THE WILDERNESS WORLD OF JOHN MUIR

The selections chosen and bridged by Teale indicate a detailed study and deep appreciation of this Scotch-American naturalist's life and work and are as fresh and spritely and delightful as the day they were written. Here is Muir's whole story, from Scotland to the mountains and valleys of his adopted land, from the harsh discipline of a Bible-reading father to the moneyless foot travels the length and breadth of the United States, from his love of all wild life to his passion for trees. This is the panorama of his traveling too -- to Florida, the Gulf Coast, California and the mountains of Yosemite and the High Sierra, the glaciers, and his five trips to Alaska. And here are the little details -- the clocks he invented, the plant press that was so dear, the seldom changing meals of bread and tea, the delight in all the animals, birds, flowers -- even grasshoppers. These selections from Muir's works offer reading that is often magnificent, thrilling, exciting, breath-taking and awe-inspiring and the book should be a must for all libraries, nature study or conservation courses, with a definite West Coast audience.