'Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away ... God has cared for
these trees ... but he cannot save them from fools - only Uncle Sam can
do that.'
First published in 1901, Our National Parks is possibly the
bestselling book of John Muir's wilderness-discovery titles and
was certainly the most influential published in his lifetime, with a
strong focus on the preservation of forest reserves.
With a strong political tone and shrewd, subtle manoeuvring, Muir uses
Our National Parks to persuade his readership of the necessity of
nature and national parks for human recreation and more importantly for
health and wellbeing, as well as the - in his mind - obvious need for
preservation of wild ecosystems.
Cannily he counterbalances this with the acknowledgement of the need for
timber and irrigation systems, in order that his message is taken
seriously; Muir's passion is portrayed so vividly and flamboyantly that
without his learned political and scientific reinforcement, he could be
misconstrued as purely a radical and eccentric nonconformist. However,
the two combined result in an engaging and convincing argument that
these landscapes are our 'natural home', and 'fountains of life'.
As Muir expert Terry Gifford observes in the foreword, 'Muir's tone
can shift in this book from seductive persuasion, to charming details of
creatures, flora and landscapes, to scientific information, to trail
guide, to religious uplift, to a final political speech of startling
ferocity.'
John Muir's strategic yet genuine and beautiful conservationist
essays were a first at the time of publication, and are still highly
applicable to our attitudes and lifestyles today in the twenty-first
century.
