Up in the Yuba forest of California a fierce December windstorm began to blow. John Muir, visiting a friend nearby, dashed out of the house into the tumultuous woods. He climbed a towering spruce on the highest ridge and there rode out the storm, swaying and swinging at the tip of the tree, "taking the wind into his pulses."

This restless, adventurous spirit and boundless energy, which characterized all of John Muir's life, burst forth from the pages of this book. Born in Scotland and raised on a Wisconsin farm under the rule of a stern Scottish father, John grew up to be a pioneer geologist as well as an adventurer. But above all he was a lover of nature. For years he fought to preserve the forests of the nation. His magazine articles on conservation—then a new idea—so interested President Theodore Roosevelt that he traveled from Washington all the way to California to meet John Muir, and for four days the two men camped together in Muir's beloved Yosemite forest. These four days marked the true beginning of America's hard-won national park system.

Hildegarde Hoyt Swift understands the man she writes about as well as she understand the outdoors he loved so much. Her sure, sensitive unfolding of John Muir's story reveals the depths of his greatness. Lynd Ward brings all his artistry and knowledge to the magnificent illustrations.

From the dust jacket