Wilderness Essays
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Narrated by:
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Steven Brand
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By:
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John Muir
About this listen
Part of John Muir's appeal to modern audiences is that he not only explored the American West and wrote about its beauties but also fought for their preservation. His successes dot the landscape and are evident in all the natural features that bear his name: forests, lakes, trails, and glaciers. Here collected are some of Muir's finest wilderness essays, ranging in subject matter from Alaska to Yellowstone, from Oregon to the High Sierra.
©2015 Gibbs Smith (P)2019 Gibbs SmithListeners also enjoyed...
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The Ultimate John Muir Collection: Our National Parks, Stickeen, My First Summer in the Sierra, The Yosemite, Travels in Alaska, & A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Museum Audiobooks cast
- Length: 36 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The pioneering advocate of wilderness preservation, John Muir (1838-1914) was influential in the creation of many national parks.
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Chapter Numbers cheat sheet (you're welcome!)
- By Terry Angel on 07-14-21
By: John Muir
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Walden
- Life in the Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Alec Sand
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau's classic account of the solitary life, describing his attempts to simplify his life and sort out his priorities by living alone in a cabin beside Walden Pond for nearly two years, is one of the most influential books ever written. The bible of the environmental movement, Walden vividly portrays Thoreau's reverence for nature, and his understanding of the idea that nature is made up of crucially interrelated parts.
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-
Excellent book and narration
- By Kindle Customer on 06-14-11
-
My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
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-
Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
-
Our National Parks
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.
-
-
A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
- By "bchandle" on 05-17-21
By: John Muir
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The Yosemite
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Nick McArdle
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
For two years, Scots-born John Muir lived in a small cabin along the Yosemite creek, observing the valley's natural beauty and reading Emerson under the stars. The experience forged a lifelong affinity with the site, which would result in its establishment as a national park in 1890. Originally written as a guidebook to the park, The Yosemite describes every aspect of wildlife and landscape that one might encounter there.
By: John Muir
-
Stickeen
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Andre Stojka
- Length: 1 hr and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
"Stickeen.... pushed his head past my shoulders, looked down and across, then looked me in the face and began to mutter and whine; saying as plainly as if speaking with words, "Surely, you are not going into that awful place. "As the darkness of a freezing night approaches, an experienced American naturalist and a dog are trapped on an Alaskan Glacier. This is a true story, written by one of the United States' most famous naturalists and explorers.
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Adventure for all ages..
- By MD on 09-12-19
By: John Muir
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The Ultimate John Muir Collection: Our National Parks, Stickeen, My First Summer in the Sierra, The Yosemite, Travels in Alaska, & A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Museum Audiobooks cast
- Length: 36 hrs and 13 mins
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The pioneering advocate of wilderness preservation, John Muir (1838-1914) was influential in the creation of many national parks.
-
-
Chapter Numbers cheat sheet (you're welcome!)
- By Terry Angel on 07-14-21
By: John Muir
-
Walden
- Life in the Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Alec Sand
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau's classic account of the solitary life, describing his attempts to simplify his life and sort out his priorities by living alone in a cabin beside Walden Pond for nearly two years, is one of the most influential books ever written. The bible of the environmental movement, Walden vividly portrays Thoreau's reverence for nature, and his understanding of the idea that nature is made up of crucially interrelated parts.
-
-
Excellent book and narration
- By Kindle Customer on 06-14-11
-
My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
-
-
Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
-
Our National Parks
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.
-
-
A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
- By "bchandle" on 05-17-21
By: John Muir
-
The Yosemite
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Nick McArdle
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For two years, Scots-born John Muir lived in a small cabin along the Yosemite creek, observing the valley's natural beauty and reading Emerson under the stars. The experience forged a lifelong affinity with the site, which would result in its establishment as a national park in 1890. Originally written as a guidebook to the park, The Yosemite describes every aspect of wildlife and landscape that one might encounter there.
By: John Muir
-
Stickeen
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Andre Stojka
- Length: 1 hr and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Stickeen.... pushed his head past my shoulders, looked down and across, then looked me in the face and began to mutter and whine; saying as plainly as if speaking with words, "Surely, you are not going into that awful place. "As the darkness of a freezing night approaches, an experienced American naturalist and a dog are trapped on an Alaskan Glacier. This is a true story, written by one of the United States' most famous naturalists and explorers.
