Customer Reviews

Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir's Best Writings (Essential) (California Legacy Book)

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This book is so well done and so beautiful is its content, that I cannot imagine someone
not having this as a resource, if they understand and value Muir's writing and his
great works...

John Muir's works are old enough to be in the public domain and are freely available online, so you can judge for yourself whether you appreciate his exuberant writing style before you buy. For my part, I knew within about 5 minutes that he would be one of my favorite authors. This book solidly confirmed that prediction.

Before reading this book, I had very little knowledge about Muir. Just the basics: grew up in WI, loved the Sierra Nevada, fought against the Hetch Hetchy dam and founded the Sierra Club, went on a hike with TR. I found Prof. White's eleven-page introduction to be helpful in understanding Muir and his writings, and it made me eager to learn more. The professor's selection of Muir's works succeeded in illustrating Muir's multiple facets, his rather astounding life trajectory, and the surprising depth to which he has impacted American society even to the present day. My only complaints about the book are physical--it's a little too big to fit in a hiker's pocket and not really sturdy enough to survive more than a few excursions (the book really ought to be read somewhere out in nature for maximum impact). On the other hand, several of selections have reached that highest echelon--writings dear to me that I have already and will continue to read over and over again. Think maybe I'll go do that now...