A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf

Book Description

Here is the adventure that started John Muir on a lifetime of discovery. Taken from his earliest journals, this book records Muir's walk in 1867 from Indiana across Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to the Gulf Coast. In his distinct and wonderful style, Muir shows us the wilderness, as well as the towns and people, of the South immediately after the Civil War.

Customer Reviews:

A perilous journey to discover the natural world.......2007-06-03

After an accident in a carriage factory while working as an inventor left him temporarily blinded, John Muir vowed that he would break the moorings of life in Indianapolis and embark for wilderness places to study plants. His intention, which he later acknowledged as foolhardy, was to find his way to a tributary of the Amazon and float down that great river. He never made it to South America. He was lucky enough to survive a bout with malaria and be diverted to California.

It's hard to imagine a much more dangerous undertaking than to set off alone soon after the Civli War to places unknown in the heart of the South. He was warned repeatedly by kind strangers and knew quite clearly of the dangers ahead: the guerilla bands of roving white bandits, displaced and desperate former slaves, a migration of rattlesnakes, the alligator-infested swamps, and the worst of all: catching malaria from mosquito bites (the thing that did catch up to him). It shows how single minded he was in his desire to study and learn about the natural world. As the blacksmith who took him in along the way characterized him: what a tough-minded man he needed to be in order to subordinate the dangers to what he wanted to do.

Some do get rather tired of reading Muir's descriptive passages, but for anyone with a love of plants, this book offers a very unique and special view of the native vegetation along the route that he took to Florida. The cultural observations are less common, but they are keen and say a lot about the times: the people and how simply they lived. Then, there are some amazing experiences such as the time he spent in the natural refuge of the St Bonaventure graveyard in Savannah waiting for a parcel from his brother to arrive. There's a prophecy by a friend along the way about the coming prevalence of electricity long before the light bulb was invented. And, there are Muir's observations that plants do have secret lives, unknown to man, who tends to blow himself up out of all proportion to the rest of Creation.

Natures bounty in a war-torn land.......2007-05-22

John Muir (naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club) left his home in Indiana at age 29 and "rambled" 1,000 miles through the woods of the southern US ending in Florida in 1867/68. It was just 2 years after the end of the Civil War and he ran into "wild negros" and long-haired horse-riding ex-Confederate bandits who would "kill a man for $5". He passed through uninhabited stretches of burnt out fields and deserted farms and was often seen as a northern interluder mistrusted by his southern guests. He lived mostly on stale pieces of bread, almost dieing of starvation while camping in a graveyard outside of Savannah, GA. He caught malaria and was bed ridden for 3 months, cared for by a kind family in Florida.

This is a snapshot of the south right after the war and the contrast between Muir's beautiful nature writing and the devastation of war are just as striking today as they must have been for the many people who encountered this unusual walker in the woods. Muir's writing is under-stated - the book was published posthumously and is more a diary than a finished book, which gives it a truthfulness and matter of factness. Fundamentally a Romanticist world-view - the power of nature and mans relation to it - Muir delights in finding, sampling and discussing plants, animals and geography. The genre is best compared with Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes and Thoreau's The Maine Woods.

John Muir is really underrated as a writer.......2007-02-07

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. Hedges, roadsides, the occasional house. His observations on reconstruction South are all the more insightful because they are unadulterated (is that a word?) by any agenda, and have the overpowering reality of truth.

While his time in the Sierras is what he is most famous for, and the mountains more rugged and inspiring, this pre-Jenkins "Walk Across America" is a tamer warm-up for reading his journals from Yosemite days. I highly recommend it myself, it gives a bit of botany and a lot of background on Muir himself.

Interesting Journey.......2006-12-14

One of John Muir's earliest works, this book traces his travels from Indiana to Florida, continuing on to Cuba, and ending up in California. At times, it is fascinating stuff. As he left in 1867, just after the American Civil War, he encounters many suspicious Southerners, although most are cordial to him. Muir wrote this as a journal of discovery, I think, to document the different flora and fauna he encounters in a part of the country with which he was not familiar. But this book is just as interesting as a social study - in other words, what was life like in America in 1867? How did the people act? How did they treat him? What were his impressions? If you have ever wondered about what America was like 150 years ago, you will find some answers here.

Additionally, Muir has some fine moments of nature writing. Sometimes he delights in just stopping and observing: "I used to lie on my back for whole days beneath the ample arms of these great trees, listening to the winds..." He calls the birds he observes "feathered people from the woods and reedy isles." And despite being a God-fearing man, he disagrees with those who take a fundamentalist view of nature, ridiculing the claim that the world was made especially for man..."a presumption not supported by the facts," says Muir.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. At times there is a little too much discussion on botany for my tastes, but that was OK. Muir's journal is rich with interesting anecdotes. With this journey, the founder of the Sierra Club was well on his way to making his mark in the world.