-
-
Adventure for all ages..
- By MD on 09-12-19
By: John Muir
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Travels in Alaska
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Eric Black
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
John Muir (1838 -1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas in the United States. In the late 1800s, Muir made several trips to the relatively unexplored territory of Alaska. Travels in Alaska, originally published in 1915, describes the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness and its inhabitants as observed during his travels between 1879 and 1890. In poetic prose, he describes the area’s magnificent glaciers and its animals like bears, bald eagles, wolves and whales.
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Inspiring, Informed, Charming Story — Well-Read!
- By Elizabeth72 on 06-18-20
By: John Muir
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A Passion for Nature
- The Life of John Muir
- By: Donald Worster
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
"I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer," John Muir wrote. "Civilization and fever and all the morbidness that has been hooted at me has not dimmed my glacial eye, and I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature's loveliness. My own special self is nothing". In Donald Worster's magisterial biography, John Muir's "special self" is fully explored as is his extraordinary ability, then and now, to get others to see the sacred beauty of the natural world.
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A good biography for historical perspective
- By Harold W. Wood Jr. on 05-15-14
By: Donald Worster
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A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Ella Porter
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
I had long been looking from the wildwoods and gardens of the Northern States to those of the warm South, and at last, all draw-backs overcome, I set forth [from Indianapolis] on the first day of September, 1867, joyful and free, on a thousand-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico. Crossing the Ohio at Louisville, I steered through the big city by compass without speaking a word to any one.
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Narrator has no expression
- By Anonymous User on 08-27-18
By: John Muir
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Fly Fishing Small Streams
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Small-stream fishing wisdom with the same insight and pungent humor that has become Gierach's trademark. Advice on tackle selecting, reading water, and scouting.
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Story telling extraordinary
- By Fred on 10-12-24
By: John Gierach
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A Sand County Almanac
- And Sketches Here and There
- By: Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver - introduction
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
First published in 1949 and praised in the New York Times Book Review as "full of beauty and vigor and bite", A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.
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Great in some ways; in others, wtf!
- By RG on 06-22-20
By: Aldo Leopold, and others
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Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
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By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
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The Naturalist
- Theodore Roosevelt, A Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History
- By: Darrin Lunde
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Perhaps no American president is more associated with nature and wildlife than Theodore Roosevelt, a prodigious hunter and adventurer and an ardent conservationist. We think of Roosevelt as an original, yet in The Naturalist, Darrin Lunde shows how from his earliest days Roosevelt actively modeled himself in the proud tradition of museum naturalists - the men who pioneered a key branch of American biology through their desire to collect animal specimens and develop a taxonomy of the natural world.
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Great book for hunters and nature lovers!
- By Bryce Marshall on 04-25-18
By: Darrin Lunde
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Self-Reliance and Other Essays (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this definitive collection of essays, including the poignant title essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson expounds on the importance of trusting your soul, as well as divine providence, to carve out a life. A firm believer in nonconformity, Emerson celebrates the individual and stresses the value of listening to the inner voice unique to each of us—even when it defies society's expectations.
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This book is like a series of great quotes!
- By M. Allen on 01-16-19
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The Wild Places
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we tarmacked, farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? In his vital, bewitching, inspiring classic, Robert Macfarlane sets out in search of the wildness that remains.
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Magical
- By Jennifer on 01-27-22
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The Hidden Life of Trees
- What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World
- By: Peter Wohlleben
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? Research is now suggesting trees are capable of much more than we have ever known. In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to.
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Tree Hugger
- By Darwin8u on 04-18-19
By: Peter Wohlleben
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Nature
- By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Narrated by: Phil Paonessa
- Length: 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This version of Nature is an 1843 revision to the popular essay written and published in 1836. In the original essay, Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism and suggested that reality can be understood by studying nature. Within the essay, Emerson divides nature into four usages: commodity, beauty, language and discipline. These distinctions define how humans use nature for their basic needs, their desire for delight, their communication with one another, and their understanding of the world.
