Showing results for "John Muir" in History

Join naturalist and adventurer John Muir as he vividly recounts the gripping tale of his journey with his loyal dog, Stickeen, as they confront their fears on a treacherous Alaskan glacier in 1880. This captivating story of bravery and companionship will leave you inspired and in awe of the natural world. (Summary by Sue Anderson)

It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.

Part of John Muir's appeal to modern audiences is that he not only explored the American West and wrote about its beauties but also fought for their preservation. His successes dot the landscape and are evident in all the natural features that bear his name: forests, lakes, trails, and glaciers. Here collected are some of Muir's finest wilderness essays, ranging in subject matter from Alaska to Yellowstone, from Oregon to the High Sierra.

"I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer," John Muir wrote. "Civilization and fever and all the morbidness that has been hooted at me has not dimmed my glacial eye, and I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature's loveliness. My own special self is nothing". In Donald Worster's magisterial biography, John Muir's "special self" is fully explored as is his extraordinary ability, then and now, to get others to see the sacred beauty of the natural world.

For two years, Scots-born John Muir lived in a small cabin along the Yosemite creek, observing the valley's natural beauty and reading Emerson under the stars. The experience forged a lifelong affinity with the site, which would result in its establishment as a national park in 1890. Originally written as a guidebook to the park, The Yosemite describes every aspect of wildlife and landscape that one might encounter there.

John Muir has left a mark on history in a way that is quite unique. There are very few people whose powerful love for nature has caused such a truly lasting impact as his. While his early childhood was largely what one would consider normal in Scotland, a life changing event while working in a factory, which nearly blinded him, caused John to totally change the direction of his life. He suddenly found great beauty in every moment, and especially nature and the outdoors.

"In mid-July of 1879, John Muir sailed for the first time through the sheer-walled fjords of Alaska's Inside Passage. 'Never before this,' he wrote, 'had I been embosomed in scenery so hopelessly beyond description.' During the previous 15 years, Muir had vanished into the north woods of Canada, walked a thousand miles from Kentucky to the Gulf of Mexico, and nested himself in the granite heart of California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Wild nature burned with volcanic intensity in the core of John Muir's soul. And here - amid the mountains, glaciers, and islands of Alaska - he found a wildness to match his own." - Richard Nelson

John Muir: The Life and Legacy of America’s Most Famous Conservationist examines the legendary career of one of the country’s most influential figures. You will learn about John Muir like never before.

The naturalist, author, and advocate for preservation, John Muir (1838-1914) was also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks". In the spring of 1869, John Muir was looking for ways to fund his explorations of California’s Central Valley region, when a ranch owner offered him a job herding sheep in the Sierra Nevada. In The Yosemite, Muir chronicled his experiences of the beautiful wilderness in appealingly descriptive prose. The audiobook is a treasure trove of portrayals of the shifting phases of the year in Yosemite.

In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.

In the heart of a Wisconsin pioneer farm in the 1850s, young John Muir recounts a childhood marked by struggle and resilience. With a kitchen stove that barely warmed the home, Muir paints a vivid picture of life for his family of ten, all huddled together in the biting cold. Uprooted from a comfortable life in Dunbar, Scotland, Muirs father, a strict religious fundamentalist, imposed a harsh doctrine of self-denial that clashed with Johns secret love for poetry and literature. Lacking formal education, John turned to nature for wisdom, observing the changing seasons, the farm animals, and the...

Join John Muir on his remarkable journey to Alaska in 1879, where the awe-inspiring living glaciers ignited his passion for exploration and science. These majestic ice formations served as a vital backdrop for Muir to validate his groundbreaking theories on glacial action. He returned time and again to this breathtaking laboratory of landscapes, ultimately dedicating the final months of his life to crafting his reflections on these travels. The most famous tide-water glacier now proudly bears his name, a testament to his enduring legacy. (Summary by William Frederic Bade)

Join nature enthusiast John Muir as he embarks on a transformative journey through California’s breathtaking Sierra Nevada range during the summer of 1869. From the picturesque landscapes of French Bar to the serene shores of Mono Lake and the majestic Yosemite Valley, Muir was captivated by the wonders of the natural world. He marveled at the intricate lives of the smallest “insect people” and found inspiration in the resilience of ancient Juniper trees clinging to life in the most unlikely places. This recording not only celebrates the 140th anniversary of that remarkable ...

Dive into a captivating collection of John Muirs previously unpublished essays, released shortly after his passing. This volume is sure to fulfill the high expectations of Muir’s devoted readers. Experience the thrill of his harrowing night on the summit of Mount Shasta, a tale that ranks among the most exhilarating of his adventures. Muirs reflections on the abandoned towns of Nevada and the Native Americans harvesting pine nuts evoke a vanishing chapter of Western life that remains largely uncharted in American literature. The breathtaking landscapes Muir encountered now exist mainly ...

John Muir (1838-1914) was an influential naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas in the United States. In 1869, Muir traveled to California and spent a long time in the area that is now the Yosemite National Park. This narrative takes the form of a hiking guide filled with adventure. Muir was a master of description, providing stirring portraits of the area’s wildlife, waterfalls, valleys, meadows, giant sequoias groves, lakes, mountains, and glaciers.

This set of six talks reveals a lesser-known side of Thomas Merton: an eminent critic and teacher of literature. His dual identity as a monk and literati make him the premier guide to poetic expression. As you listen along, you will enjoy moments of penetrating insight and reflection as often as moments of levity and laughter.

Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography *“We see through this book the immense power of language…to change the minds of lawmakers and tourists alike.” —The New York Times Book Review *“A poignant portrait of an era when mere words could change the world.”...

At stake in 1896 was the new idea that some landscapes should be collectively, permanently owned by a democratic government. Although many people today think of public lands as an American birthright, their very existence was then in doubt and dependent on a merger of the talents of these two men. Natural Rivals examines a time of environmental threat and political dysfunction not unlike our own and reveals the complex dynamic that gave birth to America’s rich public lands legacy.

The classic dog story Stickeen is John Muir's account of what happened on an Alaskan glacier with a little dog named Stickeen. One day, Muir went exploring a large glacier during a blizzard, with Stickeen in tow. They became stranded, and the only way out was across a precarious ice bridge. Both man and dog escaped, and this triumph changed Stickeen from a rather aloof canine into a devoted companion. Muir called his adventure with Stickeen "the most memorable of all my wild days”, and wrote that the little dog enlarged his life by extended its boundaries.

"Stickeen.... pushed his head past my shoulders, looked down and across, then looked me in the face and began to mutter and whine; saying as plainly as if speaking with words, "Surely, you are not going into that awful place. "As the darkness of a freezing night approaches, an experienced American naturalist and a dog are trapped on an Alaskan Glacier. This is a true story, written by one of the United States' most famous naturalists and explorers.