The Life and Contributions of John Muir

This section features articles, essays, chronologies, books, an atlas, and other resources written by others about John Muir. See also our Bibliographic Resources and the Writings by John Muir.

Reminder: This site provides resources and information about John Muir, past and present. Its contents do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Sierra Club.

Introducing John Muir

• About John Muir

Brief Biographies:

• English Also available in print-ready PDF format.
• Deutsch - German
• Español - Spanish - Also available in formatted PDF .
• Français - French
• Românește - Romanian - (PDF)
• Chronology of Important Events in the Life of John Muir (from John Muir NHS) (short)

• A Geography of John Muir - Muir traveled extensively in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere in the world in search of the beauties of Nature. Also see below for a few articles about some of Muir's travels.

  Off-Site links:

  • Earthkeeper Hero: John Muir by Harold W. Wood, Jr. (Off-site link)

  Annotated Chronology

  • Chronology of the Life and Legacy of John Muir - from his birth to the present day (1838-2016) This detailed chronology offers a year-by year timeline of Muir's life, followed by the ongoing - and increasing - interest in Muir down to the present. Many links will lead you to various fascinating parts of the John Muir Exhibit.

  Scotland - Muir's Birthplace

  • Scotland section of Geography of John Muir
  • John Muir's Scottish Ancestry: Muir Clan or Gordon Clan? by Harold Wood
  • Discover John Muir - A comprehensive website filled with resources about John Muir from a UK perspective, sponsored by the John Muir Trust in collaboration with the John Muir Birthplace. Includes a collection of educational resources including activities, games, films, art, programs, articles, photos, books, and events held in Scotland. (off-site link)
  • "A New Muir Association Formed In Scotland"
  • John Muir Trust - Taking their name and inspiration from John Muir, the John Muir Trust works to protect wild places throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom.  Its mission is: To work with others to inspire people to get close to wild nature; speak up for the benefits of wildness; prevent the loss of wild places; manage wild places in a responsible and exemplary fashion; and repair and rewild what has been damaged in the past. (off-site link)
  • John Muir's Birthplace - Explore the life and legacy of  John Muir by visiting the house in Dunbar, Scotland, where he was born – now a unique museum and the starting point of the John Muir Way. The exterior has been restored and now looks much as it would have done in 1838 – the year John Muir was born. Inside, you will find three floors of family friendly interactive displays where staff and volunteers will help you learn more about Muir’s boyhood in Scotland. The website is filled with useful and interesting resources.  (offsite link)
  • Friends of John Muir's Birthplace - Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace (founded in 1994 as “Dunbar’s John Muir Association” promotes the life and work of John Muir in Dunbar, Scotland and beyond. The Association successfully campaigned for the development of the Muir Birthplace site celebrating Muir’s vision and influence on world conservation. The group supports the work of the John Muir Birthplace by helping to fund its activities and in the preparation of resource material. (offsite link)
  • John Muir Way - This 134 mile walking and bicycling path going from coast to coast across central Scotland encourages outdoor discovery, and promotes understanding of John Muir’s legacy and philosophy by getting closer to nature. With the John Muir Way activity guide, you can learn more about John Muir and native flora, fauna, and history in Scotland. The Guide is brimming with ideas and resources for citizen science, adventure, Curriculum for Excellence, volunteering, achievement awards and creative activities. With a John Muir Way Passport, you can have your passport stamped to mark your progress. When you’ve collected all ten stamps, you can claim your free completer certificate. (offsite link)

  Wisconsin Boyhood and Inventions

  • "John Muir's Wisconsin Days" by Dave Leshuk
  • "An Ingenious Whittler" - 1860 newspaper account of Muir's inventions at the Wisconsin State Fair
  • John Muir by Jeanne C. Carr - From California Illustrated Magazine, vol. 2, pp. 88-94, June, 1892. Liberal quotations from Muir's letters to his mentor recount his life from Wisconsin to his earliest days in California.
  • "College Friend Describes Muir's Mechanical Marvels" by Harvey Reid
  • John Muir's Clocks - from Wisconsin Electronic Reader (offsite link)
  • Engines of Our Ingenuity - No. 2422 John Muir - Text and radio program about Muir as an engineer. from the University of Houston's School of Engineering. A podcast and streaming audio of this episode is available.
  • John Muir and the Civil War by Millie Stanley

  Muir in Canada

  • Canada John Muir Resources - from the John Muir Global Network
  • The Canadian Spirit of John Muir - 1996 conference presentation by Connie Bresnahan (Abstract)
  • Canadian Friends of John Muir Archive - This is the archive website chronicling the efforts of the Canadian Friends of John Muir to re-discover Muir’s time spent in Trout  Hollow, near Meaford, Ontario. Although the website is no longer updated, it contains valuable information telling how in 1998, The Canadian Friends discovered the site of theTrout Hollow mill in the Bighead River Valley where Muir spent time botanizing and working with his friends making rake handles. The group also helped preserve letters between Muir and local residents, and created a display about John Muir in the Meaford Museum.
  • John Muir and His Canadian Friends by Bruce Cox (off-site link)
  • Was John Muir a Draft Dodger? by Harold Wood
  • John Muir and the Civil War by Millie Stanley

  Muir in Yosemite

  • In the Yosemite with John Muir by Clara Barrus
  • In Yosemite with John Muir by President Theodore Roosevelt
  • "John Muir and the 1872 Earthquake: Where was Eagle Rock?" by Ron Limbaugh
    • Eagle Rock Found! by by Gerald F. Wieczorek (2003 Update)
  • Following Muir's First Summer Route by John Fiske
  • "On Early Yosemite Artists and Tourism"

  Hetch Hetchy - Muir's Last Battle

  • The Hetch Hetchy Valley by John Muir - Boston Weekly Transcript, March 25, 1873
  • The Hetch Hetchy Valley by John Muir - (Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. VI, No. 4, January, 1908)
  • The Hetch Hetchy Valley by John Muir - Chapter 16 of Muir's 1912 book, The Yosemite
  • Hetch Hetchy History - from Planet Patriot - (off-site link)
  • Hetch Hetchy Timeline - from Planet Patriot - (off-site link)
  • Can We Afford the Wilderness? by Ken Chowder
  • The Ghosts of Hetch Hetchy by Gene Rose
  • "Andrew Carnegie on John Muir" - Criticizing Muir for his Hetch Hetchy position
  • Hetch Hetchy: Time to Redeem a Historic Mistake by Ron Good (Off-site link to the Sierra Club's Hetch Hetchy website)
  • Restore Hetch Hetchy - Current campaign

  Alaska - Exploring Glaciers

  • Muir and Stickeen - an Aventure with a Dog on a Glacier
  • A letter from John Muir to S. Hall Young, 1910 May 31
  • Letters from Alaska by John Muir , edited by Robert Engberg and Bruce Merrrell, a review by Frank E. Buske
  • "Nature and the Human Spirit: The Transformation of Henry Loomis" by Ronald H. Limbaugh
  • Glaciers in Alaska: An Enthusiastic Report of John Muir's Lecture at Vancouver by O.O. Howard (January 24, 1880)
  • John Muir and the Fire on the Mountain by Wrangell History Unlocked Podcast (28 August 2021) (off-site link). On a stormy night in 1879, John Muir climbed the mountain behind Fort Wrangel, Alaska and built a fire so large it lit up the sky. The reaction of the surprised Tlingit villagers below has gone down in legend, misunderstood and maligned for over a century.

  Botanical Studies

  • "New Cache Of Muir Letters Discovered In England" by Ron Limbaugh
  • "Reflections on a Redwood Snag" , by Ron Limbaugh
  • Tracking John Muir to the Monkey Puzzle Forests of Chile by Bruce Byers (off-site link) - fascinating article and photos tracking Muir's visit to Chile in 2012.

  Family and Ranch Life

  • At Home with John Muir by George Gerard Clarken (Overland Monthly, August 1908)
  • Muir's wife Louie Strentzel Muir
  • John Muir as Fellow Human Being by P.J. Ryan (June, 1974)
  • "John Muir's Telephone Number", by Harold Wood
  • The Mystery of John Muir's Money by Arno Dosch (Sunset Magazine, February, 1916) (PDF)
  • John Muir National Historic Site (Off-site link)
  • John Muir's Gravesite - extrended text, photos, links, and a video.

  John Muir and Native Americans

  • Across the Shaman's River: John Muir, the Tlingit Stronghold, and the Opening of the North by Daniel Lee Henry. See description and listing in our Historical and Literary Analyses, Annotated John Muir Bibliography,
  • John Muir: Racist or Admirer of Native Americans? by Raymond Barnett
  • Criticizing Muir and misunderstanding the foundation of American nature conservation by Bruce A. Byers (from The Ecological Citizen Vol 5 No 1 2021: 65–73, October 22, 2021) (off-site link).
  • Ancoutahan: John Muir among Native Peoples by Chris Highland
  • John Muir's Evolving Attitudes Toward Native American Cultures by Richard F. Fleck
  • On John Muir's Trail by Donald Worster
  • John Muir biographer: He was no white supremacist by Donald Worster - July 29, 2020 (off-site link to California Sun)
  • John Muir and race: Biographer argues for nuanced view of the environmentalist by Finn Cohen - Interview with Donald Worster - July 29, 2020 (off-site link to California Sun)
  • Who Was John Muir, Really? by Chad Hanson (July, 2020) (Also available on the Chaparral Institute blog giving background information on the author, though not mentioning that he is currently a member of the Sierra Club Board of Directors.) (off-site link)
  • Who Was John Muir, Really? by Aaron Mair, Chad Hanson, and Mary Ann Nelson - Earth island Journal (August 11, 2021). (off-site link).
  • Muir's Early Indian Views: Another Look At My First Summer In The Sierra by Ross Wakefield
  • The Relevance of John Muir's Steep Trails by Richard F. Fleck
  • Thoreau And Muir Among The Indians, 1985. This book was re-issued and re-titled in 2015 as Henry Thoreau and John Muir Among the Native Americans (West Winds Press, 2015).
  • John Muir and Native American Activist Charles Lummis by Robert Hanna - In his later years, Muir joined and donated funds to an Indian welfare organization, the Sequoyah League, founded by his friend Charles Lummis, who was a great advocate of Native Americans in the entire Southwest.
  • John Muir and Native Americans - from the John Muir Global Network (off-site link)

  Global Travels

  • Global Muir - from John Muir Global Network
  • The Muir Family in Arizona by Lilian Whiting
  • "John Muir in Oregon" , by Ronald Eber
  • "John Muir in Russia, 1903" , by William H. Brennan
  • "John Muir on Alaska Gold"
  • "John Muir on California Agriculture"
  • John Muir and William Bartram
  • "John Muir's Photograph Collection" by Janene Ford
  • "John Muir in the Amazon Basin" , by Laurel Bemis
  • Muir, Michaux, And Gray On The Roan By Bob Fulcher - reprint from The Tennessee Conservationist, September-October, 1998, about Muir's 1898 botanical excursion to Roan Mountain
  • Jeanne Carr on Shasta, by Jeanne C. Carr
  • "John Muir and the Desert Connection" , by Peter Wild
  • Tracking John Muir to the Monkey Puzzle Forests of Chile by Bruce Byers (off-site link) - fascinating article and photos tracking Muir's visit to Chile in 2012.

