The Story of My Boyhood and Youth

by John Muir

Overview

One of America's most important and influential naturalists, John Muir was a formative figure in the country's conservation movement and the establishment of the national park system. He was also a gifted storyteller, and in this series of essays he reminisces about his early years. Muir relates the circumstances that inspired and nurtured his fascination with the natural world, from his boyhood in Scotland to his years at the University of Wisconsin, where he "spent so many hungry and happy and hopeful days."
Born in Dunbar, Scotland, in 1838 and sent to school at the age of three, Muir studied Latin, French, and mathematics in the classroom and the Bible at home, under the tutelage of his strict father. At 11, his family emigrated to a frontier community in central Wisconsin, where the elder Muir purchased a small property and converted it into farmlands, carving cultivated fields out of the wilderness with the backbreaking labor of his children. Muir's natural curiosity shines throughout these recollections of prairie life, recapturing the intelligence, imagination, and stamina that blossomed despite harsh conditions. His mechanical ability helped him find a way into the wider world; when he exhibited his complicated wooden clocks and other remarkable inventions at the Wisconsin State Fair, he met individuals who served as his mentors and encouraged him to attend the university. Told in his own captivating voice, these memoirs offer fascinating insights into frontier life and the making of a great explorer and naturalist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781779450173
Publisher:	Binker North
Publication date:	02/10/2024
Pages:	122
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.26(d)

About the Author

John Muir (April 21, 1838 - December 24, 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor.[2] Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130 mile long distance route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life.

Table of Contents

Part I.
I. Puget Sound and British Columbia
II. Alexander Archipelago and the Home I found in Alaska
III. Wrangell Island and Alaska Summers
IV. The Stickeen River
V. A Cruise in the Cassiar
VI. The Cassiar Trail
VII. Glenora Peak
VIII. Exploration of the Stickeen Glacier
IX. A Canoe Voyage to Northward
X. The Discovery of Glacier Bay
XI. The Country of the Chilcats
XII. The Return to Fort Wrangell
XIII. Alaska Indians

Part II. The Trip of 1880
XIV. Sum Dum Bay
XV. From Taku River to Taylor Bay
XVI. Glacier Bay
XVII. In Camp at Glacier Bay
XVIII. My Sled-Trip on the Muir Glacier
XIX. Auroras
Index
Glossary of Words in the Chinook Jargon

Editorial Reviews

"The richness of Muir's writing roots deeper into the terrain than any other wilderness writer known to me"

Los Angeles Times on MY FIRST SUMMER IN THE SIERRA

"The great mountain man . . . [John Muir] remains a towering presence in American cultural life, and is internationally acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of modern conservation"

MARK COCKER

"Muir was a geologist, an explorer, philosopher, artist, author, and editor, and to each of his avocations he devoted that deep insight and conscientious devotion which made him its master"

New York Times

"An inspirational figure for modern environmentalism . . . his enthusiasm and heart-felt love of nature is immensely impressive"

Guardian

"A superbly told, moving and challenging story. For anybody remotely interested in the environment, Scottish culture, American history, the art of biography or the art of life, this book is essential"

Scotland on Sunday

"His books are illuminated by sunshine and starlight . . . No other writer is so ceaselessly astonished by the natural world as Muir, or communicates that astonishment more urgently"

ROBERT MACFARLANE