Four stars.

Great Read!!.......2005-06-16

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.

John Muir's longest walk: John Earl, a photographer, traces his journey to Florida ; with excerpts from John Muir's Thousand-mile walk to the Gulf

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John Muir's longest walk: John Earl, a photographer, traces his journey to Florida ; with excerpts from John Muir's Thousand-mile walk to the Gulf
John Muir
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books
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A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf

ASIN: 0385092164

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John Muir's Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf: REvisited

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All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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Product Description

Author retraces the steps of John Muir on his travel to the Gulf Coast. Landmarks still in existence are illustrated and comments are made about the present communities mentioned by Muir. The author's comments are in the style of Muir.

The story of my boyhood and youth ; and, A thousand-mile walk to the Gulf (The writings of John Muir)

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The story of my boyhood and youth ; and, A thousand-mile walk to the Gulf (The writings of John Muir)
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General | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books

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Running With The Buffaloes

Wonderful book!

Makes me wish I had run in college

Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men's Cross-Countr

A Year Of Triumph, Tragedy and Learning

Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men's Cross-Country Team
Chris Lear
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Running & Jogging | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1585748048

Book Description

In RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES, writer Chris Lear follows the University of Colorado cross-country team through an unforgettable NCAA season. Allowed unparalleled access to team practices, private moments, and the mind of Mark Wetmore--one of the country's most renowned and controversial coaches--Lear provides a riveting look inside the triumphs and heartaches of a perennial national contender and the men who will stop at nothing to achieve excellence. The Buffaloes' 1998 season held great promise, with Olympic hopeful Adam Goucher poised for his first-ever NCAA cross-country title, and the University of Colorado shooting for its first-ever national team title. But in the rigorous world of top-level collegiate sports, blind misfortune can sabotage the dreams of individuals and teams alike. In a season plagued by injury and the tragic loss of a teammate, the Buffaloes were tested as never before. What these men managed to achieve in the face of such adversity is the stuff of legend and glory.
With passion and suspense, Lear captures the lives of these young men and offers a glimpse of what drives a gifted runner like Adam Goucher and a great coach like Mark Wetmore. Like Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike, RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES is at once a glowing celebration of a sport and an inspiration to anyone who has ever had the courage to beat the odds and follow a dream.

Customer Reviews:

Running With The Buffaloes.......2007-09-21

In the summer of 1998 in Boulder, Colorado, expectations could not be any higher for the University of Colorado's cross country team. The Buffaloes finished third in 1997 and the returning team in 1998 only lost one runner. Running with the Buffaloes is written by Chris Lear who gives a firsthand account of one of the most emotional and physically trying seasons a college team has ever faced, all to achieve collegiate supremacy. Chris Lear was New Jersey's fastest high school miler in the 1990s; he attended Princeton University where he was awarded many honors. He now lives in Boulder, Colorado where he was inspired to document a season of a collegiate cross country team. The book is written in journal fashion and each chapter represents a new entry; a few chapters have pictures of the activities the team does. Each entry takes you through the day of training and Coach Mark Wetmore's philosophies.
As you read the book you get a feel for the average life of a cross country runner: the pain yet subtle enjoyment you get from running an "easy" ten miler, the feel of the dirt giving way to your spikes, and the shot of adrenaline that the starting gun releases in a human being that makes them feel free. You feel the raw emotions through each trial the team has to face, from injuries to the death of an important teammate.
Mark Wetmore, the fiery exuberant coach, constantly tells his runners that, "It takes 100 days to impress me, not just one." As with any sport, this means a lot. One good day doesn't equal a season of mediocre days. All his runners give their best every day, without an inch of mediocrity in their step.
Mark Wetmore's team consists of the varsity runners Adam Goucher, Mike Friedberg, Ron Roybal, Tom Reese, Adam Batliner, Jay Johnson, Oscar Ponce and Chris Severy. Adam Goucher is a runner who has high expectations to be near the very top at the NCAA Championships. Everyone on the team wants to be at his level, but fellow runner Oscar says you, "can't get greedy. Bad things happen when you get greedy." Adam finished second his freshman year and fourth his junior year at the NCAA Championships. As a senior he is even hungrier for the prize of being the top collegiate cross country athlete and most likely move on to the professional elites.
This book is a must have for any runner, competitive or non-serious. Although any sports enthusiast will enjoy the story and the trials that the team must overcome, a runner will enjoy the book the most. The book is used to not only inspire you, but it defines the sport of cross country itself.

Wonderful book!.......2007-07-15

This book is a great book about running. It is very interesting and motivating.

