My First Summer in the Sierra

by John Muir Narrated by Adrian Praetzellis

Overview

When he came to California and finally settled in San Francisco, John Muir immediately left for a visit to Yosemite, a place he had only read about. Seeing it for the first time, Muir noted that "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower." He climbed a number of mountains, including Cathedral Peak and Mount Dana, and hiked the old Indian trail down Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake. He lived in the cabin for two years, and wrote about this period in this book My First Summer in the Sierra.

John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. 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 preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Muir made his first trip to the Sierra Nevadas, working as a shepherd and documenting the experience in his diary. This audio version, released for the 100th anniversary of the classic travelogue’s publication, features a solid but unmemorable reading by Brett Barry. Although his narration is plainspoken, calm, and well paced, Barry—who at times mispronounces words or speaks haltingly—fails to convincingly convey Muir’s familiarity with the natural life he studied during his famous trek across the mountains. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

As more and more of us grow aghast at what we have done to the world we started with, Muir’s reverence and devotion will seem keenly germane, and our regret may be transmuted into a fight for the future.” —Edward Hoagland

New York Times

Muir was a geologist, an explorer, philosopher, artist, author, and editor, and to each of his avocations he devoted that deep insight and conscientious devotion which made him its master

Guardian

An inspirational figure for modern environmentalism . . . his enthusiasm and heart-felt love of nature is immensely impressive. Thankfully the wilderness blooms again in Muir's evocative prose

Edward Hoagland

As more and more of us grow aghast at what we have done to the world we started with, Muir's reverence and devotion will seem keenly germane, and our regret may be transmuted into a fight for the future

Robert Macfarlane

Muir's prose is a miracle of immediacy. His books are illuminated by sunshine and starlight. The cold mineral air of the mountains and the resiny reek of coniferous forests lift bracingly off his pages. No other writer is so ceaselessly astonished by the natural world as Muir, or communicates that astonishment more urgently. Muir lived "in an infinite storm of beauty", and his readers live in it with him

Mark Cocker

The great mountain man . . . [John Muir] remains a towering presence in American cultural life, and is internationally acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of modern conservation

Los Angeles Times

The richness of Muir's writing roots deeper into the terrain than any other wilderness writer known to me

Bill McKibben

"When we consider John Muir, we consider one of the small handful of Americans who truly changed the world."

Library Journal

The Scottish-born Muir made an incredible journey through the Sierras while herding sheep in 1869. He published this title in 1911 and later founded the Sierra Club. This diary of his experiences—leading the sheep, observing the raw beauty of nature, and presenting reality both good and bad; the gorgeous scenery, exhaustion, and hunger—is as relevant today as it was then. A moving and amusing description of a prairie chicken who feigns injury and death to protect her babies is a highlight of his chronicle. This also serves to illustrate how Muir saw all of nature as a precious friend to man. However, his remarks about Native Americans are painful and harsh but probably reflect his time. Narrator Brett Barry is outstanding; he skillfully captures the language of an earlier America as his poetic delivery matches the beautiful descriptions. A wide audience of conservationists, ecologists, nature lovers, American history fans, and those who merely prefer worthwhile poetic writing will be well rewarded.—Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL

JANUARY 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Barry Press delivers a fresh reading of an early work by famed naturalist John Muir. First published in 1911, this work is Muir’s journal of his 1869 excursion through California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Muir was ostensibly working for a crew of shepherds, but his true purpose was to observe, chronicle, and draw the region's flora and fauna. Press beautifully captures Muir’s adventurous spirit and love of nature. Though Muir’s poetic prose is of a very different era, Press instills enough humor and playfulness to make the account sound modern. The only drawback of the audio version is missing out on Muir’s drawings. Listeners may want to seek them out elsewhere for an entirely immersive experience. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171705817
Publisher:	Author's Republic
Publication date:	08/17/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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My First Summer in the Sierra
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "My First Summer in the Sierra"
by .
Copyright © 2003 John Muir.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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