Wilderness Essays

By John Muir

Book Overview

Experience John Muir's wilderness essays spanning Alaska to Yellowstone--writings that not only celebrate America's natural beauties but also established his legacy as a pioneering conservationist whose name now graces forests, lakes, and trails.

Part of John Muir's appeal to modern readers is that he not only explored the American West and wrote about its beauties but also fought for their preservation. His successes dot the landscape and are evident in all the natural features that bear his name: forests, lakes, trails, and glaciers. Here collected are some of Muir's finest wilderness essays, ranging in subject matter from Alaska to Yellowstone, from Oregon to the High Sierra.

This book is part of a series that celebrates the tradition of literary naturalists--writers who embrace the natural world as the setting for some of our most euphoric and serious experiences. These books map the intimate connections between the human and the natural world. Literary naturalists transcend political boundaries, social concerns, and historical milieus; they speak for what Henry Beston called the "other nations" of the planet. Their message acquires more weight and urgency as wild places become increasingly scarce.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1423607120
• ISBN13: 9781423607120
• Release Date: April 2011
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 10 years and up

Customer Reviews

This is a great anthology

If I was only to buy one John Muir book (a tragedy), this would be the one. Excellent essays that demonstrate both his lucid writing style and the amazing country that he describes. He coherently describes his own life (and the times that surround it), in a way that makes me want to grab a cotton rucksack and a bag of food and head off for the High Sierra.

Feels like you're there.

John Muir is simply the best naturalist writer I have ever read. His writing is clear, descriptive and interesting. I typically don't like this type of writing, but his essays make you hear, see, taste and smell the outdoors. I usually like to experience nature directly, but Muir is the next best thing to being there. A collection of his best works is presented here.