Anthologies

Anthologies	Film and Video
Audio	Historical and Literary Analyses
Biographies	Internet Resources
Book Chapters Featuring John Muir	The John Muir Library Series from Sierra Club Books
Bookmarks	Live Presentations and Enactments
Books by John Muir	Music
Children's Books	Periodicals and Notable Recent Articles from Periodicals
For Educators and Youth Group Leaders	Photography and Gift Books
Fiction	Research Tools

Note: Items shown in boldface are believed to be available for purchase at the time this bibliography was last revised. No attempt has been made to include entries from encyclopedias or similar reference works.

Anthologies

Arrangement here is alphabetical by Editor.

Muir, John, John Muir's Book of Animals, Illustrated by Lissel Jane Ashlock. (Berkeley, Calif.: Heyday, 2015). Paperback, 6 x 8, 128 pages, with 27 full-color illustrations; ISBN: 978-1-59714-318-9 Price: $18.00.
The wonderful illustrations by Lisel Jane Ashlock (off-site link) make this book a special delight. The cover itself is an amazing piece of artwork, as Muir's profile of head and shoulders is embodied by dozens of plants and animals - and the book thankfully also includes that painting within the book without the distracting text. The illustrations included for each creature bring to life Muir's vivid and memorable stories about his encounters with animals. Also included are lovely graphic hand-written texts, framed with floral arrangements, excerpting certain key passages, such as John Muir's observation that "Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much larger and better in every way." Whether breakfasting with deer, attempting to scare off a black bear, or musing upon the ferocity of ants, Muir looks upon the animal world with amazement and affection. The power of his words, the freshness of his thinking, the keenness of his perceptions, and the depth of his passion continue to inspire us today. Drawing from longtime favorites such as Stickeen as well as from less familiar books, letters, articles, and journals, John Muir's Book of Animals presents us with twenty-seven of Muir's most compelling stories and vibrant descriptions. Animals included are: Ant, Bear, Bee,Clarke Crow, Deer, Dog, Eagle and Hare, Golden Eagle, Goose, Grasshopper, Grouse, Heron, Lizard, Mouse, Rattlesnake, Raven, Salmon, Domestic Sheep, Songbird, Sparrow, Squirrel, Douglas Squirrel, Water Ouzel (now known as the American Dipper), Wolf, Wood Rat, and Woodchuck. Sources for each passage is included identifying books and articles. The publisher included a thanks to our website: "Heyday also thanks The John Muir Exhibit of the Sierra Club for easy access to Muir's writings."

________________, John Muir's Last Journey: South to the Amazon and East to Africa Edited by Michael P. Branch. (New York: Island Press/Shearwater Books 2001).
Overlooked and unpublished, Muir's late writings document the fulfillment of his lifelong dream to visit the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, the Araucaria forests of the Andes, and the baobab forests of central Africa. Muir made the 40,000-mile journey--which constituted what he later called "the most fruitful year of my life"--in 1911-12, alone, at age 73. In these remarkable journals and letters we see a man whose intrepid enthusiasm for the wilderness remains unabated, but whose love for his family has become the anchor of his old age. This book is particularly valuable for three reasons: they offer an unprecedented study of Muir's relationship to his family in his later years; they demonstrate clearly that Muir's environmental concerns were global; they complete the story, begun in Muir's early journals, of his ambition to visit the forests of South America and Africa.

________________, Wilderness Essays . Edited with an introduction by Frank E. Buske. (Layton, Utah: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc. 1980).
This small paperback is a collection of essays by John Muir on Alaska, the High Sierra, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Utah, and Oregon. Available packaged with the next listing plus essays by Theodore Roosevelt, and John C. Van Dyke as part of the "Literature of the American Wilderness" set.

________________, John Muir: Nature Writings . Selected with notes by William Cronon. (New York: The Library of America, 1997). 888 pages.
This compact and sturdy volume contains four of Muir's best books: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth (1913), My First Summer in the Sierra (1911), The Mountains of California (1894), Stickeen (1909), and 18 original essays. Among the most notable of the essays are: including "Yosemite Glaciers," "God's First Temples," "A Geologist's Winter Walk," "Snow-Storm on Mount Shasta," "The American Forests," "Hetch Hetchy Valley," "Cedar Keys," and the late appeal "Save the Redwoods." The book also contains perhaps the most detailed chronology of Muir's l

Ife in print today, extensive notes on the texts by William Cronon, and a comprehensive index. A book jacket summary of this book is available.

