My First Summer in the Sierra

Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Muir
Review: In the summer of 1869, John Muir was invited to help herd sheep in summer pasture near Yosemite, California. This book is Muir's diary of his first summer in the Sierra Nevada. In the spirit of an ascetic mystic, Muir recorded his feelings of wonder as he discovered the awesome beauty of the Sierra Nevada. I held my breath and chuckled as Muir described his encounters with the denizens of the woods. "Having heard that a black bear will run from his bad brother man and deciding I would like to see his gait in running, I rushed and shouted at a large cinnamon colored fellow. To my dismay, he did not run. On the contrary, he stood his ground, ready to fight. Then, I suddenly began to fear upon me would fall the work of running." For the reader or nature lover who would like to become more familiar with the father of the conservation movement, this is the book to read.

Rating:
Summary: Akin to reading the National Geographic Wildlife guide
Review: Muir tells a story of his journey into the Yosemite area in California as a shephard. While his journey encompasses other places, the story remains essentially the same since the entire book is filled with him talking about everything being so marvelous.

Despite John Muir being very well known now to many people I'm left uncertain as to why this man should be one out of so many other 'mountain men' to become famous.

His story is filled with rantings about finding different little animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and indians and then peppers each description of the animal with some bantering about whatever it is that he finds extraordinary about it, or whatever he thinks is extremely interesting, or by simply saying such and such is truly amazing.

I did however enjoy the peripherial aspects of the book, such as Muir's growing insanity from being isolated in the woods for several months. He starts his journey talking about how he's heard stories of shepards gone mad and how he doesn't really believe he'll go insane. But near the middle of the book, he's put a personality to the plants...by the end, he's having in depth conversations with plants. Ha! It's almost worth reading just for noting little things like that.

The book gets 3 stars, as opposed to 1 star, because Muir writes VERY eloquently and if you have an interest and a solid knowledge of plant and animal life and the terrian Muir is traveling, the book is relatively interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive and boring, but a good message....
Review: My First Summer in the Sierra
By: John Muir
Review by Austin Bauer

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir is a book published by Penguin Nature Classics in 1987 but written in Muir's diary in the summer of 1869. It seems almost as if Muir wrote one page and repeated it 264 times. He wrote of nature's beauty and bounty when untouched. John Muir was a naturalist who lived from 1834-1914, beginning his life in Wisconsin and later moving to California to observe the beautiful sierra mountains. His intention in the writings were to inspire people, naturalists or not, to enjoy nature at its fullest and keep it that way. I think that this book was very repetitive, but the message was a positive and, to me, true one.
The context of this book revolved around the idea of nature's true beauty and how it can exist freely. Muir spoke of the ecology of the Sierra. Nearly every page of the book had a new species of plant or animal that he had observed. He then told of what its affect on him was, whether it was annoying or satisfying, beautiful or ugly, natural or processed. In short, his main context was the loveliness he observed and wanted to share in his writings.
John Muir stated "...Mr. Delaney, a sheep owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the headwaters..." This was the beginning of his journey to the most beautiful place he could ever imagine, a place that he returned to for the rest of his life. Muir had a good companion, a St. Bernard named Carlo. The book went on to tell how him and a few others led 2050 sheep up the Sierra mountain range in California. They encountered many obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles were bear attacks, to which Muir said, "Bears are slow and awkward with their eyes." They went on camping at different sites, spending sometimes several weeks at one site. Here, Muir made endless amounts of sketches and recordings of his observations. The group faced a bread famine, the result of a slow and lazy Mr. Delaney, but recovered and returned to their trek with the sheep to the high mountains. John's helpful substance was tea. To another, tea was nothing and he needed tobacco. Everybody had something to keep them with it, so to say. The book did gain some excitement when Muir was sitting atop a mountain and had a sudden feeling that his old professor from Wisconsin was visiting. A few days later, he realized this was true and met up with him, speaking of old times and getting slumber in the hotel. Whenever John would observe tourists going through the mountains, he would shake his head at their ignorance to the size and beauty of the area. He just saw them looking at the ground, not fully enjoying it. Towards the end, John was sad to leave the mountains and return to the lowlands, farther away from the mountains he adored so much. He said "Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again." He returned many times in his long life, and each visit was never a disappointment.
The work that I read had very much information on the specifics of plants and animals found in the Sierra. I learned a lot about the sizes of these organisms and their characteristics. For example, there was a section where Muir wrote of how the ants were ¾ inches long and that they "check you out" before they have the colony attack you. If you are still and seem harmless, they will not bite, but a sudden move may jolt them to bite. He said that the bite from this species of ant felt like a terrible electric sting that nobody should have to endure more than once or twice in a lifetime. So these parts of the book were good because I found this activity quite interesting, but some parts, such as the tree descriptions, got boring. I am not interested in the texture and color of the tree bark. I can get the whole picture much easier. My own experiences tell me what nature is like, so I have a good feel of what Muir is trying to show us. The honors biology class has helped me by letting me know some of the ideas behind genus species names and writings, so that is how the course helped me out. That is what I thought of the book and why I thought that way. The only question I really had was why Muir described things so detailed and run-on and descriptive. I may have an idea, but I am not sure.
I believe that John Muir described the organisms so in-depth because he wanted his audience to really be able to visualize it and the beauty it held in itself. This all fits in with the context of the environment's ecology being a precious thing that can not go to waste. So while it wasn't the most fun book to read, it still held an important message, as I have said before, that we must follow to keep the environment beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive and boring, but a good message....
Review: My First Summer in the Sierra
By: John Muir
Review by Austin Bauer

