Essential Muir (Revised)

John Muir (1838–1914) was a naturalist, author, and advocate for wilderness preservation. A prolific writer, his many books, essays, and letters abound with wit, humor, and an exuberant love of the natural world. Fred D. White is an associate professor of composition, and he directed the writing program at Santa Clara University from 2003 to 2005. His books include The Well-Crafted Argument (with Simone Billings), Lifewriting, Communicating Technology, Science and the Human Spirit, and The Writer’s Art.

• ContentsForewordIntroduction Part One: The Visionary Inventor“Knowledge and Inventions,” from The Story of My Boyhood and Youth“The World and the University,” from The Story of My Boyhood and YouthPart Two: The Wandering Minstrel“Kentucky Forests and Caves and Through the Cumberland Mountains” from A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf “The River Country of Georgia, Through Florida's Swamps and Forests, and across Florida to Cedar Keys,” from A Thousand-Mile Walk to the GulfPart Three: The Nature Scribe and Rhapsode“In Camp on the North Fork of the Merced” from My First Summer in the Sierra“The Mono Indians of Bloody Canon” from My First Summer in the Sierra“A Near View of the High Sierra,” from The Mountains of California“A Windstorm in the Forest,” from The Mountains of California“A Yosemite Earthquake” from The Yosemite “Yosemite Falls at Midnight,” from The Life and Letters of John Muir“Nut Time in Squirrelville,” from The Life and Letters of John Muir“Yosemite Glaciers,” New York Tribune, Dec. 5, 1871“Indian Tribes in the Yosemite Valley” from The Yosemite Part Four: The Global Adventurer“Eskimos and Walrus,” from The Cruise of the Corwin“Stickeen vs. the Glacier,” from Stickeen“Voyage to East Africa,” from John Muir’s Last JourneyPart Five: The Planet Steward“God’s First Temples: How Shall We Preserve Our Forests?” Sacramento Daily Union, Feb. 5, 1876“The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West,” Atlantic Monthly, Aug. 1897“Thoughts upon National Parks” (ca. 1895), from John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John MuirSources Major Works of John MuirAbout the Editor