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Title: My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir ISBN: 0-395-35351-3 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 April, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Well intentioned but...
Comment: 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: 2
Summary: Repetitive and boring, but a good message....
Comment: 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: 3
Summary: Akin to reading the National Geographic Wildlife guide
Comment: 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.
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Title: The Mountains of California (Modern Library Classics) by John Muir, Bill McKibben ISBN: 0375758194 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 11 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures by John Muir, Fiona King, Lee Stetson, Yosemite Association ISBN: 0939666758 Publisher: Yosemite Association Pub. Date: 01 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey ISBN: 0345326490 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1990 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Meditations of John Muir: Nature's Temple by Chris Highland ISBN: 0899972853 Publisher: Wilderness Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard ISBN: 0060953020 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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