Other books better convey the adventures and rugged side of 19th century naturalist John Muir. Yes, he walked much of Canada and the United States, climbed a Douglas fir to be closer to a thunderstorm's glory and survived a blizzard on Mount Shasta in a hot spring.
What "Nature's Beloved Son: Rediscovering John Muir's Botanical Legacy" (Heyday Books, $45, 256 page) presents, brilliantly but subtly, is a lesser-known side. Author Bonnie J. Gisel and photographer Stephen J. Joseph, through photographic reproductions of Muir's own pressed herbarium specimens, photographs and salient bits of his writing, trace the Scottish immigrant's early life in Wisconsin, his wanderings in Canada, his thousand-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico, his love of Yosemite and his Alaskan adventures.
And lest you think botany is for sissies, consider that Muir didn't bag up a few specimens in a Ziploc and drive home; he pressed his Phlox subulata, Primula borealis and such in heavy paper and wood frames, and lugged them with him for miles at a time.
One passage in the book, about Muir getting lost in a knee-deep swamp with no dry land around and worrying that he wouldn't find a place to lie down before succumbing to exhaustion, is illustrative of the man's passion at the time: He spots a rare orchid and from that gains the inspiration to keep moving to safety (after plucking the specimen).
In an adrenaline-fueled world, "Nature's Beloved Son" isn't for everyone. But the handsome volume, bound in a rustic, canvaslike cloth, is a fine addition to the coffee tables or bookshelves of those who take the time to appreciate the intricate, intimate aspects of the outdoors.
The extensive plant gallery citations, notes, bibliographies and index will be of interest to those serious about their botany.
Call The Bee's Tom Sellers, (916) 321-1047.
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