I am currently writing a novel set in Cedar Key. In my research, I discovered that John Muir had walked there (recorded in this book) and that he had become ill there. I read that his words about Cedar Key were revealing of the era and the place, so I purchased it. It was exactly what I was looking for. As someone who loves and visits Cedar Key, I felt that the writing was precise to the feel of the location. But I also...
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The title sums up quite a bit of the review for me. Not only was he a brilliant naturalist and visionary, but he was a better than decent science and adventure writer. This book, thousand mile walk to the gulf, is from Muir's younger days when he basically dropped out and went exploring. He walked from Wisconsin to the gulf, shortly after the war, and literally slept wherever he felt like- hedges, roadsides, and even the occasional...
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I thought this was a great insight into a time in our country when many things were undiscovered. Living in the south myself, it was great to hear about Bonaventure and descriptions of the people John Muir came across in his travels. If you want a sense of what nature and the southern way of life used to be like, this is the book for you.
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As the human population expands the natural world around us disappears. This is a fact we mostly ignore as we go about our daily life. One day, you wake up, and discover that within your own lifetime things have been permanently altered. When John Muir made his "Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf" the U.S. was not as heavily populated as it is today, although much had changed from the time when European settlers first moved through...
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This is one of John Muir's best books (the other being _First Summer in the Sierra_). It's Muir's slightly-edited diary of his 1000-mile trip through the Southern U.S. to Florida, then Cuba. He traveled on foot observing nature and the people. The book holds your interest as it's written on the spot through the enthusistic eyes of a young man. It reminds me a little of Mark Twain's book _Roughin' It_, another story through...
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