John Muir | Author | LibraryThing

About the Author

The naturalist John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. When he was 11 years old, he moved to the United States with his family and lived on a Wisconsin farm, where he had to work hard for long hours. He would rise as early as one o'clock in the morning in order to have time to study. At the urging show more of friends, he took some inventions he had made to a fair in Madison, Wisconsin. This trip resulted in his attending the University of Wisconsin. After four years in school, he began the travels that eventually took him around the world. Muir's inventing career came to an abrupt end in 1867, when he lost an eye in an accident while working on one of his mechanical inventions. Thereafter, he focused his attention on natural history, exploring the American West, especially the Yosemite region of California. Muir traveled primarily on foot carrying only a minimum amount of food and a bedroll. In 1880 Muir married Louie Strentzel, the daughter of an Austrian who began the fruit and wine industry in California. One of the first explorers to postulate the role of glaciers in forming the Yosemite Valley, Muir also discovered a glacier in Alaska that later was named for him. His lively descriptions of many of the natural areas of the United States contributed to the founding of Yosemite National Park in 1890. His urge to preserve these areas for posterity led to his founding of the Sierra Club in 1892. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Image credit: George Grantham Bain Collection,
LoC Prints and Photographs Division
(LC-DIG-ggbain-06861)

Works by John Muir

Popular Recent

My First Summer in the Sierra (1911) 924 copies

Travels in Alaska (1915) 646 copies

The Mountains of California (1894) 579 copies

Nature Writings (1997) 516 copies

The Yosemite (1962) 462 copies

The Wilderness World of John Muir (1954) 377 copies

Wilderness Essays (1980) 369 copies

A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf (1916) 344 copies

Stickeen (1909) — Author — 252 copies

Our National Parks (1901) 237 copies

The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913) 230 copies

John Muir: The Eight Wilderness Discovery Books (1992) 152 copies

John Muir: My Life With Nature (2000) 137 copies

Gentle Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada (1964) 127 copies

Steep Trails (1918) 108 copies

America's Wilderness: The Photographs of Ansel Adams (1993) 89 copies

The Cruise of the Corwin (1917) 81 copies

Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir's Best Writings (2006) 77 copies

Mountaineering Essays (1984) 67 copies

John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir (1938) 61 copies

John Muir in His Own Words: A Book of Quotations (1988) 56 copies

The American Wilderness in the Words of John Muir (1973) 46 copies

Wilderness Journeys (Canongate Classics, 67) (1997) 40 copies

Muir Among the Animals: The Wildlife Writings of John Muir (1986) 35 copies

John Muir's Last Journey South to the Amazon and East to Africa: Unpublished Journals and Selected Correspondence (2001) 30 copies

Selected Writings (2017) 29 copies

West of the Rocky Mountains (1976) 28 copies

In Nature's Heart: The Wilderness Days of John Muir (1991) 26 copies

Northwest Passages from the Pen of John Muir (1988) 26 copies

John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings (1996) 26 copies

John Muir's Book of Animals (2016) 26 copies

Letters from Alaska (1993) 22 copies

All the World over: Notes from Alaska (Sierra Club Pathstone Editions Series) (1996) 22 copies

Trails of wonder;: Writings on nature and man (Hallmark editions) (1972) 22 copies

South of Yosemite: Selected Writings of John Muir (1988) 21 copies

Journeys in the Wilderness (2009) 21 copies

Yellowstone National Park (1978) 18 copies

Studies in the Sierra (1950) 17 copies

John Muir's longest walk: John Earl, a photographer, traces his journey to Florida ; with excerpts from John… (1975) 16 copies

John Muir Summering in the Sierra (1984) 15 copies

The Grand Cañon of the Colorado (1902) 15 copies

Wilderness (2021) 12 copies

Come and Join the Celebration: A Resource Book to Help Adults and Children Experience Holy Communion Together (2001) 11 copies

In de wildernis tochten door Wisconsin, Nevada, Californië en Alaska (2018) 11 copies

Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada (1948) 11 copies

A Wind-Storm in the Forests (American Roots) (2014) 10 copies

Edward Henry Harriman (2011) 9 copies

Letters to a friend, written to Mrs. Ezra S. Carr, 1866-1879 (1973) 9 copies

JOHN MUIR Ultimate Collection: Travel Memoirs, Wilderness Essays, Environmental Studies & Letters (Illustrated):… (2015) 7 copies

