John Muir: Wilderness Essays

John Muir: Wilderness Essays. by John Muir.

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Gibbs Smith;(April 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1423607120

 

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.

From the Publisher

John Muir, Father of the National Parks

Millions have read his books. Did he know the impact he would have with his ecological musings? Known as the 'Father of the National Parks,' his letters, books, and essays about nature are priceless. Read this wonderful edition, part of the Gibbs Smith Publisher series of literary naturalists.

• Inspirational reading for those who love the outdoors
• Convenient trim size for traveling and adventures
• Beautiful cover illustrations
• Read outside!

There's not much I can say about John Muir. He was a true lover of all nature and never could explore it enough.. 

Here is  a piece of his Wilderness Essays when talking about Yellowstone..:

"In these natural laboratories one needs stout faith to feel at ease. The ground sounds hollow underfoot, and the awful subterranean thunder shakes one's mine as the ground is shaken, especially at night in the pale moonlight , or when the sky is overcast with storm clouds. In the solemn gloom, the geysers, dimly visible, look like monstrous dancing ghosts, and their wild songs, and the earthquake thunder replying to the storms overhead seem doubly terrible, as if a divine government were at an end. But the trembling hills keep their places. The sky clears, the rosy dawn is reassuring, and up comes the sun like a God, pouring his faithful beams across the mountains and forest, lighting each peak and tree and ghastly geyser alike, and shining into the eyes of the reeking springs,  clothing them with rainbow light, and dissolving the seeming chaos of darkness into varied forms of harmony. The ordinary work of the world goes on. Gladly we see the flies dancing in the sunbeams, birds feeding their young, squirrels gathering nuts and hear the  blessed ouzel (a bird that resembles the blackbird) singing confidingly  in the shallows of the river,... most faithful  evangel, calming every fear, reducing everything to love." 



My special thanks to Cath (Sis) for sending me this book... It's a "keeper"!!!