Wilderness Essays

I really didn’t know what to expect when picking this up, I just thought it would be interesting to read more from the legend John Muir. This is not an adventure novel, or even really that exciting of a read. But, it is a great journal of the beauty of nature and written by someone who really knows how to write about what he sees. Even just reading 2 of the essays so far, it gets me excited to get outside and experience more of what he saw that caused him to sit and write about it!

Some of the most striking and eloquent descriptions of nature's beauty ever recorded with quite a bit of scientific observation thrown in as an added bonus. Anyone who loves the outdoors will love this book.

I love John Muir and his writings and found this book to be a great read. John Muir was a great explorer and a wonderful documentarian of the outdoors and the places that he explored. This book is a nice compilation of essays from several different trips and times in his life - Alaska all the way to Yosemite.

My quiet 12 year old requested and loved this book!

Lots of fun to read early impressions of some of America's most beautiful visages. I found I ended up breaking the book into two major sections and reading something else in between. The essays can have a slightly redundant feel, so breaking it up made it better for me. The writing is excellent and the words really express the emotions one feels out in the wilderness. Certainly worth the time!

A wonderful treatise about the great outdoors...John Muir describes his adventures in a way that helps the reader Visulize the story at hand and takes you along just for fun!

I love nature, and only John Muir can take me to mountains, and meadows, touch wild life and its all so real and unpretentious. Reading these essays is a refreshing experiance, its like gazing at a nature scene only better because words can be more detailed. And what make the essays even better is the abundance of good he did for all humanity by being one of the main instruments to help preserve earths natureal beauty.

Item as described

Purchased to get myself ready for my first trip to Yosemite, looking forward to the read!

This is the perfect gift for people who love John Muir or just enjoy being outside. Muir's story is inspirational. The artwork on the book makes it a great coffee table book too.

I really didn’t know what to expect when picking this up, I just thought it would be interesting to read more from the legend John Muir. This is not an adventure novel, or even really that exciting of a read. But, it is a great journal of the beauty of nature and written by someone who really knows how to write about what he sees. Even just reading 2 of the essays so far, it gets me excited to get outside and experience more of what he saw that caused him to sit and write about it!

Some of the most striking and eloquent descriptions of nature's beauty ever recorded with quite a bit of scientific observation thrown in as an added bonus. Anyone who loves the outdoors will love this book.

I love John Muir and his writings and found this book to be a great read. John Muir was a great explorer and a wonderful documentarian of the outdoors and the places that he explored. This book is a nice compilation of essays from several different trips and times in his life - Alaska all the way to Yosemite.

My quiet 12 year old requested and loved this book!

Lots of fun to read early impressions of some of America's most beautiful visages. I found I ended up breaking the book into two major sections and reading something else in between. The essays can have a slightly redundant feel, so breaking it up made it better for me. The writing is excellent and the words really express the emotions one feels out in the wilderness. Certainly worth the time!

A wonderful treatise about the great outdoors...John Muir describes his adventures in a way that helps the reader Visulize the story at hand and takes you along just for fun!

I love nature, and only John Muir can take me to mountains, and meadows, touch wild life and its all so real and unpretentious. Reading these essays is a refreshing experiance, its like gazing at a nature scene only better because words can be more detailed. And what make the essays even better is the abundance of good he did for all humanity by being one of the main instruments to help preserve earths natureal beauty.

Item as described

Purchased to get myself ready for my first trip to Yosemite, looking forward to the read!

This is the perfect gift for people who love John Muir or just enjoy being outside. Muir's story is inspirational. The artwork on the book makes it a great coffee table book too.

I really love this book. Informative and very interesting.

Get out into the woods. If you can’t then read this till you can.

Purchased this for a remote camping trip — it made our trip memorable. These stories are timeless, adventurous, and beautiful. Highly recommend.

If you love nature , you will love this! Great buy!!