Wild Sheep (1977) 7 copies

Collected Works Of John Muir (Large Print Edition) (2010) 7 copies

Picturesque California: Vook Classics (2011) 6 copies

Picturesque California and the region west of the Rocky Mountains, from Alaska to Mexico (1888) 6 copies

The boyhood of a naturalist (1913) 5 copies

Delphi Complete Works of John Muir US (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Eight Book 6) (2017) 5 copies

Rambles of a Botanist Among the Plants and Climates of California (1974) 5 copies

Proposed Yosemite National Park : treasures & features (1976) 5 copies

Discovery of Glacier Bay (1978) 5 copies

Climb the mountains (1995) 5 copies

Quotations of John Muir (2018) 5 copies

Cuaderno de montaña (2018) 5 copies

A Rival of the Yosemite the Canon of the South Fork of the King's River (1891) 5 copies

Our Yosemite National Park (1980) 4 copies

The Grand Canon of the Colorado, and Stickeen (Dodo Press) (2007) 4 copies

Two essays on the sights & sounds of the Sierra Nevada (1973) 4 copies

Treasures of the Yosemite (1970) 4 copies

Pitkä kävely Meksikonlahdelle (2011) 4 copies

To Yosemite and beyond : writings from the years 1863 to 1875 (1999) 4 copies

Sierra Big Trees (1981) 4 copies

The Coniferous Forests and Big Trees of the Sierra Nevada 3 copies

In the Heart of the California Alps (1977) 3 copies

A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf - Legacy Edition: A Great Hike To The Gulf Of Mexico, Florida, And The Atlantic Ocean… (2020) 3 copies

The World of John Muir (1981) 3 copies

Notes on my journeying in California's Northern Mountains (1975) 3 copies

Coniferous Forests and Big Trees of the Sierra Nevada (1980) 3 copies

The Complete Works of John Muir (Illustrated Edition): Travel Memoirs, Wilderness Essays, Environmental Studies &… 3 copies

Alaska: Narrative, Glaciers, Natives (Volume 1: Harriman Expedition Alaska With Cooperation of Washington Academy of… — Author — 3 copies

Works of John Muir (2009) 2 copies

The Incredible Travel Tales of John Muir (Illustrated Edition): Adventure Memoirs & Wilderness Studies from the… (2017) 2 copies

THE YOSEMITE COLLECTION of John Muir (Illustrated): The Yosemite, Our National Parks, Features of the Proposed Yosemite… (2015) 2 copies

Afoot to Yosemite : a sketch 2 copies

Short Shorts & Longer Tales (2014) 2 copies

Forêts dans la tempête: et autres colères de la nature (Petite Bibliothèque Payot t. 1093) (2019) 2 copies

John Muir Notecards (2017) 2 copies

Two essays on the forests and lakes of the Sierra Nevada (1971) 2 copies

The Writings of John Muir Volume 1 (1916): The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf (1916) 2 copies

John Muir's Book Collection: The Story of my Boyhood and Youth; The Mountains of California; Stickeen; The Grand… (2009) 2 copies

Picturesque California and the Region West of the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to Mexico, (volume I); The Rocky… (1888) 1 copy

From The mountains of California 1 copy

Muir's The boyhood of a naturalist 1 copy

Picturesque California and the region west of the Rocky mountains, from Alaska to Mexico, Div. 8 1 copy

The Writings of John Muir, Sierra Edition (10 volumes) (1915) 1 copy

Alaska Days with John Muir: 4 Books in One Volume: Illustrated: Travels in Alaska, The Cruise of the Corwin, Stickeen… (2019) 1 copy

The Sights and Sounds of the Sierra Nevada 1 copy

Boyhood and Youth - Walk to the Gulf 1 copy

Museum Small Craft Association Transactions 1 copy

Classic Nature Books: 5 Books and 2 articles with active table of contents 1 copy

From the Eagle's Wing 1 copy

Picturesque California and the region west of the Rocky mountains, from Alaska to Mexico, Div. 5 1 copy

My Other Shorts & Formal Tales (2014) 1 copy

The Writings of John Muir - 10 Volumes (Sierra Edition) (1917) 1 copy

John Muir's America 1 copy

Muir 1 copy

Mountains in California 1 Sierra Edition volume 4 1 copy

On the post-glacial history of Sequoia gigantea 1 copy

"The Treasures of he Yosemite" (p483) and "Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park"(p.656) in The Century… 1 copy

Célébrations de la nature (2011) 1 copy

The Humming-Bird of the California Water-Falls (1977) 1 copy

Rambles in King's River Country 1 copy

The vegetation of the Riversdale area, Cape Province 1 copy

Picturesque California and the region west of the Rocky mountains, from Alaska to Mexico, Div. 4 1 copy