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Beautiful Classic, rushed reading
- By Chris C. on 01-07-21
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Desert Solitaire
- A Season in the Wilderness
- By: Edward Abbey
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah.
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Wrong narrator for Abbey
- By Todd Steele on 02-06-12
By: Edward Abbey
Related to this topic
-
Our National Parks
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.
-
-
A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
- By "bchandle" on 05-17-21
By: John Muir
-
My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
-
-
Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
-
The Maine Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau gives an account of three canoe and hiking journeys - by himself and with others - through the mostly uninhabited forests of Maine in the 1850s. Identifying birds, trees and plants by their botanical as well as their common names, he also records the Indian names of lakes, rivers and plants. He investigates the connections between waterways and trails, and provides detail on camping, fishing and hunting in the woods, using whatever is at hand. Extolling the beauty of the wilds that he encounters, Thorough’s narrative is also imbued with elements of his philosophy.
-
-
Listened to this at least 3 times
- By Teagan MacEachern on 01-30-23
-
The Wild Places
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we tarmacked, farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? In his vital, bewitching, inspiring classic, Robert Macfarlane sets out in search of the wildness that remains.
-
-
Magical
- By Jennifer on 01-27-22
-
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This essay by Thoreau first published in 1849, argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their consciences. It goes on to say that individuals have a duty to avoid allowing the government to make them the agents of injustice. The quote: "That government is best which governs least," sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine, actually was first found in this essay. Thoreaus' thoughts were motivated by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War but they are still relevant and resonate today.
-
-
10:22 p.m., 10th of January, 2018
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
Beyond the Trees
- A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic
- By: Adam Shoalts
- Narrated by: Adam Shoalts
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to explore and confront the unknown? Beyond the Trees recounts Adam Shoalts's epic, never-before-attempted solo crossing of Canada's mainland Arctic in a single season. It's also a multilayered story that weaves the narrative of Shoalts's journey into accounts of other adventurers, explorers, First Nations, fur traders, dreamers, eccentrics, and bush pilots to create an unforgettable tale of adventure and exploration.
-
-
Impressive accomplishment but a boring story
- By chris on 02-01-22
By: Adam Shoalts
-
Our National Parks
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- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this poetic audiobook, hear the words of legendary outdoorsman John Muir's entreaty to the American people imploring them to develop, as he did, a connection to their national parks. An ardent outdoorsman, a gifted writer, a dedicated preservationist, and a spiritual beacon, John Muir worked in his life and in his writing to inspire everyone to find a love for the wilderness and to become invested in its preservation.
-
-
A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
- By "bchandle" on 05-17-21
By: John Muir
-
My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
-
-
Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
-
The Maine Woods
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Duncan Brownlehe
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thoreau gives an account of three canoe and hiking journeys - by himself and with others - through the mostly uninhabited forests of Maine in the 1850s. Identifying birds, trees and plants by their botanical as well as their common names, he also records the Indian names of lakes, rivers and plants. He investigates the connections between waterways and trails, and provides detail on camping, fishing and hunting in the woods, using whatever is at hand. Extolling the beauty of the wilds that he encounters, Thorough’s narrative is also imbued with elements of his philosophy.
-
-
Listened to this at least 3 times
- By Teagan MacEachern on 01-30-23
-
The Wild Places
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we tarmacked, farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? In his vital, bewitching, inspiring classic, Robert Macfarlane sets out in search of the wildness that remains.
-
-
Magical
- By Jennifer on 01-27-22
-
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
- By: Henry David Thoreau
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This essay by Thoreau first published in 1849, argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule their consciences. It goes on to say that individuals have a duty to avoid allowing the government to make them the agents of injustice. The quote: "That government is best which governs least," sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine, actually was first found in this essay. Thoreaus' thoughts were motivated by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican-American War but they are still relevant and resonate today.
