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Selected Writings
This volume of John Muir's selected writings chronicles the key turning points in his life and study of the American wilderness. The Story of My Boyhood and Youth is Muir's account of his childhood on a Wisconsin farm, where his interest in nature was first piqued; in The Mountains of California, The Yosemite, and Travels in Alaska we follow him on long journeys into stunning mountain ranges and valleys, where he records native flora and fauna and finds proof of his theories of the effect of glaciers on landscape formation. These four full-length works--along with a selection of important essays also included here--helped galvanize American naturalists, leading to the founding of the Sierra Club and several national parks. In these pages, written with meticulous thoroughness and an impassioned lyricism, we witness Muir's awakening to the incredible beauty of our planet, and the honing of an eye turned as acutely toward the scientific as the spiritual.
- GenresNonfictionNature
696 pages, Hardcover
Published April 6, 2017
22 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
John Muir
596 books1,424 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 12, 2018
The last John Muir collection I read was not for me but I wanted to give his writing another try. It just isn't for me because I couldn't finish this one.
June 13, 2020
This volume is a collection of writings by naturalist John Muir. The first “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth” is an autobiographical account of his childhood in Scotland, his life on the family farm in Wisconsin, through his early inventions and ending with his studies at the University of Wisconsin.
The themes then turn to writings of the author’s travels beginning with “The Mountains of California”, “Yosemite”, two trips to Alaska and four essays concluding with a plea for protection of forests in national parks.
I found the sections on life in Wisconsin (where I often vacation) to be interesting and entertaining. Muir truly sees and observes. The gems in this book are the rich descriptions of mountains and valleys, their fauna and flora, waters and glaciers. “(I)t is a handsome fern about four or five inches high, has pale-green pinnate fronds and shining bronze-colored stalks about as brittle as glass” are among the picture words Muir employs to paint on the pallet of the reader’s mind. His explanations of totem poles sparked memories of west coast museums. He relates wonderous scenes and near miss accidents, comments on the characteristics and practices of Indians and the explorers and missionaries who accompanied him.
From a scientific standpoint I found his description of the actions of glaciers and their effects on the landscape to be fascinating. His ready acceptance that the melting of glaciers was a continuum of thousands of years duration from the Ice Age is in contrast to the current alarm at the continuation of this process.
This tome is long, 784 pages. I noticed my mind drifting while reading so I read this in sections to help maintain my interest. If I ever travel to the areas which he chronicled I will want to reread the travelogue segments of these selections.
I did receive a free copy of the book through the Amazon Vine Program.
The themes then turn to writings of the author’s travels beginning with “The Mountains of California”, “Yosemite”, two trips to Alaska and four essays concluding with a plea for protection of forests in national parks.
I found the sections on life in Wisconsin (where I often vacation) to be interesting and entertaining. Muir truly sees and observes. The gems in this book are the rich descriptions of mountains and valleys, their fauna and flora, waters and glaciers. “(I)t is a handsome fern about four or five inches high, has pale-green pinnate fronds and shining bronze-colored stalks about as brittle as glass” are among the picture words Muir employs to paint on the pallet of the reader’s mind. His explanations of totem poles sparked memories of west coast museums. He relates wonderous scenes and near miss accidents, comments on the characteristics and practices of Indians and the explorers and missionaries who accompanied him.
From a scientific standpoint I found his description of the actions of glaciers and their effects on the landscape to be fascinating. His ready acceptance that the melting of glaciers was a continuum of thousands of years duration from the Ice Age is in contrast to the current alarm at the continuation of this process.
This tome is long, 784 pages. I noticed my mind drifting while reading so I read this in sections to help maintain my interest. If I ever travel to the areas which he chronicled I will want to reread the travelogue segments of these selections.
I did receive a free copy of the book through the Amazon Vine Program.
November 29, 2020
I just read some of this book. I found Muir's description of his life as a boy fascinating.
July 23, 2025
Would recommend the Chapter: Knowledge and Inventions to anyone. I wouldn’t touch the rest unless I was short of toilet paper on one of the trails his Sierra Nevada chapter sent me on.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews