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  John Muir

 

THE CONIFEROUS FORESTS & BIGTREES OF THE SIERRA NEVADA. by John Muir.
Although known for his contributions to the understanding of Yosemite Valley's geologic origin and for his conservation work, botany was always Muir's first love, and he produced wonderful writings on Sierra trees. These are both descriptive of the trees' features and appreciative of their beauty and place in nature. The magnificent bigtree, also known as sequoia or Sierra redwood, assumes an important part in this. Special, too, is the insert on "A Wind Storm in the Forests of the Yuba" in which Muir ventured out into the windy day, instead of "crouching deprecatingly beneath a roof", climbed into the upper branches of a tall douglas-fir, "to get my ear close to the aeolian music of its topmost needles", then swayed about in arcs of 20 to 30 degrees.  Period engravings are added to the text. 40 pages.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-027-4. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-027-0. Covers bent. Order #: VIST0027 paper$19.00.

portrait of John Muir, conservationist, naturalist, writer, mountaineer

#A THOUSAND-MILE WALK TO THE GULF. by John Muir.
Muir's walk from Indiana across Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia to the Gulf Coast in 1867. 218 pages.
ISBN: 0-395-31542-X. Order #: HOMI0617 paper$9.95.

JOHN MUIR IN YOSEMITE. by Shirley Sargent; foreword by John Muir's granddaughter.
Yosemite gave Muir purpose and goals that changed his life and that of the nation. This book presents his early years in Yosemite and his struggles to preserve the wilderness. To students of Muir, John Muir and Yosemite are synonymous. To Shirley Sargent, historian, long time resident and authority on Yosemite, telling the story of Muir and his love affair with the Valley was a must. "She has related the story of John Muir's residency, his work, studies, accomplishments, and struggles which were the prelude to his life's work in geology, conservation, and the establishment of National Parks, with freshness and enthusiasm. She dispels some old legends with accurate research and has documented for all time the true facts concerning one of America's outstanding preservationists."  (Jean Hanna Clark, granddaughter of John Muir.) "The Call of the Wild", "First Summer in the Sierra", "A Lifetime of Love Work", "Pathway to Immortality". 48 pages, 8.5 x 11, 44 illustrations.
Personal Library WRJ = 1. ISBN: None. Order #: GRWE7465 paper$10.00.

#TRAVELS IN ALASKA. by John Muir.
Records his trips of 1879 and 1880--outdoor adventures, nature observations, early travel experiences. Covers scuffed. Illustrated, 340 pages.
ISBN: 0-395-28522-4. Order #: HOMI0616 paper$9.95.

SIERRA BIG TREES. by John Muir.
In 1875 Muir made a tremendous exploration of the southern Sierra Nevada to survey the range of the giant sequoia. That trip may remain the most comprehensive single look at the tree yet, and this book tells his findings. It is an appreciative report of this tree, "very god of the woods". Muir describes the tree's range and its botanical characteristics, muses about the age it can attain, notes the effect of lightning strikes, and shares his several-days observation of a forest fire among them: "huge fire-mantled trunks on the hill slopes glowing like bars of hot iron." Foreword by former Yosemite Chief Park Naturalist William R. Jones. Period engravings. 80 pages.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-069-X. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-069-0. Paper covers, some scuffing. /Order #: VIST0069 paper$25.00.

STICKEEN. by John Muir.
Illustrated edition of well-loved tale of how John Muir and the dog Stickeen struggled to cross an Alaskan glacier during an ice storm. An exhilarating story that has become an American classic. Illustrated, 96 pages. Reprint.
ISBN: 0-930588-48-7.Order #: HEYD6114 paper$7.95.

 

 

VISTABOOKS HISTORY REPRINTS--
John Muir
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THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY--1879 (AK). by John Muir, its discoverer.
Adventures in a truly Alaskan wild with ice floes, bergs, mountain peaks, Natives, canoe travel. Spending several "icy summers" in Alaska, Muir earned the name "Ice Chief", exploring Glacier Bay and its region. It was a fitting continuation to his involvement with glaciers, for he had developed the glacial origin theory for Yosemite Valley, in spite of the fact that there the glaciers were almost entirely gone. Here at Glacier Bay, no imagination was needed to understand the processes. Reprinted from Century Magazine. Engravings of ice and peaks abound in the book. 16 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-045-2. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-045-4. Order #: VIST0045 paper$3.95.