Discovering Yosemite :Historic Photographs By Pioneer Photographers (1976) 1 copy

Essays from picturesque California 1 copy

JOHN MUIR: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Illustrated Edition): The Memoirs of the… (2017) 1 copy

The Writings of John Muir: Manuscript Edition, Vol. 1 (Classic Reprint) (2012) 1 copy

THE ALASKA ROUTE: The Cruise of the Corwin, Travels in Alaska, Stickeen & Alaska Days with John Muir (Illustrated… (2017) 1 copy

CALIFORNIA by John Muir: My First Summer in the Sierra, Picturesque California, The Mountains of California, The… (2017) 1 copy

JOHN MUIR: Wilderness Essays, Environmental Studies, Memoirs & Letters (With Original Illustrations): Picturesque… (2017) 1 copy

Complete Works of John Muir 1 copy

Picturesque California and the region west of the Rocky mountains, from Alaska to Mexico, Div. 1 1 copy

THE WRITINGS OF JOHN MUIR 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

The Best American Essays of the Century (2000) — Contributor — 775 copies

American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau (2008) — Contributor — 416 copies

Stickeen: John Muir and the Brave Little Dog (1998) — Original author — 286 copies

The New Junior Classics Volume 07: The Animal Book (1938) — Contributor — 200 copies

The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 83 copies

Gentlemen, Scholars and Scoundrels: A Treasury of the Best of Harper's Magazine from 1850 to the Present (1959) — Contributor — 55 copies

Storm: Stories of Survival from Land and Sea (2000) — Contributor — 44 copies

Unknown California (1985) — Contributor — 41 copies

Travelers Tales of Old Cuba (2002) — Contributor — 16 copies

Conservation in the Progressive Era: Classic Texts (2004) — Contributor — 14 copies

Where the Silence Rings: A Literary Companion to Mountains (2007) — Contributor — 11 copies

Alaska Reader: Voices from the North (2005) — Contributor — 6 copies

America's Great Wilderness (1976) — Contributor — 5 copies

Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 10, June 1978 — Contributor — 2 copies

How dogs tamed us (Includes Stickeen by John Muir) — Contributor — 1 copy

Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 11, July 1978 — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

19th century (45) adventure (65) Alaska (147) American (54) American literature (59) American West (42) anthology (123) autobiography (62) biography (171) California (212) conservation (80) ecology (82) environment (159) environmentalism (50) essays (325) exploration (39) fiction (42) history (115) John Muir (189) Kindle (80) Library of America (87) literature (53) memoir (180) mountaineering (39) mountains (45) Muir (81) National Parks (59) natural history (221) nature (652) nature writing (121) non-fiction (530) outdoors (46) photography (64) science (78) Sierra Nevada (49) to-read (374) travel (256) unread (43) USA (73) Yosemite (115)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1838-04-21
Date of death: 1914-12-24
Burial location: Muir-Strentzel Hanna Cemetery, Martinez, California, USA
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Place of death: Los Angeles, California, USA
Places of residence: Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Portage, Wisconsin, USA
Oakland, California, USA
Martinez, California, USA
Education: University of Wisconsin
Occupations: Engineer
Naturalist
Writer
Botanist
Environmental activist
Geologist
Organizations: Sierra Club (Founder)
American Academy of Arts and Letters ( [1898])
Transcendentalism
Awards and honors: California Hall of Fame (2006)

Members

Discussions

I am so new and, well, what about John Muir? in Legacy Libraries (June 2011)

Reviews

Mountaineering Essays (Literature of the American… by John Muir

A beautiful slog. Thoreau's influence is clear the whole way through.

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Blanket_Dragon | 1 other review | Jan 23, 2024 |

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir

So! Many! Superlatives! That's what the bulk of this book consists of. As rich and rewarding as Muir's prose is, I believe it might best be enjoyed in small doses rather than all in one go.
[Audiobook note: The reader was okay, but suffers greatly in comparison with the Scottish-accented actor that Ken Burns used as Muir's voice in his National Parks documentary. This reader just somehow failed to bring across the deeply spiritual tone that Muir's words call for.]

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Treebeard_404 | 10 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |

Wilderness Essays by John Muir

I've decided that, for me, Muir is an author whose work is best savored in small batches. Taken too rapidly, one after another, the pieces become like too much candy. So I'm moving on, with this book half-finished. I'll return to it to enjoy the essays singly at later dates when I'm again in the mood.

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Treebeard_404 | 4 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |