effusive, kind and yet hard-driven, religious and yet unconventional. She particularly focuses on Muir's kindness to animals, learned through his work on a farm.

I particularly appreciated her discussion of Muir's fundamentalist religious upbringing. When I had read Muir's "Travels in Alaska," I was surprised by the religiosity of it, and how it is almost a narrative of the missionaries he accompanied. Now I realize how far he had come religiously: from fundamentalism to a kind of open panentheism, seeing God in all things.

Muir had a tough life in some regards, struggling with money, a demanding father, manual labor, loneliness. This makes his joy, kindness, and effusive love of nature all the more inspiring.

In the afterword, Colwell suggests that, beyond particulars of conservation, we simply adopt Muir's mindset of being in love with nature, and this will serve us better and more broadly than any anachronistic policy. It is a good suggestion.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book that got my attention because as a teen I hiked several trails of the John Muir trail. Doing so I really did not know that much about him. This book goes into his life from Scotland, to the family move to the U.S. settling in Wisconsin. Then his life there and I must say it was not easy at all. His father was strict and had a set of rules that must have been followed by the book. John as he got older did not always agree with his father, but made do. His time spent alone even though he was with family made for an easier time when he was exploring around the mountains of California later in life. Also goes into his travels of Yosemite and his work of making that and the Sequoias National parks. I will say there were times when I thought the book dragged some but maybe that is the way it is with some biographies. For me not a bad story, was well written. I got this book from netgalley. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Muir's name is spread across the western United States especially in the Rocky mountains and beyond as a voice for our National Parks. In traveling out west our family found many quotes, comments and references to John Muir so I was excited to see this book come to my shelf.

The book sounds as expected to portray the man who was botanist, biologist and explorer. It was at times wordier than I like, but it covers his travels and motives well and gives the reader a good picture of his life. Quotes and excerpts from his notes are interspersed through providing and active voice from his travels.

Review based upon copy provided by the publisher.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was informative and appeared well researched. Sadly it didn't manage to entertain for much of its length, failing to paint a vivid picture of the life of a true adventurer at some of the most pivotal points in his life.

Occasional moments of descriptive competence do engage the reader and by the end of the book one is finally enjoying the narrative.

[Ann Alton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspiring man, but so depressing how much we’ve ruined. His legacy is still debated, with national monuments being cut down in size with a stroke of a pen, all for greed. Please, let his words penetrate. We need these spaces, for our souls. Our planet needs them, to function in its intricate web of interdependence. Please.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked Yosemite to get married in as I wanted an excuse to visit, it looked amazing. It was amazing in real life, and during the visit I started to learn about this man who had been influential in setting up the American National Parks (definitely the best thing about America!). This book is a fascinating insight to him as a person, I especially enjoyed getting an understanding of how he left his fathers dogmatic faith to find his own path to God through creation.