In Donald Worster's new biography, John Muir's "special self" is fully explored as is his extraordinary ability, then and now, to get others to see the sacred beauty of the natural world. A Passion for Nature is the most complete account of the great conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club ever written. Rich in detail and personal anecdote, it traces Muir from his boyhood in Scotland and frontier Wisconsin to his adult life in California right after the Civil War up to his death on the eve of World War I. It explores his marriage and family life, his relationship with his abusive father, his many friendships with the humble and famous (including Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson), and his role in founding the modern American conservation movement. Inspired by Muir's passion for the wilderness, Americans created a long and stunning list of national parks and wilderness areas, Yosemite most prominent among them. Yet the book also describes a Muir who was a successful fruit-grower, a talented scientist and world-traveler, a doting father and husband, a self-made man of wealth and political influence, and a man for whom mountaineering was "a pathway to revelation and worship." Related Themes: America, conservation, environment, history

The race is on for commercialization of domestic fuels that shrink our carbon footprint, and change is in the wind: utilities are revisiting solar and wind power; big oil is investigating biofuels; car companies are betting on fuel cells; and government is rethinking nuclear power while peddling incentives for expanded production of natural gas and "clean" coal. But what about good old-fashioned conservation? Are we on the right track? Related Themes: conservation, energy, environment

The Aurora Forum joins with Stanford Publishing Courses to present photographer Frans Lanting and his LIFE Project, a lyrical interpretation of the story of life on Earth that has been produced as a multimedia show for symphony orchestra with music by Philip Glass. For this evening’s photographic presentation, Lanting will be joined by his wife and partner, Christine Eckstrom, an editor, videographer, and former staff writer at National Geographic. For two decades, Frans and Chris have collaborated on fieldwork and publishing projects that have increased awareness of endangered ecological treasures. Related Themes: conservation, nature, photography