-
-
10:22 p.m., 10th of January, 2018
- By Anonymous User on 01-11-18
-
Beyond the Trees
- A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic
- By: Adam Shoalts
- Narrated by: Adam Shoalts
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What does it mean to explore and confront the unknown? Beyond the Trees recounts Adam Shoalts's epic, never-before-attempted solo crossing of Canada's mainland Arctic in a single season. It's also a multilayered story that weaves the narrative of Shoalts's journey into accounts of other adventurers, explorers, First Nations, fur traders, dreamers, eccentrics, and bush pilots to create an unforgettable tale of adventure and exploration.
-
-
Impressive accomplishment but a boring story
- By chris on 02-01-22
By: Adam Shoalts
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The Voyage of the Beagle
- By: Charles Darwin
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
I hate every wave of the ocean', the seasick Charles Darwin wrote to his family during his five-year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. It was this world-wide journey, however, that launched the scientists career.
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High Adventure - Well Written
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By: Charles Darwin
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The Whisper on the Night Wind
- The True History of a Wilderness Legend
- By: Adam Shoalts
- Narrated by: Adam Shoalts
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Traverspine is not a place you will find on most maps. A century ago, it stood near the foothills of the remote Mealy Mountains in central Labrador. Today it is an abandoned ghost town, almost all trace of it swallowed up by dark spruce woods that cloak millions of acres. In the early 1900s, this isolated little settlement was the scene of an extraordinary haunting by large creatures none could identify. Strange tracks were found in the woods. Unearthly cries were heard in the night. Sled dogs went missing.
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This book should’ve been billed as a travel log quote we put up the tent we slept weird noises we took down the tent”
- By S. Harms on 10-29-21
By: Adam Shoalts
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The Old Ways
- A Journey on Foot
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- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this exquisitely written book, Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge, England, home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads, and sea paths that crisscross both the British landscape and its waters and territories beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, and of pilgrimage and ritual. Told in Macfarlane’s distinctive voice, The Old Ways folds together natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology, and literature.
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A perfect pairing of prose and narrator
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The Man Who Walked Through Time
- The Story of the First Trip Afoot Through the Grand Canyon
- By: Colin Fletcher
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1963 Colin Fletcher became the first man to walk the length of Grand canyon, below the Rim. It began with a dream, when he and a friend detoured from a cross-country trip to take a hurried look at the great natural wonder. Standing on the Rim, surrounded by the profound and almost mystical silence, Fletcher knew that something had happened to the way he looked at things. He also knew that the Canyon, with its depths and distances, cliffs, buttes, and hanging terraces, beckoned to him, calling him on a journey that would challenge both his body and his mind.
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Eloquent
- By Bill J on 07-20-20
By: Colin Fletcher
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A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
- By: Isabella L. Bird
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
These are the valiant and lyrically descriptive letters, written in 1873, by Isabella Bird, a courageous and spirited Englishwoman, telling her sister of her adventures on horseback over 800 miles of American wilderness.
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The Solution to the Indian Problem
- By Samar on 09-26-16
By: Isabella L. Bird
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Down the Great Unknown
- John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
- By: Edward Dolnick
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 24, 1869 a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell, and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last great quest in the American West. The Grand Canyon, not explored before, was as mysterious as Atlantis - and as perilous. The 10 men set out from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory, down the Colorado in four wooden rowboats. Ninety-nine days later, six half-starved wretches came ashore near Callville, Arizona.
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Modern references take away
- By HC-2 NAS Norfolk '92 on 08-17-19
By: Edward Dolnick
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Five Weeks in a Balloon
- By: Jules Verne, Frederick Paul Walter - translator
- Narrated by: Graham Scott
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Initially published in 1863, Five Weeks in a Balloon was the first novel in what would become the author's Extraordinary Voyages series. It tells the tale of a 4,000-mile balloon trip over the mysterious continent of Africa, a trip that wouldn't actually take place until well into the next century. Fusing adventure, comedy, and science fiction, Five Weeks has all the key ingredients of classic Verne: sly humor and cheeky characters, an innovative scientific invention, a tangled plot that's full of suspense and surprise, and visions of an unknown realm.
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A grand adventure
- By Tad Davis on 01-19-20
By: Jules Verne, and others
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The Journals of Lewis and Clark
- By: Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Nicholas Biddle - ed.
