Customer Reviews

John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir

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Having hiked and climbed in upper Yosemite during summers in my high school years, I could readily identify with Muir's journals describing his ramblings. These journals are "epic," reaching from his first encounter as a shepherd to his rambling years in Yosemite, to his Alaska trips, and his political endeavors. John Muir kept a journal entry book tied to his belt, or would jot on paper meant to start a fire with. Linnie Marsh Wolfe's editing of untold myriads of Muir's notes is itself amazing.
However, it is Muir's most wonderful descriptions of his surroundings that I greatly enjoyed. Clearly, he was an exceptional botonist, describing plant life eloquently, with specific names, often with the Latin derivative. His glacier studies and descriptions of Yosemite and Alaskan glaciers shows rare knowledge and insight into their place in natural history.
Perhaps most enjoyable was Muir's very alive and often poetic descriptions. His word pictures literally make the most inert objects in nature come to life. I found myself often rereading a description, soaking it up as if it fed my soul. Muir's deep sense of man's place in this natural world and his purpose in its preservation is also rare.
These journals could easily be used in a creative or descriptive writing class at the college level. Most of all, they are rare reading that can awaken your ability to observe your surroundings and greatly heighten your passion for this natural world.