  Personal Reminiscences of John Muir

  by those who knew him

  • John Muir by John Wright Buckham - Nature Magazine, November, 1927 (off-site link to John Muir Global Network)
  • A visit to John Muir in his dorm room, ca. 1862, by Grace Sterling Linseley. Recollections of John Muir, 1935. .Original manuscript in the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives (SC1912). (Off-site link)
  • Camping with Burroughs and Muir by Clara Barrus (1914)
  • With John o' the Birds and John o' the Mountains by Clara Barrus (1910)
  • "AN AFTERNOON WITH JOHN MUIR" and other references to John Muir, by W.P. Bartlett in Happenings: A Series of Sketches of the Great California Out-of-Doors by W.P. Bartlett Second Edition, Times-Mirror Printing and Binding House, Los Angeles, 1927. (off-site link to HathiTtrust Digital Library.)
  • A Visit with John Muir (1896) by John Burroughs (See also PDF version)
  • John Muir by Bailey Millard
  • Personal Recollections of John Muir by Samuel Merrill (1928)
  • John Muir: An Appreciation by President Theodore Roosevelt
  • Academic Honors Given John Muir in his Lifetime
  • John Muir by John Swett
  • "John Muir," by Ray Stannnard Baker, Outlook, (June 6, 1903). (PDF)
  • John Muir- Address Delivered by Charles R. Van Hise upon the Occasion of the Unveiling of a Bronze Bust of John Muir by the Sculptor C. S. Pietro at the University of Wisconsin, - December 6, 1916 (offsite link).
  • A Conversation with John Muir from World's Work [London, England] Nov. 1906 - a humorous Interview with John Muir covers his travels around the world and adventures on California's Mount Shasta, Arizona's Petrified Forest, and trips to see trees in Siberia, India, Ceylon, and Australia.
  • "Reminiscences of John Muir" by Myra Honegger
  • Glaciers in Alaska: An Enthusiastic Report of John Muir's Lecture at Vancouver by O.O. Howard (January 24, 1880)
  • John Muir by Ernest Ingersoll (The Mentor, June 5, 1919)
  • Recollections of John Muir, by Grace S. Lindsley (off-site link to Wisconsin Historical Society) recalling visiting John Muir in his room on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison in the early 1860s. She describes how he had invented a combination bed/alarm clock that tipped him onto the floor each morning, and how he dumped her and her young brother out of it. She also briefly recalls a visit he made to Madison in 1896, and his opinion of receiving an honorary degree from an East Coast university.
  • To the Memory of John Muir by C. Hart Merriam
  • A Tribute to John Muir: Naturalist, Writer, and Man by George Hamlin Fitch
  • A Parable of Sauntering by Albert W. Palmer - Including a conversation with John Muir showing how Muir hated "hiking" - both the word and the thing. (excerpted from The Mountain Trail and Its Message (1911) .
  • Complete book: Alaska Days with John Muir by S. Hall Young (1915) - available in various digital formats from archive.org .
  • Tributes from Those Who Knew Him - excerpts from essays below
  • Sierra Club Bulletin John Muir Memorial Number - Volume 10, Number 1, January 1916 (includes the following essays)
    • To Higher Sierras by William Frederic Badè
    • A Message and Appreciation by James Bryce
    • John Muir - President of the Sierra Club by William E. Colby
    • John Muir As I Knew Him by Robert Underwood Johnson
    • John Muir by David Starr Jordan
    • Recollections of John Muir by Charles Keeler
    • The Burial of John Muir by Charlotte Hoffman Kellogg
      [poetry]
    • Muir Lodge - An Appreciation by Mary Frances Kellogg
    • John Muir by Robert B. Marshall
       
    • John Muir by Enos Mills
    • An Appreciation by Harriet Monroe
    • Muir of the Mountains by Alexander McAdie
    • John Muir by Henry Fairfield Osborn
    • John Muir and the Alaska Book by Marion Randall Parsons (1916)
    • John Muir by Charles Sprague Sargent