________________, John Muir: To Yosemite and Beyond . Edited by Robert Engberg and Donald Wesling. (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1980). Re-issued in 1999 by University of Utah Press.
This book contains previously unpublished writings from Muir's letters, journals, and articles from the years 1863 to 1875, constituting a continuation of the autobiography of Muir's Yosemite years.

________________, Summering in the Sierra . Edited with an introduction by Robert Engberg. (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983).
This book is a collection of articles Muir wrote for the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin in the years 1874-1875. Composed in the mountains throughout California and sent directly to his publisher without revision, these articles represent some of Muir's most fresh and spontaneous writing. A book jacket summary of this book is available.

________________, John Muir: Letters from Alaska . Edited by Robert Engberg and Bruce Merrell. (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1994).
Collected from newspaper correspondence Muir wrote during his first and second Alaska trips (1879-1880), this new compilation incorporates previously unpublished quotations and illustrations from Muir's Alaska journals.
For more information, see:

________________, Mountaineering Essays . Edited with an introduction by Richard F. Fleck. (Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 1997) Originally published: Layton, Utah: Gibbs M. Smith., Inc., 1984).
This collection of eleven essays focuses on Muir's mountain and glacial adventures on Mount Shasta, Mount Rainier, and several places in Alaska. The eleven essays, taken from a variety of Muir's published books, include "The Tuolumne Camp," "A Near View of the High Sierra," "A Geologist's Winter Walk," A Perilous Night on Shasta's Summit," "The South Dome," "Mountain Thoughts," "An Ascent of Mount Rainier," "The Stickeen River," "Glenora Peak," "My Sled-Trip on the Muir Glacier," and "First Ascent of Herald Island."

________________, John Muir: The Eight Wilderness-Discovery Books . Edited by Terry Gifford. (Seattle: Diadem/ The Mountaineers Books, 1992).
This extensive omnibus of Muir's writings, edited and with an introduction by climber and poet Terry Gifford, includes the full text of eight of Muir's most popular books: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf; My First Summer in the Sierra; The Mountains of California; Our National Parks; The Yosemite; Travels in Alaska; and Steep Trails.

________________, John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings . Edited by Terry Gifford. (Seattle: Mountaineers Books, and London: Baton Wicks, 1996). ISBN: 0898864631 Hardcover List: $38.00. Includes maps, black and white historical photographs, and color photographs. 912 pages.
This huge omnibus includes two biographies: The Life and Letters of John Muir by William Frederic Badè, and Alaska Days with John Muir by Samuel Hall Young. It also includes an extensive collection of Muir's own writings: Letters Written During A Trip to Scotland; Studies in the Sierra; "California Agriculture;" Essays from "Picturesque California;" "Treasures and Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park" , Stickeen, "Notes on the Pacific Coast Glaciers; The Cruise of the Corwin; and Edward Henry Harriman. Rounding out the collection is a section on "John Muir as Others Saw Him" -- tributes written by such luminaries as William E. Colby, Robert Underwood Johnson, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Charles Spraque Sargent, and others. This is a valuable collection for those wanting to learn more about Muir, and may be considered as a sort of "second volume" of Terry Gifford's John Muir: The Eight Wilderness-Discovery Books . A book jacket summary of this book is available.

Muir, John, and Badè, William Frederic The Life and Letters of John Muir (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1923 & 1924, 100th anniversary edition 2022 and 2023)
This book combines elements of John Muir's unfinished autobiography with letters selected from the voluminous correspondence between Muir and his many collaborators and admirers, linked by Badè's commentary. The first-ever Muir biography, the book remains as the freshest exploration of Muir's life and legacy.
The Life and Letters of John Muir by William Frederic Badè were originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1923 and 1924 in two volumes.
In 1996, The Mountaineers in Seattle and Baton Wicks in London published a modern edition of The Life and Letters of John Muir, edited and introduced by Terry Gifford.
In 2022 and 2023, a 100th anniversary edition was published in print, ebook, and audiobook formats by Crazy Wisdom Publishing. Volume 1 Introduction and Preface by Michael Conti and Stephen Hatch. Volume 2 Introduction by Mike Wurtz and Epilogue by Harold W. Wood, Jr.
Learn more and watch video interview introductions of 2023 centennial edition here. (off-site link)

________________, Letters to a Friend . Letters by John Muir, written to Jeannie Carr. (Dunwoody, Georgia: Norman S. Berg, Publisher, 1973) Reprinted: (Atlanta, Ga.: Cherokee Pub., 1990)
John Muir met Mrs. Jeannie Carr when was a student in the University of Wisconsin where he was a frequent caller at the house of his professor, Dr. Ezra S. Carr. Dr. Carr's wife, Mrs. Carr, soon became Muir's mentor and spiritual mother, and became the recipient of his first experimental writings about the wonders of Nature, and a life-long friend. Fresh writing shows Muir's inner spirit and love of Nature.