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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When President Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Purchase - the vast, unknown lands between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico - he promptly established an expedition to map America's new frontier. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark outfitted the "Corps of Discovery," and on May 14, 1804, 45 men in 3 boats set off up the Mississippi.
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Inspiring!
- By John on 09-17-11
By: Meriwether Lewis, and others
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The Smoky God or A Voyage to the Inner World
- Esoteric Classics: Occult Fiction
- By: Willis George Emerson
- Narrated by: Shea Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Smoky God is a classic tale from the genre of hollow Earth or subterranean literature. A once-favorite tale of Amazing Stories publisher Ray Palmer, The Smoky God is the (purportedly true) tale of two Norwegian fishermen Jens and Olaf Jansen, who sailed their fishing vessel into the inner Earth in the year 1829. While in the center of the Earth, they find an entire society and meet a race and of advanced giants.
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great story
- By Rodney C Kilgore on 07-25-21
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The Wilderness Hunter
- By: Theodore Roosevelt
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Eight years before he was elected the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt published these detailed recollections of hunting bison, bear, cougar, elk, moose, deer, and other game around the country. This production was undertaken on the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's death.
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Awesome book by one of our best
- By JDD on 11-05-19
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A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
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I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
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Island on Fire
- The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World
- By: Alexandra Witze, Jeff Kanipe
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Laki is Iceland's largest volcano - and its most fearsome. Its eruption in 1783 is one of history's great untold natural disasters. Spewing out sun-blocking ash and then a poisonous fog for eight long months, the effects of the eruption lingered across the world for years. It caused the deaths of people as far away as the Nile and created catastrophic conditions throughout Europe.
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Interesting and Pertinent Topic!
- By Catherine Puma on 01-23-22
By: Alexandra Witze, and others
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It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
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Almost every line is quotable
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Son of the Wilderness
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This is the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of John Muir, the rugged individualist and passionate protector of the wild who saw that the encroachment of civilization into nature would threaten civilization itself.
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A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf
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I had long been looking from the wildwoods and gardens of the Northern States to those of the warm South, and at last, all draw-backs overcome, I set forth [from Indianapolis] on the first day of September, 1867, joyful and free, on a thousand-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico. Crossing the Ohio at Louisville, I steered through the big city by compass without speaking a word to any one.
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Narrator has no expression
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John Muir (1838 -1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas in the United States. In the late 1800s, Muir made several trips to the relatively unexplored territory of Alaska. Travels in Alaska, originally published in 1915, describes the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness and its inhabitants as observed during his travels between 1879 and 1890. In poetic prose, he describes the area’s magnificent glaciers and its animals like bears, bald eagles, wolves and whales.
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Inspiring, Informed, Charming Story — Well-Read!
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The Ultimate John Muir Collection: Our National Parks, Stickeen, My First Summer in the Sierra, The Yosemite, Travels in Alaska, & A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
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A must read for anyone even remotely interested in forest preservation
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Almost every line is quotable
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Narrator has no expression
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Travels in Alaska
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John Muir (1838 -1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness areas in the United States. In the late 1800s, Muir made several trips to the relatively unexplored territory of Alaska. Travels in Alaska, originally published in 1915, describes the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness and its inhabitants as observed during his travels between 1879 and 1890. In poetic prose, he describes the area’s magnificent glaciers and its animals like bears, bald eagles, wolves and whales.
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Inspiring, Informed, Charming Story — Well-Read!
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For two years, Scots-born John Muir lived in a small cabin along the Yosemite creek, observing the valley's natural beauty and reading Emerson under the stars. The experience forged a lifelong affinity with the site, which would result in its establishment as a national park in 1890. Originally written as a guidebook to the park, The Yosemite describes every aspect of wildlife and landscape that one might encounter there.
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A must-have audiobook for walkers, sailors, swimmers, anglers and everyone interested in the natural world, in How to Read Water, Natural Navigator Tristan Gooley shares knowledge, skills, tips and useful observations to help you enjoy the landscape around you. From wild swimming in Sussex to wayfinding off Oman, via the icy mysteries of the Arctic, Tristan Gooley draws on his own pioneering journeys to reveal the secrets of ponds, puddles, rivers, oceans and more to show us all the skills we need to read the water around us.