DISCOVERY OF THE YOSEMITE IN 1851 (CA). by Lafayette Houghton Bunnell, M.D., one of the Discoverers, of the Mariposa Battalion.
First published in 1880, this is the primary account of how Yosemite Valley came to be "discovered" by the white race. Of course, the Indians knew it was there; they were living in it when the battalion came to roust them out. The valley had been seen from its rims and from afar before this trip, but this was the first recorded entry and exploration. Bunnell proposed the name of the Indian tribe for the valley, "as it was suggestive, euphonious, and certainly American; that by so doing, the name of the tribe of Indians which we met leaving their homes in this valley, perhaps never to return, would be perpetuated." Foreword by former chief park naturalist William R. Jones. Period engravings. 184pages, slightly abridged from the original. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-021-5. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-021-8. Order #: VIST0021 paper$6.95.

THE HUMMINGBIRD OF THE CALIFORNIA WATERFALLS. by John Muir.
Reprinted from 1878. This has been called "the finest bird biography ever written". Muir's "waterfall hummingbird" is the water-ouzel, of course, now also called the dipper. Although Muir buffs and birders already know this, even they will enjoy reading or re-reading the story of this little bobber. Some might have seen this little bird, but without this article have not yet enjoyed the flyer/swimmer fully. As Muir's portrayal shows, much of the bird's intrigue is its physical elusiveness while remaining visually accessible. Enjoy this little story and enjoy this little bird. Foreword by former Chief Park Naturalist, Yosemite National Park. Period illustrations. 24 pages. See sample pages, illustratins.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-019-3. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-019-5. Order #: VIST0019 paper$3.95.


IN THE HEART OF THE CALIFORNIA ALPS: a near view of the High Sierra in 1872. by John Muir.
Account of the first ascent of Mount Ritter, October, 1872. Record of one of Muir's finest mountain rambles and of the first ascent, a solo one, of this mountain in the Mammoth Lakes country of the eastern Sierra Nevada. Combines natural observations with the adventures and philosophical musings of a nearly fatal climb. Made from a base camp with three artists who were left sketching on the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River late in the season, while Muir ventured into the Minaret country, ion 1890 a part of Yosemite National Park but now in Inyo National Forest, near Mammoth, California. An illustration of Mt. Ritter by one of these artists, William Keith, is included. Drawings by Muir are also included, as well as other period illustrations. Foreword by former Yosemite Chief Park Naturalist William R Jones. 24 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
William Keith (from St Mary's College of California website):
"A 19th-century leading artist and visionary in San Francisco, William Keith (1838-1911) is most known for his impact on preserving and sharing the California landscape through paint and brush. Saint Mary's College Museum of Art cares for the most comprehensive body of work created by this California Master Landscape Painter.
KEITH AND MUIR: Keith arrived at Muir's cabin in Yosemite Valley with a letter of introduction in 1872, and a lifelong friendship quickly developed. The two Scottish immigrants took camping trips together in the High Sierra, saw each other when Muir was in San Francisco and helped inspire each other's work. The idea for the Sierra Club was first formed in Keith's studio during conversations with Muir, Dr. Joseph LeConte, the first president of the University of California, and Warren Olney, a prominent San Francisco attorney. Muir's concern with scientific accuracy reinforced Keith's early training as a wood engraver in encouraging him to reproduce the exact topography and details of a landscape early in his career. Keith had also already expressed a preference by 1870 to "study altogether from Nature," reflecting in part the admonishments of the influential writer John Ruskin."
ISBN-10: 0-89646-026-6. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-026-3. Order #: VIST0026 paper$3.95.

OUR YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (CA). by John Muir.
Among its forests and wild gardens, animals and birds, fountains and streams. At the turn of the century, John Muir described Yosemite National Park to readers of The Atlantic Monthly in the articles here reprinted. Just a decade before he had been so involved with the park idea that he became known as the "father of Yosemite National Park". Muir knew the park better than anyone else, and he had a gift for expression that keeps his fame and his works alive yet. The writing here is perhaps the best blend Muir gave of the Yosemite as a wild nature preserve. The ecological account is full, and we learn much of Muir's observations of the Yosemite birds, bears, and blossoms as well as its winters, earthquakes, glaciers, and forests. Period illustrations. 96 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-061-4. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-061-4. Order #: VIST0061 paper$6.95.