  Modern Essays About John Muir

  • See our page on Tributes to John Muir for other kinds of honors and tributes to Muir. This section features only written tributes.
  • The First Environmentalist, John Muir by Dr. Jim Butler (offsite link currently unavailable)
  • John Muir and the United States National Park System - a speech by former Sierra Club President Lawrence Downing
  • John Muir, the Sierra, Yosemite National Park & the Sierra Club by Bonnie J. Gisel, Ph.D., Curator, LeConte Memorial Lodge, A speech presented on the Occasion of the Sierra Club Resilient Habitats Campaign Retreat March 26 – 29, 2012, Clair Tappaan Lodge
  • John Muir by Lawrence Clark Powell - "If I were to choose a single Californian to occupy the Hall of Fame, it would be this tenacious Scot who became a Californian during the final forty-six years of his life."
  • A Visit to John Muir's Wisconsin Farm by Bill Tweed
  • Triumph For Man and Nature: The American Wilderness and John Muir:   Part 1 | Part 2
    by Shane Mahoney, in Bugle: The Journal of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
    (Vol. 22:3 May/June 2005 & Vol. 22:6 Nov/Dec. 2005 [Off-site links]
  • In the (Low Carbon) Footsteps of John Muir by Greg Haegele, Sierra Club on treehugger.com (April 18, 2008) - "Muir was a visionary who worked hard to protect land even when there was plenty of open space around. Sometimes he was a lonely voice, because not everyone around him understood or supported the need to conserve magnificent places for future generations to explore and enjoy. Kind of like being a global-warming activist in places that still deny it's happening. Muir persevered, and we're all better off for it."
  • 9 Things You Don't Know About John Muir By Mary Jo DiLonardo in Treehugger.com (updated April 21, 2020)
  • John Muir Inducted on the Extra Mile Volunteeer Pathway in Washington, D.C. (April 22, 2009)
    • Honoree onThe Extra Mile Volunteer Pathway in Washington, D.C.
  • John Muir - A Great Scot - Nomination of John Muir for Scotland TV contest for "Greatest Scot."
  • Thank You John Muir - poem by M.P. Khan
  • Saint John Muir by Harold Wood (June 29, 2014)
  • All the Colors of Nature by Michael Brune (November 12, 2015)
  • The Light at the End - and Beginning - of John Muir's Journey by Barbara Mossberg (December 20, 2015)
  • On John Muir's Trail by Donald Worster Presented to University of California, San Diego, April 23, 2018
  • Who Was John Muir, Really? by Chad Hanson (July, 2020) (Also available on the Chaparral Institute blog giving background information on the author, though not mentioning that he is currently a member of the Sierra Club Board of Directors.) (off-site link)
  • When Writing About John Muir, I Had to See What He Saw By Donald Worster (Off-site link)
  • In Celebration of John Muir by John de Graaf - Earth Island Journal (December 23, 2014) (off-site link)
  • How John Muir's Incessant Study Saved Yosemite by Michael Wurtz (first published in The Conversation in 2016) reprinted under Creative Commons license. Later published as "What Muir Really Meant by 'the Mountains Are Calling' in Adventure Journal, August 13, 2018. Wurtz explains Muir wasn't writing about taking a vacation in the mountains, as many seem to believe today. In fact, "the shortened quote doesn't fully capture John Muir or his desire to understand and protect California's Yosemite." The reason to go was to study nature, and just as important, work to protect our wilderness areas. Elsewhere in the letter, Muir revealed that he was spending "the season in prosecuting my researches," and hoped to make a scientific contribution from his mountain studies, in winter to "work with my pen." Wurtz points out, "These words reveal a man who saw responsibility and purpose as well as pleasure in the mountains."
  • John Muir’s Legacy is Alive and Well in a World that is “One Great Dewdrop” by Harold Wood (2016)
  • John Muir: Timeless Champion of Nature by William R.Swagerty, University of the Pacific (12 April. 2019).
  • Criticizing Muir and misunderstanding the foundation of American nature conservation by Bruce A. Byers (from The Ecological Citizen Vol 5 No 1 2021: 65–73, October 22, 2021) (off-site link).
  • John Muir's Stance against Anthropocentrism by Bron Taylor (2010).

  About Muir's Books and Articles

  • "Learning From the Laws of Nature: Nature as Salvation in the Early Works of John Muir" by Apple Gifford
  • Book Reviews
  • John Muir's Literary Science By Terry Gifford, in The Public Domain Review (June 9, 2011) (Off-site link)

  Conservation Legacy

  • The Importance of John Muir by National Park Serivce
  • "John Muir's Public Service" by William O. Douglas (excerpted from Muir of the Mountains)
  • John Muir Chosen as Greatest of All Californians (1976)
  • John Muir: The Living Spirit and Founder of the World Conservation Movement by Graham White (1996)
  • John Muir: The Wilderness Journeys - the Introduction by Graham White (1996)
  • "Victorians and Meadowlarks: Two Muir Letters Rediscovered"
  • Muir Mania: A Legacy with Legs by Kit Stolz, Sierra Magazine, November-December, 2001) (off-site link)
  • Muir Set the Pattern for Those Who Followed by Robert Michael Pyle
  • John Muir and the 1906 Antiquities Act by David Blackburn (off-site link)
  • John Muir and the Pioneer Conservationists of the Pacific Northwest by Ron Eber (off-site link to johnmuir.org) (full-text)
  • Seventeen Years to Success: John Muir, William Gladstone Steel, and the Creation of Yosemite and Crater Lake National Parks By Stephen R. Mark, Historian, Crater Lake National Park, U.S. National Park Service
  • John Muir's Defense of Wildlife by Richard Fleck
  • John Muir on Caves by Jennifer Ong
  • A Note on John Muir and the Appalachian Mountain Club by Richard Fleck (Muir's advocacy of preserving the White Mountains of New Hampshire).
  • Letter to John Muir - To the Glory of Nature, John Muir, Eternity by Rex Burress
  • Prizing the Power of the Sea by Michael Russell, Scotland's Cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, and former minister for the environment. Russell argues that "John Muir would have been excited by the prospect that the natural resources around us may actually be the key to solving the climate crisis
  • John Muir's Legacy Lives On - by The Scottish Government, News Release, April 9, 2010. Michael Russell is quoted about Muir's inspiration to combat climate hange today, and the Sierra Club stated: "The Sierra Club is honored to share John Muir's legacy with the John Muir Trust and the Scottish Government. Together, we can face the greatest global challenge of our generation. Together, we can bend the arc of history and beat climate change." - Carl Pope (April 9, 2010).
  • John Muir's Legacy is Alive and Well in a World that is "One Great Dewdrop" by Harold Wood (November 22, 2014)
  • In Celebration of John Muir by John de Graaf - Earth Island Journal (December 23, 2014). (off-site link)
  • Remarks by Spencer Black to the Natural Heritage Land Trust at the Celebration of the Purchase of Fountain Lake Farm (October 15, 2014). (PDF)
  • Remembering John Muir on the centennial of the National Park Service by Mark Stoll (August 27, 2016) (off-site link to Oxford University Press Blog)
  • John Muir's Legacy: Preface for an Evolving Curriculum on John Muir and Environmental History by Barbara Mossberg (July 2020) (off-site PDF)

  Muir's Philosophy

  • John Muir: The Celebration of Wilderness by Richard F. Fleck
  • “John Muir: We Thank You," (PDF) Sermon by Rev. Kate Kinney, Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. April 23, 2023. A summation of Muir's life, and an analysis of his spiritual persuasions.
  • Sermon: Easter People: John Muir by Rev. Virginia Pearson and Bill Hanna, John Muir's Great-Grandson
  • "The Nature Mysticism of John Muir" by Larry Gates
  • "John Muir's Menu" by J. Parker Huber, Sierra (Vol. 79, Issue 6, p. 66, Nov/Dec 1994.)
  • God and John Muir: A Psychological Interpretation by Mark R. Stoll
  • Baptized into Wilderness: A Christian Perspective on John Muir , a book review
  • "Why climb mountains? John Muir and Clarence King at a historical crossroads of American mountain climbing" by Erica Goldman
  • "John Muir and the Feminist Movement" , by Ronald H. Limbaugh
  • Zen Buddhism in John Muir by Michelle L. Dwyer
  • "John Muir and the Modern Passion for Nature" by Dr. Donald Worster, featured as the Lynn W. Day Distinguished Lectureship in Forest and Conservation History for 2004 for the Forest History Society, later published as an article, John Muir and the Modern Passion for Nature. Environmental History Vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2005): 8-19 pp. (off-site link).
  • Radical Transcendentalism: Emerson, Muir and the Experience of Nature by James Brannon
  • Anywhere that's wild: It's spring in Yosemite and I can hear John Muir calling me -- time to head for the mountains by Gary Kamiya - Salon.com May 15, 2007 (off-site link)
  • "John Muir and the Poetics of Natural Conversion" (PDF) by John Tallmadge, North Dakota Quarterly 59::2 (Spring 1991), pp. 62-79. Discussion of My First Summer in the Sierra as a conversion story. Includes an insightful analysis of why Muir's regard for plants and animals as "people" and our 'horizontal brothers" is not an application of the so-called "pathetic fallacy." This article provided for the John Muir Exhibit by the author, John Tallmadge.

