The best of John Muir -- 332 quotations, the distillation of his thought, the essence of his beliefs. Muir was the foremost conservationist of his time -- nature writer, social critic, realist, a romantic, a visionary. A long-needed collection that features an excellent subject index. Painstaking bibliographic references make this an invaluable addition to one's Muir Library. (Yosemite Association.) If asked for a succinct statement of his beliefs, Muir might have replied:

A biography of the man known as "father of America's national parks" and an influential conservationist, told in the first person, using Muir's own words.

"I am now writing up some notes, but when they will be ready for publication I do not know... It will be a long time before anything is arranged in book form." These words of John Muir, written in June 1912 to a friend, proved prophetic. The journals and notes to which the great naturalist and environmental figure was referring have languished, unpublished and virtually untouched, for nearly a century. Until now. Here edited and published for the first time, John Muir's travel journals from 1911-12, along with his associated correspondence, finally allow us to read in his own words the remarkable story of John Muir's last great journey. Leaving from Brooklyn, New York, in August 1911, John Muir, at the age of seventy-three and traveling alone, embarked on an eight-month, 40,000-mile voyage to South America and Africa. The 1911-12 journals and correspondence reproduced in this volume allow us to travel with him up the great Amazon, into the jungles of southern Brazil, to snowline in the Andes, through southern and central Africa to the headwaters of the Nile, and across six oceans and seas in order to reach the rare forests he had so long wished to study. Although this epic journey has received almost no attention from the many commentators on Muir's work, Muir himself considered it among the most important of his life and the fulfillment of a decades-long dream. John Muir's Last Journey provides a rare glimpse of a Muir whose interests as a naturalist, traveler, and conservationist extended well beyond the mountains of California. It also helps us to see John Muir as a different kind of hero, one whose endurance and intellectual curiosity carried him into far fields of adventure even as he aged, and as a private person and family man with genuine affections, ambitions, and fears, not just an iconic representative of American wilderness. With an introduction that sets Muir's trip in the context of his life and work, along with chapter introductions and a wealth of explanatory notes, the book adds important dimensions to our appreciation of one of America's greatest environmentalists. John Muir's Last Journey is a must reading for students and scholars of environmental history, American literature, natural history, and related fields, as well as for naturalists and armchair travelers everywhere.

The best of John Muir -- 332 quotations, the distillation of his thought, the essence of his beliefs. Muir was the foremost conservationist of his time -- nature writer, social critic, realist, a romantic, a visionary. A long-needed collection that features an excellent subject index. Painstaking bibliographic references make this an invaluable addition to one's Muir Library. (Yosemite Association.) If asked for a succinct statement of his beliefs, Muir might have replied:

An exuberant graphic bio of the life of John Muir. John Muir led an adventurous life, starting with his wild and playful boyhood in Scotland to his legendary exploits in America, where he became an inventor, a global explorer, and the first modern environmentalist—and even became friends with a president! His heart was always in the outdoors and he aimed to experience all he could. Most importantly, though, John Muir told the world about the wonders of nature. His words made a difference and inspired people in many countries to start protecting planet Earth— and they still do.

The Wisdom of John Muir marries the best aspects of a Muir anthology with the best aspects of a Muir biography. The fact that it is neither, and yet it is both, distinguishes this book from the many extant books on John Muir. Building on her lifelong passion for the work and philosophy of John Muir, author Anne Rowthorn has created this entirely new treatment for showcasing the great naturalist's philosophy and writings. By pairing carefully selected material from various stages of Muir's life, Rowthorn's book provides a view into the experiences, places, and people that inspired and informed Muir's words and beliefs. The reader feels able to join in with Muir's own discoveries and transformations over the arc of his life. Rowthorn is careful not to overstep her role: she stands back and lets Muir's words speak for themselves.