Beautifully illustrated book by a classic American Novelist. Great read for any outdoor enthusiasts or someone who is not familiar with his acts of conservationism.

About the man and the parks we now have because of him. The USA is about the people of our past.

The wisdom of John Muir is needed more than ever today.

Nice Read with a cigar and a good brandy/ whiskey

This is a must read for adventurers. He was a pioneer in the game and writes a lot of very descriptive essays about the wilderness and how it was prior to people steadily destroying it.

Arrived damaged, as if it had been wet. Front was covered in black and white debris, and pages were printed crooked. Terrible.

What can I say? It's a collection of works from the late, great John Muir. The man is legendary. His writing may come across as a little dry to modern readers, but then most works written in that time period tend to be. It is mainly his observations of the natural world around him. It is very good and for those interested in Muir this is a nice collection of his essays and the book cover is quite lovely in person. My main complaint is that I do wish he wrote more about the details of his day to day life. What he ate, what shelter, if any, he lived in? He doesn't talk much about that kind of stuff. Mainly just describing what he sees, which can get a little boring after a while to be honest.

An insightful series of essays written in picturesque prose.

John Muir, his name and reputation says it all.

this was a gift to brother in law. Said it was a great read!!

Beautifully written but it could be a slow read. His observations of the surrounding environment is immense and if you could get past how painfully detailed and time consuming his accounts of something so mundane are, then you will find yourself completely immersed in the environments he describes.

Excellent for the nature lover.....like my grown son.

Wonderfully written, really felt like you were along in his journey. Was a larger book and had larger print then usual. But overall very happy with the purchase!

Must read for the adventurer

One of my favorite books

Wonderful- the whole package

A grand read!...Especially if you are familiar with the terrain and have a deep appreciation for nature.

How sad Muir would be to see what we’ve done to the wilderness today. How little hope we have left.

Gift for my son. He was excited to get this book and start reading it!

Loved it read it on a rainy day great stuff

Loved it!!

Great book

John Muir's descriptive writing is amazing.

Read John Muir's words and one cannot fail to begin to appreciate and adore the transcendental beauty of nature.

Love the artwork of the cover. Book is a good adventure read.

Excellent

Great book of essays. John Muir is a really underratted writter.

Full of"Muirism", it takes someone who immigrated to this country to show us what we have!

Sons stocking stuffer

The book arrived on time, but the entire book was printed upside down. We will have to return it.

Perfect condition, wonderfully written adventures

Yep, its fabulous! Mandatory reading for our home

Amazing book!! John Muir is my inspiration!!

Great book great quality

Continuing my collection of John Muir essays!

excellent reading

Thing that struck me about this is that this guy was an outdoors man and wrote like he was a Harvard professor. Just a normal 19th century education. I guess he didn't carry his video games with him out there. Good stuff.

great book. great feel. great cover art. great purchase.

Awesome book!!

Great book

I have a love for all things Muir. This updated cover is really fun and a great coffee table book!

Muir speaks in beautiful terms to describe nature and God's creation

Disappointed that there were no illustrations or maps of where he traveled. I purchased this for my 12 year old granddaughter.

Book was one of my daughters requests for Christmas. Came on time, good price. Thanks!

John Muir you really have a way of transporting me to the wilderness you adventure to. I only wish I could be as rugged and dare to go on one of these excursions myself. Alas I am nothing more than a citizen of suburbia and have never actually been camping, not even once. All is well though for I have the words of the great John Muir to reveal the feeling of scaling the Sierras. The man does what he wants. Read this book.

Excellent book. If you are conducting field trips to places like Yosemite or Yellowstone.

Christmas gift for grandson who loved it!

Great use of English language. felt as if I had been there!

well written. nice to read. pleasing font

Got this as a gift and it really looks nice. It has several various essays in it. The variety is nice and came on time!

excellent read.

A table top keeper.

Awesome classic! Glad its still available

Very stylish.

Gave the book to my mom for her B-day and she really enjoyed it.