Makes me wish I had run in college.......2007-04-18

This book is awesome. I don't know how to describe it that well. It pretty much documents every day of the CU xc team during a season that culminates with the NCAA national meet. It has ups and downs, and a little bit of comedy. Some of the "language" in the book are direct quotes, but it would have been nice if they were left out. This book would be a good book to read if you are a HS cross country runner planning on running in college at any division. It could get you mentally prepared for a season of running at the college level.

Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men's Cross-Countr.......2007-01-05

A running aficionado would very much enjoy this book. If you never ran track & field in college and wondered what it would be like, the Buffs' story offers some great insights. I especially enjoyed reading about coach Wetmore: every word of his mouth was filled with humor, wisdom and an incredible exuberance.
What I found really annoying about the book was Mr. Lear's consistent misuse of the apostrophy and poor punctuation. His publisher could definitely use a good editor.

A Year Of Triumph, Tragedy and Learning.......2006-09-11

Running with the Buffaloes is an outstanding diary of a year in the life of a coach and his harriers, with a focus on - and it is a pair of shoes that has yet to be filled - the "next Pre," Adam Goucher, then a 2000 Olympic hopeful.

Author Chris Lear pens A Season On The Brink for the pressure-cooker that is Division I cross-country.

All the angst and bitterness of so many good racers challenging for so few top spots is featured, along with the powerful highs and extreme lows of training and racing. The death of team member Chris Severy places a perspective away from college life that one wishes each young person didn't have to face. There are enough years for such tragedies, but Lear captures the variety of feelings of those interviewed.

Coach Mark Wetmore stresses competition on a daily basis and there are few races leading to the 1998 NCAA championships. Though his controversial training schedule yields major results, it also contributes to some serious injuries. Should a coach push young runners to the brink? That is for the reader to decide.

Lear has an advantage over other scribes who keep a "diary" of a season because he was an oustanding high-school and collegiate runner. His journey to cover the season and to get the work published could be a book itself. It was a labor of love and put Lear on "the brink;" of financial meltdown, that is.

Whether you competed on a college team, run for fun or are interested in sports books, there are enough human-interest angles in Running with the Buffaloes to have you hoping for more once the season hits the finish tape.

Book Description

Brisbane & Gold Coast
Central Brisbane
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Burleigh Heads
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Surfers Paradise & Surrounds
CityTrain Network Map
Where to Eat, Sleep, Shop & Play in BrisVegas
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Essential Information for Visitors
Complete Index of all Streets & Sights

Customer Reviews:

Not a real city map.......2003-08-02

Well, OK, it is, but it isn't. There isn't nearly enough detail on this map to call it a proper city map of Brisbane. It's too small and misses a lot of areas. Nonetheless, if you have a friend who lives in Brisbane, as I do, then it's a perfectly fine map for getting a general idea of the city. Your friend will do the rest.

Amazon.com

The cynicism of Holden Caulfield (of Catcher in the Rye) meets the hilarity of Adrian Mole (of The Adrian Mole Diaries) in this lighthearted, smart tale of one young man's coming of age in the archetypical small town of Bricksburg, Virginia. Cecil Scott Rowe, 17, doesn't have many positive things to say about his Podunk hometown. And indeed, as Cecil predicts, nothing much actually happens as the summer ambles on: some jokester alters the sign on the courthouse lawn to read "Welcome to Hysteric Pricksburg"; Cecil's clique lolls at Billy Goat swimming hole; his best friend Isaac is falsely accused of defacing the sign (and counters with "a gruff exterior" that only makes him look constipated); a dog runs away out of affronted dignity; Cecil gets outsider Pauley invited to a party given by Ariel, the prettiest and richest girl in town; Cecil and his mother bring Isaac's sister Isobel on a visit to see schizophrenic Aunt June. Then again, these seemingly inconsequential events turn out to be more important than we thought. Cecil realizes that it is his old friend Isobel, and not the glamorous Ariel, whom he really loves. "Isobel," he suddenly avows. "I've been a fool." She counters affectionately, "I've always thought that might be the case, Cecil." This slyly humorous and kindly ramble is perfect reading for a lazy summer afternoon, and a welcome intermission from more hard-core young adult fiction. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

Book Description

Seventeen-year-old Cecil Rowe loves to write, to read, to think, and to amble about his tiny Tidewater town of Bricksburg, Virginia. Of course, if he had a driver's license, he'd rather drive. And if he could make up his mind which girl to choose, he'd want to take one along.

Cecil in Space is Sid Hite's most thoughtful, romantic, and insightful coming-of-age novel. It captures that wonderful time in a young writer's life when he begins to feel the power of his own words, and the precise moment in a young man's growth when clarity can only come in a kiss.

