Book details

Book description

'No other writer is so ceaselessly astonished by the natural world as he.' Robert Macfarlane The name of John Muir has come to stand for the protection of wild land and wilderness in both America and Britain. Born in Dunbar in 1838, Muir is famed as a pioneer of conservation, and his passion, discipline and vision are still inspirational today. Combining acute observation with a sense of inner discovery, Muir's description of the summer he spent in what would become Yosemite National park in California's Sierra Nevada mountains raises an awareness of nature to a spiritual dimension. His journal provides a unique weaving of natural history, lyrical prose and amusing anecdote, retaining a freshness, intensity and honesty which will amaze the modern reader. 'The richness of Muir's writing roots deeper into the terrain than any other wilderness writer known to me.' Los Angeles Times 'As more and more of us grow aghast at what we have done to the world we started with, Muir's reverence and devotion will seem keenly germane, and our regret may be transmuted into a fight for the future.' Edward Hoagland