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir is a book published by Penguin Nature Classics in 1987 but written in Muir's diary in the summer of 1869. It seems almost as if Muir wrote one page and repeated it 264 times. He wrote of nature's beauty and bounty when untouched. John Muir was a naturalist who lived from 1834-1914, beginning his life in Wisconsin and later moving to California to observe the beautiful sierra mountains. His intention in the writings were to inspire people, naturalists or not, to enjoy nature at its fullest and keep it that way. I think that this book was very repetitive, but the message was a positive and, to me, true one.
The context of this book revolved around the idea of nature's true beauty and how it can exist freely. Muir spoke of the ecology of the Sierra. Nearly every page of the book had a new species of plant or animal that he had observed. He then told of what its affect on him was, whether it was annoying or satisfying, beautiful or ugly, natural or processed. In short, his main context was the loveliness he observed and wanted to share in his writings.
John Muir stated "...Mr. Delaney, a sheep owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the headwaters..." This was the beginning of his journey to the most beautiful place he could ever imagine, a place that he returned to for the rest of his life. Muir had a good companion, a St. Bernard named Carlo. The book went on to tell how him and a few others led 2050 sheep up the Sierra mountain range in California. They encountered many obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles were bear attacks, to which Muir said, "Bears are slow and awkward with their eyes." They went on camping at different sites, spending sometimes several weeks at one site. Here, Muir made endless amounts of sketches and recordings of his observations. The group faced a bread famine, the result of a slow and lazy Mr. Delaney, but recovered and returned to their trek with the sheep to the high mountains. John's helpful substance was tea. To another, tea was nothing and he needed tobacco. Everybody had something to keep them with it, so to say. The book did gain some excitement when Muir was sitting atop a mountain and had a sudden feeling that his old professor from Wisconsin was visiting. A few days later, he realized this was true and met up with him, speaking of old times and getting slumber in the hotel. Whenever John would observe tourists going through the mountains, he would shake his head at their ignorance to the size and beauty of the area. He just saw them looking at the ground, not fully enjoying it. Towards the end, John was sad to leave the mountains and return to the lowlands, farther away from the mountains he adored so much. He said "Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again." He returned many times in his long life, and each visit was never a disappointment.
The work that I read had very much information on the specifics of plants and animals found in the Sierra. I learned a lot about the sizes of these organisms and their characteristics. For example, there was a section where Muir wrote of how the ants were ¾ inches long and that they "check you out" before they have the colony attack you. If you are still and seem harmless, they will not bite, but a sudden move may jolt them to bite. He said that the bite from this species of ant felt like a terrible electric sting that nobody should have to endure more than once or twice in a lifetime. So these parts of the book were good because I found this activity quite interesting, but some parts, such as the tree descriptions, got boring. I am not interested in the texture and color of the tree bark. I can get the whole picture much easier. My own experiences tell me what nature is like, so I have a good feel of what Muir is trying to show us. The honors biology class has helped me by letting me know some of the ideas behind genus species names and writings, so that is how the course helped me out. That is what I thought of the book and why I thought that way. The only question I really had was why Muir described things so detailed and run-on and descriptive. I may have an idea, but I am not sure.
I believe that John Muir described the organisms so in-depth because he wanted his audience to really be able to visualize it and the beauty it held in itself. This all fits in with the context of the environment's ecology being a precious thing that can not go to waste. So while it wasn't the most fun book to read, it still held an important message, as I have said before, that we must follow to keep the environment beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Well intentioned but...
Review: The Sierras are much nicer when visited in person. Reading about the natural wonders found there isn't the same as actually checking them out for yourself. Perhaps if you were already familiar with the areas Mr. Muir traversed, and wish to brush up un them or revisit them literarily when unable to do so physically... THEN perhaps this book would be better.