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Reasonably Interesting, Perhaps Better in Print
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Essential Muir
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Essayist. Preservationist. Mountain man. Inventor. John Muir may be California’s best-known icon. A literary naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club and Yosemite National Park, Muir left his legacy on the landscape and on paper. But the celebrity of John Muir does not tell the whole story. In Essential Muir, for the first time, Muir's selected writings include those that show his ecological vision without ignoring his racism, providing a more complete portrait of the man.
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Thoreau's classic account of the solitary life, describing his attempts to simplify his life and sort out his priorities by living alone in a cabin beside Walden Pond for nearly two years, is one of the most influential books ever written. The bible of the environmental movement, Walden vividly portrays Thoreau's reverence for nature, and his understanding of the idea that nature is made up of crucially interrelated parts.
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Excellent book and narration
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A Sand County Almanac
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First published in 1949 and praised in the New York Times Book Review as "full of beauty and vigor and bite", A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.
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Great in some ways; in others, wtf!
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By: Aldo Leopold, and others
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Journey
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Gold fever swept the world in 1897. The chance for untold riches sent thousands of dreamers on a perilous trek toward their fortunes, failures, or deaths. Follow four English aristocrats and their Irish servant as they misguidedly haul their dreams across cruel Canadian terrain toward the Klondike gold fields.
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Robotic narration
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The National Parks
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America's national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation's most magnificent and sacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. In this evocative narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea.
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"See America First", and often...
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Desert Solitaire
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When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah.
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Wrong narrator for Abbey
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The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
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Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time. Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic", The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest biographies of our time. The publication of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt on September 14th, 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt becoming president.
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Very, very good, but very, very long.
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The Tao of Pooh
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Author Benjamin Hoff shows that the philosophy of Winnie-the-Pooh is amazingly consistent with the principles of Taoism and demonstrates how you can use these principles in your daily life. Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey.
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Wonderful
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Emma
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- Original Recording
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Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
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Background sonds RUINED this
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By: Jane Austen, and others
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When Things Fall Apart
- Heart Advice for Difficult Times
- By: Pema Chodron
- Narrated by: Christy Meyer
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
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Shame
- By Morgan T. on 01-30-23
By: Pema Chodron
What listeners say about Wilderness Essays
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Ginna
- 05-24-20
Good narrator and excellent selection of writings
Now I want to go to all the places! Very much enjoyed listening to this.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Karen West
- 12-07-20
Beautiful and sad
A beautiful description of the northwest part of our country and Alaska. It is sad because so much of what Muir describes is no longer visible. The unbelievable sights in Alaska are especially missed, and soon there may be even more lost to mining(Pebble), poor logging conservation, and to climate change.
This is a wonderful book to drift off to sleep with.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-27-19
Amazing writer
Great imagery! I just wish I had been there so I could have a better grasp of the concepts and verbiage he uses.
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- Sejal
- 05-23-23
Amazing essays
The essays are inspiring and worthy. The narrator is just ok, could use more inflection with the speed he reads at.
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- E. Hines
- 07-23-20
Love Muir's description of wild
I just recently returned from a national park excursion and I had hear what Muir says about them. I love the way he describes the trees and glaciers. He makes me feel as if I'm there again.
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- Jessi Jones
- 03-31-23
Yes!!
This was exactly what I was hoping for. Muir was as much of a poet as he was an avid outdoorsman and explorer. His love for the natural work truly comes to life thru these short stories. The Scottish narration helps you feel as tho you’re listening to John himself. An absolute must read/listen for everyone.
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- Lauren
- 07-26-20
Beautiful writing, but fairly shallow narrative
Writing is often beautiful and provided an astonishingly detailed catalogue of the natural world but there is much less philosophical depth than someone like Thoreau. With occasional exceptions, Muir writes like a literary salesmen for America's natural monuments
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6 people found this helpful
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- Roseclan
- 06-04-24
Like listening to Muir himself!
Superb narration! Listening to Muir's essays read by someone with a Scottish accent was wonderful. His descriptions are both informative and relaxing. He lived the life!
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