John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings - Hardcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Born in 1838, John Muir was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and ahead-of-his-time advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. Muir's works tell of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada of California. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other exquisite wilderness areas. He founded The Sierra Club, and petitioned the US Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The 211-mile John Muir Trail - a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada - was named in his honour, as was the John Muir Way in Scotland, and many other places including a beach, college and glacier. Muir married Louisa Strentzel and they had two daughters together, living on a fruit orchard in California. Today he is referred to as the 'Father of the National Parks' and has a legacy as one of the most influential naturalists in America.

Terry Gifford ​is a rock climber, author and editor of poetry and academic ​book​s on the subject of ​literature and ​the environment, with titles including The Joy of Climbing, The Rope, ​Pastoral ​and​ the complete works of John Muir in two volumes: John Muir: The Eight Wilderness-Discovery Books and John Muir: His Life and Letters and Other Writings. He ​was founding​ director of the annual International Festival of Mountaineering Literature for twenty-one years, and is former ​c​hair of the Mountain Heritage Trust. Today he is ​v​isiting ​scholar at Bath Spa University’s Centre for Writing and Environment and ​p​rofessor ​h​onorifico at the University of Alicante in Spain.