SON OF THE WILDERNESS

by Linnie Marsh Wolfe ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 1945

Biography of the famous naturalist, John Muir, who took a whole continent for his explorings. Born in Scotland, brought to Wisconsin by his grim, slave-driving father, Muir found freedom in his inventions, in his escape to the University of Wisconsin. There medicine gave way to geology and botany, and his rambles led him to complete severance with the accepted way of living when he left a comfortable career in a carriage factory for the life of a tramp...To California and its forests, mountains, and fruitful valleys. His enormous endurance helped him immeasurably in his studies of the wilderness. His marriage persuaded him to an attempt to support his wife and daughters by farming, he became a famous fruit rancher -- but inevitably his natural urge sent him wandering once again. Trips to the North, to Europe, around the world; his happy relations with his daughters, his family, his friends -- the death of his wife; his local and national fights for legislation on conservation; his trip in old age to South America-all built for a full life, closing in gentle death. A man, never entirely enslaved by money, whose warm character, varied interests, real contribution to his adopted state, California, make him a good subject for a well-balanced, informative and rewarding biography. His investigations into glaciers -- his fights for conservation of forests -- were a permanent enrichment of natural history.

Pub Date: July 16, 1945

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1945

Categories: NONFICTION