  Articles from other Sources

  • John Muir Newsletter - University of the Pacific.
  • The View from John Muir's Window - Newsletter of the John Muir Memorial Association (off-site link)
  • Muir Laid to Rest Across the Bay - [Report of John Muir's Funeral] - San Francisco Chronicle - December 28, 1914
  • New York Times Obituary of John Muir - December 25, 1914 (reprint 2000)
  • John Muir and the Sierra Nevada – Creating an Icon of Conservation By Carl Zichella, Regional Director, Sierra Club
    In this essay, Carl Zichella reflects on how the commanding words of John Muir and the monumental imagery of the Sierra Nevada changed his perspective and his life. Zichella also examines the ongoing significance of these dual icons—Muir and the Sierra Nevada—on our national and international perception of environmental protection and respect for wilderness.
  • Tracking John Muir to the Monkey Puzzle Forests of Chile by Bruce Byers (off-site link) - fascinating article and photos tracking Muir's visit to Chile in 2012.

  Digital Books or Book Chapters about John Muir

  • The Life and Letters of John Muir, by William Frederic Badè (1924) - The full text of this two-volume book.
  • Sierra Club Bulletin John Muir Memorial Number - Volume 10, Number 1, January 1916 - Most of this 133 page special issue is provided here.
  • The Laird of Skyland: John Muir - excerpt from Heroes of To-day by Mary R. Parkman (New York: Century, 1917)
  • Alaska Days with John Muir by S. Hall Young (1915) - available in various digital formats from archive.org

  Other Resources

  • Bibliographic Resources - Despite a robust presence on the Internet, a good physical local or university library is still the best resource for learning more about John Muir. Use our annotated bibliography, book reviews, book jacket summaries, and press releases to find the best books!
  • John Muir National Historic Site Bookstore is an excellent source for Muir books!
  • Crossword Puzzles - Printable Puzzles involving Muir's life!
  • Pictures - Historical Photographs, paintings, sketches of Muir
  • Related Resources - Off-site links
  • Writings by John Muir - Nearly all of Muir's books and many of his other writings are available online.
  • New California Hall of Fame
  • 1980 - The University of the Pacific hosted its first John Muir Conference, which are now held about every five years. A monograph series based on the conferences began in 1981 with the publication of The World of John Muir.
  • 1985 - The papers from this conference were published the same year in John Muir: Life and Legacy, in The Pacific Historian, Vol. 29, Numbers 2 & 3 (Summer/Fall 1985).
  • 1990 - The publication of conference proceedings continued with the 1993 publication of John Muir: Life and Work, by the University of New Mexico Press.
  • 1996 John Muir Conference Abstracts of Papers - by University of the Pacific
  • 2001 John Muir Conference Abstracts of Papers - by University of the Pacific (Off-site link to John Muir Global Network)
  • 2006 John Muir Conference - Abstracts of Papers- by University of the Pacific
  • 2010 John Muir Conference - Conference Summary
  • 2014 John Muir Symposium - Announcement
  • 2018 John Muir Symposium: The Practical John Muir
  • 2019 John Muir Legacy Fair - Celebration of Muir-Hanna family's gift of John Muir Papers
    • In celebration of John Muir's descendants' donation of his papers to the University of the Pacific by Loren Blackford, President, Sierra Club
  • 2022 John Muir Symposium - New Perspectives on Peoples and Parks