John Muir

1. John Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra

1. John Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra

1. John , Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra

In the summer of 1869, Scottish-American naturalist and author John Muir spent the months of June through September in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California accompanying a group of shepherds while they led a flock of sheep to the high country to graze. During that time, Muir took every opportunity to explore the Yosemite area extensively¿hiking, camping, writing, and sketching. Muir¿s diary entries describing the land, flora, and fauna he encountered became the basis for the book My First Summer in the Sierra, first published in 1911.Muir¿s journal entries from that summer reveal his growing wonder and awe at the Yosemite landscape, as well as his endless curiosity for the natural world. On a grand scale, he trekked into remote areas for sometimes days at a time. He climbed Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana and trekked through Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. On a more modest scale, Muir observed the flora and fauna that surrounded him with the keen enthusiasm of a naturalist. He described in detail the areäs trees, shrubs, flowers, mountain meadows, glacial features, and animals.In the years that followed the publication of My First Summer in the Sierra, Muir went on to advocate for the protection and preservation of wild landscapes. In 1892, Muir co-founded the Sierra Club and became the organization¿s first president. Muir also played an instrumental role in the establishment of several national parks including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon.My First Summer in the Sierra remains among John Muir¿s most popular works. The book¿s inspired and lyrical accounts of an iconic wilderness, written at a time in Muir¿s life when his character as a naturalist and wilderness advocate was taking form, earns it a prominent, influential place in the annals of nature writing and the history of wilderness preservation.

1. John , Muir

Die Berge Kaliforniens

Eine literarische Wanderung durch die amerikanischen Gebirge - ein Grundstein des Nature Writing 'Die Berge Kaliforniens' sind ein Grundstein des Nature Writing, zu dessen bedeutendsten Vertretern neben R. W. Emerson und H. D. Thoreau zweifelsohne John Muir zählt. Durch einen Unfall kurzzeitig erblindet, fürchtete er, die Schönheit der Welt nie wieder erblicken zu können. Nach seiner Genesung befasste er sich mit den Auswirkungen der Kolonisierung auf die Natur und entwickelte eine Vielzahl ökologischer Ideen. So wurde er zum ¿Vater der Nationalparks¿; auf ihn sind unter anderem die Naturschutzorganisation Sierra Club und der Yosemite-Nationalpark zurückzuführen. In seinem 1894 erstmals erschienenen Hauptwerk verbindet John Muir geologische und botanische Studien mit philosophischen Reflexionen und bettet sie in eine Erzählung ein, deren grandiose Naturbeschreibungen eine Welt wiedererwecken, die zu Muirs Lebzeiten bereits im Untergang begriffen war. In 'Die Berge Kaliforniens', der brillanten deutschen Übersetzung von Jürgen Brôcan, begegnen wir einer unberührten, wilden und gleichzeitig auch schutzbedürftigen Natur.

1. John , Muir

Travels in Alaska

John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of United States (US) wilderness. 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 save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. One of the most well-known hiking trails in the US, the 211-mile John Muir Trail, was named in his honor. Other places named in his honor are Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach and Muir Glacier.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 1899, establishing both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. It was due to the spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature which he expressed in his writings that he was able to inspire his readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. Muir's biographer, Steven Holmes, states that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted in books by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth." (wikipedia.org)

1. John Muir

Travels in Alaska