The Wild Muir

Here is an entertaining collection of John Muir’s most exciting adventures, representing some of his finest writing. From the famous avalanche ride off the rim of Yosemite Valley to his night spent weathering a windstorm at the top of a tree to death-defying falls on Alaskan glaciers, the renowned outdoorsman’s exploits are related in passages that are by turns exhilarating, unnerving, dizzying, and outrageous.

Here is an entertaining collection of John Muir’s most exciting adventures, representing some of his finest writing. From the famous avalanche ride off the rim of Yosemite Valley to his night spent weathering a windstorm at the top of a tree to death-defying falls on Alaskan glaciers, the renowned outdoorsman’s exploits are related in passages that are by turns exhilarating, unnerving, dizzying, and outrageous.

Features the eight influential books in which John Muir reflects on the beauty of America's wilderness and fights for their protection.

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.

Selections from each of John Muir's published books.

First published in 1901, “Our National Parks” is a fantastic guide to the wild mountain forest reservations and national parks of the United States, exploring their beauty and usefulness in an attempt to encourage contemporary readers to go out and enjoy the natural wonders of North America. John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, author, and glaciologist who famously fought to preserve wilderness in the United States of America. Muir's work describing his adventures in nature have been read by millions the world over and his activism has helped to conserve such important places of natural beauty as the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park in America. Contents include: “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West”, “The Yellowstone National Park”, “The Yosemite National Park”, “The Forests of the Yosemite Park”, “The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park”, “Among the Animals of the Yosemite”, “Among the Birds of the Yosemite”, “The Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite National Park”, etc. Other notable works by this author include: “My First Summer in the Sierra” (1911), “Steep Trails” (1918), and “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth” (1913). A Thousand Fields is republishing this classic book now complete with a biographical sketch of the author.

Gathered from John Muir's own writings, this fascinating compilation recounts his historic, first walk from the San Francisco bay to Yosemite.