Rating:
Summary: The one book to buy on John Muir
Review: This is one of John Muir's best books (the other being _First Summer in the Sierra_). It's Muir's slightly-edited diary of his 1000-mile trip through the Southern U.S. to Florida, then Cuba. He traveled on foot observing nature and the people. The book holds your interest as it's written on the spot through the enthusistic eyes of a young man. It reminds me a little of Mark Twain's book _Roughin' It_, another story through the eye's of a young man latter to become famous (about working on antebellum riverboats).

Rating:
Summary: The one book to buy on John Muir
Review: This is one of John Muir's best books (the other being _First Summer in the Sierra_). It's Muir's slightly-edited diary of his 1000-mile trip through the Southern U.S. to Florida, then Cuba. He traveled on foot observing nature and the people. The book holds your interest as it's written on the spot through the enthusistic eyes of a young man. It reminds me a little of Mark Twain's book _Roughin' It_, another story through the eye's of a young man latter to become famous (about working on antebellum riverboats).

Rating:
Summary: Exuberant. "In full communion with everything good."
Review: This is the third of Muir's books that I have read, the first in several years. Gretel Ehrlich writes in her introduction: "[Muir] wrote: 'I should like to live here always. It is so calm and withdrawn while open to the universe in full communion with everything good.' And in so speaking of the place he loved best, described himself."
In the inimitable way of John Muir, the book is essentially a journal, in this case of his thoughts and travels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the summer of 1869. On one day (July 15) he tells of his great desire to look directly down the thousands of vertical feet of Yosemite Falls leading him into a death-defying pilgrimage onto shear rock: "If I was to get down to the brink at all that rough edge, which might offer slight finger-holds, was the only way. But the slope . . . looked dangerously smooth and steep, and the swift roaring flood beneath, overhead, and beside me was very nerve-trying. I therefore concluded not to venture farther, but did nevertheless." I'll guess that Muir is the only person to have ever positioned himself on the lip of this great waterfall. Having earlier read of his mountaineering and storm-reveling experiences, even this is not quite surprising. On another day he writes of encountering a brown bear, a housefly, and a grasshopper, and treats them all as being equally fascinating.

In a later entry, Muir contemplates raindrops with these words:
"How far they have to go, how many cups to fill, great and small, cells too small to be seen, cups holding half a drop as well as lake basins between the hills, each replenished with equal care, every drop in all the blessed throng a silvery newborn star with lake and river, garden and grove, valley and mountain, all that the landscape holds reflected in its crystal depths, God's messenger, angel of love sent on its way with majesty and pomp and display of power that make man's greatest shows ridiculous.
Now the storm is over, the sky is clear, the last rolling thunder-wave is spent on the peaks, and where are the raindrops now -- what has become of all the shining throng? In winged vapor rising some are already hastening back to the sky, some have gone into the plants, creeping through invisible doors into the round rooms of cells, some are locked in crystals of ice, some in rock crystals, some in porous moraines to keep their small springs flowing, some have gone journeying on in the rivers to join the larger raindrop of the ocean. From form to form, beauty to beauty, ever changing, never resting, all are speeded on with love's enthusiasm, singing with the stars the eternal song of creation."

For Muir, the mostly self-educated botanist and geologist, nothing Nature does is anything less than miraculous. Only in our finest moments of insight, revelation if you will, do we see the world as Muir saw it always.
[July 12, 1869] "We saw another party of Yosemite tourists to-day. Somehow most of these travelers seem to care but little for the glorious objects about them, though enough to spend time and money and endure long rides to see the famous valley. And when they are fairly within the mighty walls of the temple and hear the psalms of the falls, they will forget themselves and become devout. Blessed, indeed, should be every pilgrim in these holy mountains!"