THE PROPOSED YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK--treasures & features, 1890 (CA). by John Muir.
Perhaps the most important writing Muir ever did, for here he proposed a national park, which was soon established. He and his editor had hatched the scheme around a Tuolumne Meadows campfire, and so Muir became known as the "Father of Yosemite National Park." The writing is mostly descriptive, in Muir's magnificent style, covering the grand scenes, waterfall explorations, storm flooding, sequoias, glaciers, Hetch Hetchy Valley, and more. An included map shows Muir's proposed park boundaries, larger than today's, as one might imagine, for there was controversy about taking too much mineral land from potential production. Also shown is the watershed of the Yosemite Valley, as a major purpose of the new park was to protect the waterfalls of Yosemite Valley from upstream lumbering and sheep-grazing. At that time, Yosemite Valley was under state operation and the new park would not affect that; later, however, the valley was returned to federal management and the present park achieved its wholeness. Foreword by former Yosemite Chief Park Naturalist William R. Jones. Reprinted from 1890, with period engravings. 32 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-003-7. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-4. Order #: VIST0003 paper$3.95.

A RIVAL OF THE YOSEMITE: the cañon of the South Fork of Kings River, California. by John Muir.
As they had at Yosemite, Muir and his editor launched a campaign to get Kings Canyon set aside as a national park (some wanted to call it John Muir National Park), advising the law-givers to "make haste before it is too late". This writing was to be the stimulus. The park was not established, however, until 1940, when it was called Kings Canyon National Park. Muir's text is primarily descriptive, but as usual he includes personal adventures, in this case including a close encounter with a grizzly bear. Arguments for establishing the park are included, such as blocking grazing, lumbering, and mining. Text was reviewed by former Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park Chief Park Naturalist and foreword is by former Yosemite Chief Park Naturalist Williamr R. Jones. Period engravings, with map showing proposed park boundary, 24 pages.See sample pages.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-010-X. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-010-2.  Order #: VIST0010 paper$3.95.

THE WILD SHEEP. by John Muir.
Here the early naturalist-writer glorifies the mountain sheep, or bighorn, of the Sierra Nevada. In Muir's time (1881 is the date of this writing), sheep were still to be seen on his High Sierra rambles. He notes the distribution of sheep and their various species as well as their physical characteristics, and he also describes their mountain home where they lived, "the happy wanderers, perhaps relishing the beauty as well as the taste of the lovely flora on which they feed." But as always his finest sections are where he describes the sheep themselves and how they move about on cliff walls, fine four-legged mountaineers. Today, park and wildlife agencies are reestablishing populations of wild sheep in the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere, and we may thank Muir in part for this, as his writing helped keep our appreciation alive for them. Reviewed by Chief Park Naturalists at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Period engravings. 32 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-017-7. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-017-1.Order #: VIST0017 paper$3.95.

THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (ID/MT/WY). by John Muir.
Here is what may well be Muir's most literary piece of nature writing, inspired not by the Sierra Nevada he was more familiar with, but by the wonders of the Yellowstone region. The text tells of the park's geysers, lakes, mountains, animals, flowers and trees, petrified forest--of the "blessed old Yellowstone Wonderland." It is the source for his oft-quoted phrase:
         "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
         Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
         The winds will blow their own freshness into you,
         and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
Tips on how to travel in the park around the turn-of the-century are included! Illustrated with drawings and engravings, many by Thomas Moran. 80 pages, 6 x 9, coated stock. See sample pages, illustrations.
Inventory = in stock. ISBN 978-0-89646-101-7. Order #VIST0101 paper$7.95.

THE YOSEMITE IN WINTER: an 1892 account (CA). by James M. Carson, with extracts from John Muir's writings.
An appreciation of Yosemite Valley's winter character and an early history of the first winter residents, with passages from John Muir, who also was a year-round valley resident in the early days. Reports of floods, in which trees were swept over the waterfalls, of the ice-cone at the base of Upper Yosemite Fall, snow-banners flying off rangecrest peaks, use of "snowshoes" (skis, today) to bring in the mail, winter-time climatic differences between north and south sides of this deep east-west trending valley due to shadows. Foreword by former Yosemite Chief Park Naturalist William R. Jones. Period engravings. 16 pages. See sample pages, illustrations.
ISBN-10: 0-89646-053-3. ISBN-13: 978-0-89646-053-9. Order #: VIST0053 paper$3.95.

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