_____________, The Wilder Muir: The Curious Nature of John Muir (Yosemite Conservancy, 2017), a selection of 23 writings by Muir, selected and with introductions by Bonnie J. Gisel, an environmental historian who has published articles and books, curated exhibits, and co-chaired conferences on John Muir, and for 15 years served as Curator of the Sierra Club's LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite. This collection, a sequel to the publisher's 1994 collection The Wild Muir compiled by Lee Stetson [see below], presents twenty-three episodes of exuberant discovery. From his encounter with the delicate orchid that launches his writing career to climbs of Mounts Whitney, Shasta and Rainier that prove to him that no mountain can kill him, the famed naturalist embraces all things wild in accounts that are exciting, enchanting, and downright humorous. Whether skinny-dipping in the Great Salt Lake, penning a letter in ink made from a giant sequoia, or cheering on a bighorn sheep, you will learn of Muir's intense curiosity for all things wild. Bonnie J. Gisel's introductions to each selection is intended to shed light on Muir's life that incorporates not only his love of the wilderness, but of his treasured relationships with family and friends. Fiona King's black-and-white engravings complement the book nicely.

________________, South of Yosemite: Selected Writings of John Muir . Edited by Frederic R. Gunsky. (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 1968, 1988).
A wonderful collection of Muir's writings from various sources, primarily newspaper and magazine articles, attempting to present Muir's original versions as much as possible.

The Contemplative John Muir - Spiritual Quotations from the Great American Naturalist by Stephen K. Hatch Book Cover ________________, The Contemplative John Muir: Spiritual Quotations from the Great American Naturalist by Stephen K. Hatch. (Fort Collins: CO; self-published: lulu.com, 2012). 380 pages.
41 Chapters with comprehensive introductions, focused on Muir's ecstatic utterances concerning the sacredness of Nature. Each chapter incorporates one of Muir's spiritual lessons, such as "The Natural World is a Scripture," or "Creation is Ongoing." Includes never before published passages from the John Muir Papers as well as an anthology of the major spiritual passages from his published works. Most of the passages are very short, no longer than a few sentences. A comprehensive list of References identifies the source of each quotation or passage. Available from Amazon.com or Lulu.com in perfect-bound paperback or as an ebook. A book jacket summary is available.

________________, Meditations of John Muir: Nature's Temple . Compiled by Chris Highland. (Berkeley, California, Wilderness Press, 2001, Fifth printing 2005)
A compilation of 60 selections from the writings of John Muir, each paired by a brief quote from other literary figures or the world's spiritual traditions. This is a trail companion book, suitable for taking hiking or backpacking. Sources are listed for each selection and at the conclusion. A publisher's press release is available.

________________, Muir Among the Animals: The Wildlife Writings of John Muir . Edited by Lisa Mighetto. (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books 1985).
This is a modern anthology of Muir's essays about those creatures Muir referred to as his "horizontal brothers". Written in lively, often humorous prose, it reveals Muir's prescience about future wildlife issues. A book Jacket summary of this book is available.

________________, Dear Papa: Letters Between John Muir and His Daughter Wanda . Edited by Shirley Sargent. (Fresno: Panorama West Books, 1985).
These letters quickly dispel the myth that Muir was some kind of "wild man" who rejected wife and family for the wilderness. Muir plainly loved his family and shared with them his appreciation for the wilderness.

________________, The Wild Muir - Twenty-two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures , selected and introduced by Lee Stetson , Illustrated by Fiona King (The Yosemite Association, 1994).
This collection, prepared by the man who has portrayed John Muir in personal presentations at Yosemite and elsewhere, and on audiocassette, CD, and video, focuses on Muir's most adventurous, death-defying experiences. Each adventure introduced by Lee Stetson, then told in Muir's own words. From the famous avalanche ride off the rim of Yosemite Valley, to his night spent riding out a windstorm at the top of a tree, to death-defying falls on Alaskan glaciers, the renowned outdoorsman's exploits are related in passages that are by turns exhilarating, unnerving, dizzying and outrageous. The text is nicely complemented with striking black-and-white scratch board drawings by Fiona King, a talented illustrator. Two contemporary eye-witness accounts by others are also included. See also the companion volume, The Wilder Muir selected and introduced by Bonnie J. Gisel (2017).