Customer Reviews:

Jenson's Review of Cecil in Space.......2002-12-05

Cecil In Space is the average story about a 17 years old named Cecil discovering himself. He lives in the small town of Bricksburg, Virginia, and we get a good understanding of his life. This book is pretty typical a mediocre story.
At times I felt Hite was trying just to hard to appeal to a young audience. The results are boring scripture and over the top narrative that seems to turn off many young women. The only thing I liked about this story was Cecil's Aunt June. She's a very lively character who lives in a mental institution.
Overall, this book is just...ok. It feels rushed and incomplete. I don't recommend this book for anyone, but people desperate for a quick book report might want to check this out. They should probably be mature young readers ages 12-15 due to mild language and sexual inuendo.

You Won't forget it.......2000-08-21

I read this book about a year ago and I still remember many details about it. Cecil is a nice guy that's shy around girls. The small town setting is great. Read it and you won't regret it.

I loved this hysterical adventure of teenage romance.......2000-06-22

A fun book by a great author! I had the opportunity to hear Sid Hite speak a year ago and I was absolutely enthralled by his humble attitude and obvious love for the English language. His vocabulary is precise and educational in and of itself. I used this novel as a read aloud with 9th graders and the feelings were mixed, but I think they all would have enjoyed the book if they had read it silently and finished in larger chunks than my method allowed.

Don't let the cover make you pass on this one........2000-05-26

In a detached, sometimes bitter, but rarely boring narrative Cecil gives us a tour of his teenage life in his podunk town life in Bricksburg,(the eerie coincidence to Williamsburg is rather humorous)VA.

The big mystery is who defaced the town historic sign, but Cecil is trying to understand his world.

His insane aunt thinks he is an astronaut, his friend Isaac is an eccentric painter and Isabel brings Cecil the truth in a kiss. Cecil's thought and words are a treat!

OuT oF tHiS WoRlD...........2000-03-23

I say this because, I thought that this book was full of pure entertainment. I found that there were many similarities and differences that I had with Cecil (main character). The way he looked out on his life, where he lives, and how he described it is just like me. Cecil used a plentiful amount of sarcasism,humour,and range of vocabulary. I definetly recommend you people out there to read this... you will not regret it if you like crazy and outrageous kind of writing.

Clothes Tell a Story. From Skin to Space Suits

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Clothes Tell a Story. From Skin to Space Suits
Cecil and Winifred Lubell
Manufacturer: Parents' Magazine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QB9IU6

Clothes Tell a Story; From Skin to Space Suits,: From Skin to Space Suits (Stepping-Stone Book)

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Clothes Tell a Story; From Skin to Space Suits,: From Skin to Space Suits (Stepping-Stone Book)
Cecil Lubell , and Winifred Lubell
Manufacturer: Enslow Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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The Foundatons of the United States Air Force. Air and Space Studies 100 Air Force ROTC. 2006 Edition T-107.

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The Foundatons of the United States Air Force. Air and Space Studies 100 Air Force ROTC. 2006 Edition T-107.
Dave Lewis , Captain Michael Collins , Captain Ray McPherson , Major Charles Spicer , Major Ardis Cecil , Captain Thomas Eller , Ricky Lewis , Samuel Greene , Annie Robinson , and Nicole Griffin
Manufacturer: Department of the Air Force
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WWVN5W

Product Description

EXACTLY as title. Air and Space Studies 100. The Foundation of the United States Air Force. Air Force Officer Assession and Training Schools Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Materializing Space at an Early Modern Prodigy House: The Cecils at Theobalds, 1564-1607

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Materializing Space at an Early Modern Prodigy House: The Cecils at Theobalds, 1564-1607
James M. Sutton
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Space against time in modern poetry. (Cecil B. Williams memorial lecture in American literature)

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Space against time in modern poetry. (Cecil B. Williams memorial lecture in American literature)
Monroe Kirklyndorf Spears
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ProductGroup: Book
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Space in landscape (Themes and painters in the National Gallery)

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Space in landscape (Themes and painters in the National Gallery)
Cecil Hilton Monk Gould
Manufacturer: National Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Materializing Space at an Early Modern Prodigy House: The Cecils at Theobalds, 1564-1607.(Book review): An article from: Renaissance Quarterly

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Materializing Space at an Early Modern Prodigy House: The Cecils at Theobalds, 1564-1607.(Book review): An article from: Renaissance Quarterly
Martin Elsky
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 851 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Materializing Space at an Early Modern Prodigy House: The Cecils at Theobalds, 1564-1607.(Book review)
Author: Martin Elsky
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Page: 258(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Apollo experience report: Service propulsion subsytem (NASA technical note)

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Apollo experience report: Service propulsion subsytem (NASA technical note)
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Manufacturer: For sale by the National Technical Information Service]
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