Customer Reviews

American Conservation Movement: John Muir And His Legacy

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This is an immensely enjoyable and informative account of both the life of John Muir and the history of conservation in the United States. In the preface, Fox recounts that he intended to write a history of conservation in America, but during his research realized the journals and manuscripts of John Muir had only recently been made available for scholarly research. Earlier works on the life of Muir drew exclusively from critical essays, and were inherently limited. John Muir is one of, if not the most, prominent and influential figures in American conservationism. Recognizing this, Fox seeks to divide his work into three sections: first, a biography of Muir unhindered by restriction and interpretation, which draws heavily from the journals and manuscripts of Muir himself, second, a chronological history of conservation in America from 1890-1975, and third, analysis of conservation in America. It is an unconventional approach, but Fox succeeds brilliantly.

I feel he captures the spirit of Muir in a way no other author I have read does, and in doing so gets to the very heart of conservationism. Anyone who is interested in Muir, conservationism, or simply wonders what all the "green", "sustainable", and environmental stuff is all about will no doubt gain immensely from reading this book. In addition to being a thoroughly researched and comprehensive historical work, Fox's writing style is approachable and thought-inspiring. Great Read!