A press release of this book is available.

________________, The Wilderness World of John Muir . Edited by Edwin Way Teale. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954, pap. reprint, 2001).
This remains the best introduction to Muir's writings available today. This book is an anthology of Muir's best writings, arranged with a biographical introduction and interspersed with interpretive comments which achieve a comprehensive overview of Muir's life and his ideals. Highly recommended.

_________, Anywhere That is Wild: John Muir's First Walk to Yosemite (Yosemite Conservancy, 2018), edited by Peter & Donna Thomas. Consolidates and organizes 13 different sources from Muir's articles, books, and letters (his 1868 journal is missing) that tell the story of Muir's 1868 walk from San Francisco to Yosemite.

________________, John Muir - The Wilderness Journeys . Edited and with an introduction by Graham White. (Canongate: Edinburgh, Scotland, 1996). ISBN: 086 241 886 I ( please note last I is the capital letter i) U.S. Distributors: Michel Moushabeck, Interlink Books, 46 Crosby Street, Northampton, Massachusetts 01060; Tel: 413 582 7054; Fax: 413 582 7057.
This omnibus collection, especially compiled for the British audience, includes five of Muir's greatest works, namely: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth; The Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf; My First Summer in the Sierra; Travels in Alaska; and Stickeen. As Graham White writes in the Introduction: "Together, these five books chart the epic journeys on which John Muir explored the geography and ecology of the American continent, from the snowy Alaskan glaciers, to the alligators and orchids of the Florida swamps. They record the Odyssey of this great Scottish-American, from humble origins in Victorian Scotland, to his eventual enthronement as the elder statesman of Conservation: adviser to Presidents, lauded with honours by the universities, scientists and philosophers of his day."

__________________ The Wisdom of John Muir: 100+ Selections from the Diaries, Journals, and Essays of the Great Naturalist compiled by Anne Rowthorn. (Birmingham, AL: Wilderness Press, 2012).
Author Anne Rowthorn has created a new anthology focused on the great naturalist's philosophy. The authorâ€™s goal was not just to present Muirâ€™s adventures, his passionate protests against degradation of the environment and promotion of the idea of wilderness as a contributor to human health and spirit, but in particular to showcase his sense of natureâ€™s holiness beyond doctrine or creed. Muir not only recognized that all creation is an interconnected web of life, but promoted the idea that nature had meaning, beauty, and value in itself. Like Edwin Way Teale's The Wilderness World of John Muir, this book combines the best aspects of a Muir anthology with the best aspects of a Muir biography. The fact that it is neither, and yet it is both, distinguishes this book from the many excellent books on John Muir.

________________, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir . Edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe. (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press 1979, originally published in 1938, copyright renewed in 1966).
This is a collection of previously unpublished journals which reveal the rich, mystical love Muir had for Nature.

_____________, Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir's Best Writings. Edited with an Introduction by Fred White. (Heyday Books, April 1, 2006) 208 pages (5.5 x 8.5) Co-published with Santa Clara University.
An introduction to the great “poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and ornithologist-naturalist. This is the second volume in the California Legacy Essentials Collection. Taking the best of John Muir's writings on nature—in which he waxes ecstatic even as he accurately describes the scientific attributes of a flower—as well as his thoughts on religion and society, this book presents a fresh look at one of California's greatest literary figures. His love for nature was so powerful—and his description of it so compelling—it still inspires us a century later.
About the Essentials Collection
Santa Clara University and Heyday Books present the Essentials Collection: accessible "best-of" volumes showcasing California authors whose works have gained and deserve international recognition—authors such as William Saroyan, John Muir, Mary Austin, Ambrose Bierce, and Chester Himes.

A revised edition was published in 2021, sub-titled "A Selection of John Muir's Best (and Worst) Writings." While purporting to "provide a more complete portrait of the man," the revised edition focuses on Muir's negative portrayal of California Indians, without expanding on his later appreciation of Alaska Natives.

________________, Sacred Summits: John Muir's Greatest Climbs Edited and Introduction by Graham White. (Edinburgh: Canongate, 1999)
A compilation of Muir's accomplishments as a mountain climber and explorer. Includes Muir's mountaineering essays, plus critical assessments by climbers, academics, and historians.

A book jacket summary is available

_______ Journeys in the Wilderness: A John Muir Reader, Introduced by Graham White. (Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, 2009)
Primarily for British readers, includes complete editions of The Story of My Boyhood and Youth, My First Summer in the Sierra, and Stickeen, and selections from The Mountains of California, Our National Parks, The Yosemite, and Steep Trails.

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