Donald Worster (@TheWorster1979) connects with Contemplify to traverse the life and passion of John Muir. The American icon who combined intelligence and curiosity with a grounded love for the wilderness. Muir held a natural contemplative bent that married an abiding sense of purpose. The landscape of John Muir’s life is pretty well documented, in our conversation we focus on the unique character of John Muir, the life lessons the current generations could learn from him and Donald’s own sense of connectedness with the spirit of John Muir and his predecessors. Find something stiff to drink, a night sky full of stars and go for a walk as you listen to this conversation.
Donald Worster is an author, scholar and professor at Renmin University of China. See all of Donald’s books here.
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episode Show Notes
Books by Donald Worster
- A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir. Oxford University, 2011.
- Shrinking Earth: The Rise and Decline of American Abundance. Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s. Oxford University Press, 2004.
- Donald Worster’s Amazon Author Page
Books Mentioned
- A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir
- Paradise Lost by John Milton
- My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir
- The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir
- The Mountains of California by John Muir (Worster considers this Muir’s best book)
- (Essay) Wild Wool by John Muir (available through Sierra Club website)
People
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Henry David Thoreau
- Rachel Carson
- Aldo Leopolod
- Edward Abbey
- Robert Burns
- John Milton
- William Wordsworth
- Jesus
- Alexander Von Humboldt
- Sierra Club
- Dave Foreman
- Terry Tempest Williams
- E.O. Wilson
- Doug Tompkins
Drinks Pairings
- Whiskey (you’ll have to listen to get the exact variety)
- Wine
Conversation Highlights
1m15s John Muir as a contemplative
5m John Muir’s formative years
8m45s Muir’s religious background and spirituality
12m11 Muir’s early travels
16m45a Muir and Yosemite
18m54s Was Muir a preservationist?
24m00s Was Muir a transcendentalist?
30m40s Muir’s influence on Donald Worster
34m30s Others picking up Muir’s mantle
38m53s What book, article or essay of Muir’s would recommend first?
41m20s What advice do you want to share with younger generations? (If nothing else, jump ahead to this section)
46m0s What drink would pair with a conversation on John Muir?
Photo credit: Death to Stock Photo
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