John Muir

Acclaimed by critics for many years, the writings of explorer John Muir are not unfamiliar. Descriptive, articulate, and detailed accounts of his travels are most often the basis for his works. Through the extravagant use of detailed imagery and blending of other literary techniques, many have said that Muir was a superb author that could make any subject interesting for the reader. Truly demonstrating this is his account of his exploration of Yellowstone Park, in the book Muir Among the Animals that brought about many opinions.

Beginning the book are his observations of Californian wild sheep, Muir documents their actions and describes them in detail. In addition to this, Muir observes and discusses the actions of rodents, porcupines, and birds in the western United States. As he went to study pigeons at one time, he became stranded on a glacier with a dog. Later, he studied domestic cats, dogs, and horses. Eventually, Muir travels to Yosemite in the western United States to continue more studies on grasshoppers, ants, and bears. Devoted, fascinated, and keen, Muir traveled to the most deserted parts of the western United States to observe lizards, rattlesnakes, shrike, and bee-pastures. Muir goes on a hunt for a jackrabbit also, as he assesses anthropocentrism.

Effectively, Lisa Mighetto made a bold statement, as she said,

Collected here for the first time are Muir’s superb essays about these creatures he referred to as his “horizontal brothers.” Written in lively and often humorous prose, his writings reveal much about attitudes toward animals at the turn of the century and, at times, Muir’s prescience about future wildlife issues. Always, the reader’s sense of empathy and understanding