I gave this book as a gift. The receiver of the book said it is a very well written book.

It was more worn that I expected, but I don't care that much.

Classic

Came in good condition.

The cover is smudged up, I'm assuming due to transit. Bummed about that as it's a gorgeous cover...

Love the writing and educational content of this book. Excellent!

<3

Muir is an extraordinary researcher, writer, nature defender. However this book is a little boring

Misclaimer. The book is not new.

It is a wonder how nature writers such as Thoreau, Muir, and arguably London managed to establish themselves as cornerstones of American literature. The latter two were hardly educated in writing in their early lives, yet they found success in the ability to tell stories. Where Jack London made a reader want to prove him/herself in a survival situation, Thoreau wanted people to soak in the connection with nature. Where Thoreau connected, Muir put into famous quotes how to connect but also became the voice of conservation. In Wilderness Essays, we are given a peak into his famous thoughts. Even if one is trying to save weight in the backpack for a given hike, this book is the perfect companion for standing atop any mountain or glacier. I have hiked in a lot of places in the northeastern United States. I tend to categorize my hikes as ones I've completed before reading Muir and those that have happened since reading Muir. I find immense enjoyment in the latter hikes of my career. It is due to John Muir's infectious attention to everything going on in nature. Nothing is taken for granted in his experiences and it spreads to the reader. Try reading one of the examples in Wilderness Essays prior to plunging into the woods. You will come out feeling an immense connection to the trail, the mountain or canyon, and the hallway of nature through which one walks. You are forever changed after being trained to think like him. I must admit I have tried several times to read this book. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't able to make it through the first couple essays uninterrupted. I finally started and finished the book in a couple of days and the answer revealed itself: I wasn't ready for the extremely deep connection Muir asks of us. Sure a pine tree can be just a pine tree on a hike, but in Muir's world that pine tree signifies determination, perseverance, and an uncaring for anything else in the world other than its own survival. On a hike the pine tree becomes more than just a tree, it can become a symbol for the hiker him/herself. You are out in the woods determined to conquer a trail or mountain. Your perseverance is what leads to a successful hike whatever that may be. Your survival ultimately comes down to an uncaring for anything else in the world other than your successful return to camp. This becomes the crux of Muir's point. It's been a while since I've been in the woods. This has provided the perfect carryover until my next leave 'over the fence with a sack of bread and tea.' My one hope is to reread one of Muir's essays from this book while sat on top of a mountain of my choosing. Muir's words chooses its readers, but it's not hard. For those who love to walk into the woods, the choice becomes clear whose words Muir designed them for. Do not be discouraged if it's tedious the first time you pick it up. You're already halfway to Muir's form of enlightenment. The book is in your possession. Once you decide you're ready for it, you'll be planning your next walk into the wilderness with this book in hand, hoping for natural enlightenment.

My favorite naturalist writer is Loren Eisley

Muir writes in the language of his time, yet in a way few if any others did. If you enjoy the outdoors, respect nature, love the wild, this man is worth reading for you. Few of us give our lives to what we believe at our core, and Muir did this. His father might be called a religious zealot who, according to Muir, beat him regularly. It seems this relationship drove Muir away and into the solace of nature, where he found himself and his peace. He was a keen nature observer, traveler, and activist who is responsible for starting the Sierra Club and saving Yosemite Valley from development. His writing can seem slow, religious, too detailed at times... and still I see this book as a masterpiece of nature writing for the heart and mind of it. He was one of the first. My first ever piece of writing was about his life, and try as I may, I doubt that my work will ever benefit our planet the way his did.

My 6 year old twins and I really enjoyed reading this book! The words flow like poetry and the stories were both beautiful and inspiring.

Love Muir’s work

If you enjoy reading John Muir, this is an nice collection.

A good collection of stories from one of the great nature writers, travels in Alaska, Yosemite The Mountains of California and many more, John Muir is a person at one with nature and his love of the wilderness shines through these stories.