03-26-2022, 12:11 PM
Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir by Linnie Marsh Wolfe
There had to be a Muir biography some time. This one seems to be the Ur-text for much of the information I've come across. There's is a lot of "Great Man" theory in this book and sometimes the prose gets a little purple about Muir's accomplishments but there is a lot of good information in the book. The overview of his life is very clear if not in great depth. I received new information about Muir's time in the Yosemite Valley working for JM Hutchings. There was great information about his extensive travels to Alaska and around the world. Plenty of information I did not know about like his long friendship with the head of the Union Pacific, Edward Henry Harriman.
What helps this book is that it was written in 1945. Wolfe was able to interview Muir's daughters and other people that actually knew him. There are plenty of letters from Muir and others to fill out the text but not an abundance of them to clog the narrative.
This is a really good primer on Muir. I will stand by this until shown the error of my ways.
There had to be a Muir biography some time. This one seems to be the Ur-text for much of the information I've come across. There's is a lot of "Great Man" theory in this book and sometimes the prose gets a little purple about Muir's accomplishments but there is a lot of good information in the book. The overview of his life is very clear if not in great depth. I received new information about Muir's time in the Yosemite Valley working for JM Hutchings. There was great information about his extensive travels to Alaska and around the world. Plenty of information I did not know about like his long friendship with the head of the Union Pacific, Edward Henry Harriman.
What helps this book is that it was written in 1945. Wolfe was able to interview Muir's daughters and other people that actually knew him. There are plenty of letters from Muir and others to fill out the text but not an abundance of them to clog the narrative.
This is a really good primer on Muir. I will stand by this until shown the error of my ways.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm