John Muir 
The Yosemite (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

Muir looks back over his many years of visits to the Yosemite valley and his efforts to protect the pristine wilderness area, which resulted in the creation of the Yosemite National Park in 1890.  In addition to personal reminiscences, the book contains Muir’s meticulously observed yet rapturously poetic descriptions of local flora and fauna.

About the author

John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist and conservationist.  He founded the Sierra Club.  A fierce advocate of wilderness protection, Muir influenced President Theodore Roosevelt’s national park system and, through his passionate, often unabashedly spiritual writings, helped to shape Americans’ attitudes toward wilderness preservation and land stewardship.