ABSTRACT
Few of America's public figures diverged so radically from the nation's prevailing values and institutions as John Muir; even fewer had anything close to his impact on American society. His influence, moreover, has not only endured but increased—immeasurably so in our own time. To a degree he himself would find astonishing, he has received official consecration by the very mainstream he rejected. Major publishers reprint his books in ever larger editions. Six biographies are currently in print. His home in Martinez, California, is a national shrine visited annually by many thousands of tourists. His image has even graced a U.S. commemorative postage stamp.
