John Muir

Overview

What pushed John Muir to become the pioneering environmentalist and founder of the Sierra Club? 1867: A sawmill is running at full speed with a terrible noise when suddenly, workers run to rescue a man on the ground. He has seriously injured his eyes. John Muir is twenty-nine years old, and it is likely that he may remain blind. But miraculously, after months of an almost mystical convalescence, he regains his sight. This episode convinces him he's going to leave everything behind and embrace his lifelong dream: head south to meet the wilderness. Armed with only his courage, his youth, a magnifying glass and a botanical book, he treks hundreds of miles on foot from Indiana to Florida. Imagine an almost pristine wilderness, where only a few dangerous ex-soldiers from the South and former slaves thrown out of the old plantations roam… This biography also covers his other life-changing pioneering trek along the Sierra Nevada Trail which now bears his name. Here, in breathtaking vistas, is the inspiration he got to found the Sierra Club, create the first national parks, and become one of America’s first and foremost environmentalist champions.

Reviews

"The story is one of the soul of Muir, serene and calm, focusing on what he encounters and his sometimes-visceral reactions." —Richard Winters, School Library Journal

"The question posed at the beginning — of what drove Muir to becoming the environmentalist figurehead he did — is answered not merely through facts or figures, but through this patient depiction of landscapes that shaped every aspect of his character." —Lindsay Pereira, Broken Frontier

"This beautiful and lavish commemoration is filled with appreciation and wonder for Muir’s life, lifestyle and achievements, and it’s truly terrifying to consider that all the great works of Muir and his many converts could be so easily undone by a bunch of greedy jerks with mean hearts, stupid policies, orange bottle tans and big black Sharpies…" —Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

"Those inclined to the pastoral will discover magnificence." —Frank Plowright, The Slings & Arrows

Author Biography

Self-taught, Lomig first honed his skills in comic drawing. His stories feature individuals stuck in the throes of modern civilization. Lomig lives in Rennes, France.