Part of John Muir's appeal to modern readers 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.

This book is part of a series that celebrates the tradition of literary naturalists—writers who embrace the natural world as the setting for some of our most euphoric and serious experiences. These books map the intimate connections between the human and the natural world. Literary naturalists transcend political boundaries, social concerns, and historical milieus; they speak for what Henry Beston called the “other nations” of the planet. Their message acquires more weight and urgency as wild places become increasingly scarce.

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” - John Muir

John Muir, one of America’s great environmentalists, has inspired nature lovers for generations with his writings. 

A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir is the adventure that started it all.

Walk with John from Indiana through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. A story that is sure to inspire your own adventures and love for nature and the off beaten path.

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” - John Muir

The Story of my Boyhood and Youth is the affecting memoir of the now internationally renowned John Muir, a Scottish-American boy subject to a most unusual upbringing, his transition into adulthood, and the path that led him to petition for the concept of protected national parks.

Born in East Lothian, Scotland in 1838, Muir was raised by a fanatically strict, religious father with his numerous brothers and sisters and loving mother. From an early age, a shy Muir showed fascination with the natural world, and at aged eleven, his father announced the family were to move to an American wilderness in Wisconsin – Muir had a new playground.

His adolescence is spent labouring on the family’s grassroots farm. Working seventeen-hour days, an exhausted yet inquisitive Muir desperately snatches moments to himself, yearning to explore the environment around him, secretly studying books on topics other than religion, and rising at 1 a.m. to pursue his hobby of inventing intricate time and energy-saving devices – much to his father’s disapproval and everyone else’s admiration.

At age twenty-two, Muir takes it upon himself to apply to university, and does so without financial or moral support from his father. He makes his way to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study chemistry and botany, and though never graduating with a degree, he is satisfied that he had learned all he wanted to there, before completing the rest of his nature education in ‘the university of the wilderness’.

The Story of my Boyhood and Youth includes a new foreword by Terry Gifford, and offers insight into the development of Muir’s spiritual connection with the natural world, and suggests an explanation for his passion for freedom in the wilderness, a stark contrast to the forced rigidity of his early years.

‘Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away ... God has cared for these trees ... but he cannot save them from fools – only Uncle Sam can do that.’

First published in 1901, Our National Parks is possibly the bestselling book of Muir’s wilderness-discovery titles and was certainly the most influential published in his lifetime, with a strong focus on the preservation of forest reserves.

With a strong political tone and shrewd, subtle manoeuvring, Muir uses Our National Parks to persuade his readership of the necessity of nature and national parks for human recreation and more importantly for health and wellbeing, as well as the – in his mind – obvious need for preservation of wild ecosystems.

Cannily he counterbalances this with the acknowledgement of the need for timber and irrigation systems, in order that his message is taken seriously; Muir’s passion is portrayed so vividly and flamboyantly that without his learned political and scientific reinforcement, he could be misconstrued as purely a radical and eccentric nonconformist. However, the two combined result in an engaging and convincing argument that these landscapes are our ‘natural home’, and ‘fountains of life’.

As Muir expert Terry Gifford observes in the foreword, ‘Muir’s tone can shift in this book from seductive persuasion, to charming details of creatures, flora and landscapes, to scientific information, to trail guide, to religious uplift, to a final political speech of startling ferocity.’

John Muir’s strategic yet genuine and beautiful conservationist essays were a first at the time of publication, and are still highly applicable to our attitudes and lifestyles today in the twenty-first century.

‘All these colours, from the blue sky to the yellow valley smoothly blending as they do in a rainbow, making a wall of light ineffably fine.’

Having spent significant time obsessively exploring and learning about the Sierra, John Muir’s passion for and belief in preserving the wilderness steadily grew. He believed that excessive grazing and logging would result in its eventual destruction, and so campaigned to designate the area as a protected national park.

In 1890, the US Congress passed the National Park Bill, and the Yosemite and Sequoia national parks were established. At the time of writing, Muir’s views on conservation of the wilderness were totally radical; today, environmental activists are too often brushed aside in favour of something faster, easier, and cheaper.

Muir not only educates us in the particulars of the botanicals of this spectacular landscape, but also inadvertently traps us in his web of enthusiasm for the beauty and significance of Mother Nature. The Yosemite gives us the tools to construct a detailed mental map of the Sierra, and leaves us with the resolution to be more compassionate and environmentally mindful.

First published in 1912, and with a new introduction from Muir authority Terry Gifford, the message in The Yosemite is perhaps more pertinent now than it ever was. There is a lot to thank Muir for, not least opening our eyes to the earth beneath our feet.

Note: This is the Kindle Print Replica version of the Doublebit Press Legacy Edition print book

Journals of John Muir’s Adventure on the Corwin To Alaska And The Arctic!

This deluxe, unabridged reprint Legacy Edition of John Muir’s 1917 The Cruise Of The Corwin recounts John Muir’s 1881 adventure on the sailing ship Corwin along the shores of Alaska and the Arctic in search of Lt. George De Long and the lost Jeanette expedition. Join the “Great Wanderer” as he shares with readers his studies of icy glaciers and frozen tundra of the high northwest, as well as the mountains, caverns, and rivers of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Arctic.

Muir joined the Corwin expedition after seeing an excellent opportunity to further his study of the Arctic’s glaciation and mountain ranges. His journals share with modern readers this adventure of the seas in search of the lost Jeanette expedition, along with other natural history treasures they encountered along the way. Join the wanderer as he encounters the Aleuts, the Bering Sea, Siberia, Eskimo tribes, the Alaskan Tundra, and the great wildlife of the northern lands.

This book makes a perfect gift for adventurers at heart, including enthusiasts of sailing, exploration backpacking, camping, and nature lore who want to reflect on the history of the American and Canadian Far Northwest. Muir’s keen eyes and poetic pen capture the unique landscape and wild creatures with vivid detail, taking the reader to the trail right beside the Wanderer himself. Teach yourself how to see the world like a naturalist and appreciate the sheer multitude of life that the wilderness hosts! This book represents the rich history of the American outdoors, natural history, and camping tradition, and belongs on the bookshelf of every outdoors enthusiast.

A part of the Doublebit John Muir Collection: Volume 9

This Doublebit Legacy Edition reprint of The Cruise Of The Corwin is professionally restored and presented from the original source with the highest degree of fidelity possible, including inspiration from the original first-edition cover. Available in both paperback and hardcover, readers can enjoy this Legacy Edition for generations and learn from its timeless knowledge for years to come.

About the Doublebit Press Library of Legacy Edition Reprints

Sometimes we need to remember our history to move forward. Sometimes, remembering our heritage is just fun or inspirational. With technology playing a major role in everyday life, sometimes we need to take a step back in time to find those basic building blocks used for gaining mastery – the things that we have luckily not completely lost and has been recorded in books over the last two centuries. These skills aren’t forgotten, they’ve just been shelved. It’s time to unshelve them once again and reclaim the lost knowledge of self-sufficiency!

As a part of the Doublebit John Muir Collection, this unabridged Legacy Edition volume is reprinted in the exact form as it was presented in the original publication. Both important and minor details have equally both been accounted for by our publishing staff, down to the cover, font, layout, and images. It is the goal of Doublebit Legacy Edition series to preserve outdoors heritage, but also be cherished as collectible pieces, worthy of collection in any outdoorsperson’s library and that can be passed to future generations.