Book Review: Guardians of the Valley by Dean King, reviewed by Lindsie Bourgon (PDF) – from The New York Times (March 23, 2023) (PDF)

 Book Review: The Earth Wisdom of John Muir by Harold Wood (2023) – An updated and enhanced book review, based on an earlier presentation reviewing the book Earth Wisdom: John Muir, Accidental Taoist, Charts Humanity’s Only Future on a Changing Planet by Raymond Barnett (2016). How John Muir’s “accidental Taoist” world view replaces the West’s anthropocentric worldview, offering a path to becoming whole with the natural world and dealing with the existential challenge of climate change. 

Book Review: The Wilderness World of John Muir, Edited by Edwin Way Teale, Reviewed by Harold W. Wood, Jr., 2004. I am often asked for a recommendation of what among Muir’s writings, or writings about him, one should first read. After spending more than 30 years appreciating both his writings and most of the books about Muir that have been published during that time, and after ten years editing the John Muir Exhibit online, I can only turn to the same book that originally enthalled me with John Muir: The Wilderness World of John Muir, edited by Edwin Way Teale.

Review of John Muir: A Reading Bibliography, Compiled and annotated by William F. Kimes and Maymie B. Kimes, Reviewed by Harold Wood. This masterful book is a complete and fascinating reference of Muir’s published work over a period of 120 years, beginning with his first published letter in December 1866 for the Boston Recorder on “The Calypso Borealis” and ending with the entry for The John Muir Papers microform (1986). Note that this is a reading bibliography. Far more than just a bare list of publications and dates, every entry is annotated with fulfilling descriptions…

Book Review: John Muir In His Own Words: A Book of Quotations, Compiled and Edited by Peter Browning, Review by Harold Wood.  I am frequently asked for the source of particular Muir quotations. Answering many of these requests is difficult, because many of Muir’s best passages were written in different locations, and many of the best quotes are in Muir’s unpublished journals… To complicate matters even further, in recent years there has been an increasing number of inaccurate John Muir misquotes due to online social networking and the spread of viral messages on the Internet. One way of finding many of Muir’s best quotes is available through this 1988 compilation by Peter Browning.

Book Review: The  Yosemite by John Muir with Photographs by Galen Rowell,  1989 coffee table book. This luminous coffee-table photographic extravaganza celebrating the most famous national park in California was published in 1989 – just in time for the Centennial of Yosemite National Park (1990). This book is distinctive in offering much more than Muir’s The Yosemite text. Each of the 101 photographs in this book is accompanied by two captions. One is from Muir, drawn from the full range of his books and articles, including many of his most poetic passages. The second is an annotation by Galen Rowell, describing what drew him to the subject matter and providing a modern perspective.