That’s not exactly what Ronald Reagan said. But what he did say missed the point every bit as badly. A lot of folks still do. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Back in the day Americans destroyed wilderness as evil’s home turf. Trump and MAGA are still down with that. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. And please do subscribe -- it's free. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

The next book begins to take shape, and my Substack essay series shifts focus. Read all about it in my latest post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

When a redwood goes by Hyperion or Stratospheric Giant, no longer is it just any old redwood. The name changes everything, something Rudyard Kipling would understand. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Find out about the gray whale, the people it has changed, and a certain writer. All in my latest Substack post. Do let me know what you think. ramcnally.substack.com/p/marine-det...

In its way, this is a story of cosmic humility. Read all about it my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Author Melissa Fraterrigo designed and hosted a free memoir-writing workshop for anyone who purchased her forthcoming book, and discovered that many readers were eager for an insider’s perspective on how to draft a memoir. Here's how she did it: janefriedman.com/teach-your-b...

Just how tall can a tree grow? The answer, at least for the moment, is a little over 381 feet. Maybe, just maybe, it can reach even higher. No wonder it carries the name of a Greek god known as a primal force of nature. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Clearcuts maximizes profit and destroys forests for generations. The Menominees are showing us what sustainable forestry looks like -- and making a living in he process. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

A year ago, Trump ordered national parks and monuments to scrub the unpleasant history they present. Now they're doing it. George Orwell warned us about this. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

My CAST OUT OF EDEN featured in the latest post of the Univ. of Nebraska Press blog!

If it hadn’t been for three activist women, writers all, California’s first state park and redwoods preserve never would have come into being. Read all about it in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

As the bombs fall and people die, the wild world holds out hope you can see. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Get whole story of wild riches to sold-off rags in my latest Substack. ramcnally.substack.com/p/making-the...

Get the whole story in my latest Substack.

Two giant redwoods once guided sailing vessels past a shipwreck hazard. Then they disappeared into some lumberman’s pile of planks. Read all about them, and the rest of Oakland's redwoods, in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

There is a power in small beings. First you have to attend to it -- something the Trump regime just hates. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Given everything they were put through, the Wiyots should have been exterminated. But they refused to disappear. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Rain taught Thomas Merton how to attend to the moment. Then he saw the redwoods. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Trappist monk, mystic, & author of bestselling SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN Thomas Merton wrote of his pilgrimage to the redwoods, "Who can see such trees and bear to be away from them?" He vowed to return -- yet never did. Read all about it in my latest Substack. ramcnally.substack.com/p/to-see-suc...

In big struggles it's often the small things that make the difference. This is one such case, the story behind the name given to an old-growth redwood grove on California's Lost Coast. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Five years ago, Donald Trump instigated a violent insurrection in the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election. The fact that the GOP coddled him, protected him, renominated him, and now support him in office, is a stain that will never be erased.

My latest Subtack, on how Henry David Thoreau predicted Donald J. Trump's campaign to desecrate the wild by stripping it for parts. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

As the New Year is born, envision less division in 2026. www.theborderchronicle.com/p/re-envisio...

My latest on Substack, about what Trump shares -- and doesn't -- with the epic hero Gilgamesh. It's the "doesn't" that really counts. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

No less a prophetic vision than Moby-Dick fell for it. The madness continues today. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

@ramcnally.bsky.social joins the Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer to discuss CAST OUT OF EDEN, his new biography of John Muir. bit.ly/49H7bru

Unfortunately, the New York Times fell into a worn assumption about the wall separating environmentalism and social justice. It's not that simple. Read all about it in my latest Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Sometimes moving ahead means stepping aside to rethink. That's what I've been doing with my Substack for the past several weeks. Now it's back on track and following a different path from before. Let me know what you think. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

Love it that my publisher, @univnebpress.bsky.social, makes sure that good reviews of my CAST OUT OF EDEN reach a wider reading audience.

Thomas Wilmer named his NPR "Journeys of Discovery" podcast with me about John Muir and CAST OUT OF EDEN the best of last year's best and has reposted it. Appreciation to Tom for the nod and to Katya Cengel for connecting me to Tom in the first place. www.kcbx.org/podcast/jour...

So, supplying the weapons of war makes said supplier a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. May want to rethink that.

In September, SC staff & volunteers traveled to D.C. to participate in Wilderness Week to ask Congress to protect our public lands, support the Roadless Area Conservation Act, and safeguard park rangers & other stewards of shared lands.   sc.org/RACA sc.org/LandsAction @natlwilderness.bsky.social

Tonight's the night! At 6:30 p.m. I'll be at the Mill Valley (Calif.) Public Library (375 Throckmorton) to talk about CAST OUT OF EDEN and take audience Q&A. To register for this free event, follow the link. Hope to see you there! millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/14529233

Next week, CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Mill Valley, CA. Wed., 10/8, 6:30–8, I'll be talking about the book and taking questions at the Mill Valley Public Library, 375 Throckmorton Ave. Register for the free event through the link. Hope to see you! millvalleylibrary.libcal.com/event/14529233

“When you’re alone, you can become part of nature and your humanity doesn’t get in the way. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience when suddenly you hear different sounds and you smell different smells and you’re actually part of this amazing tapestry of life.” Jane Goodall, 2021.

This evening, 9/24/, 7 p.m., I'll be talking with poet and scholar Denise Low-Weso re: John Muir and Native resilience as part of her Indigenous Voices series at THE 222 art gallery in Healdsburg, Calif. For tickets, follow the link. And please join me! the222.org/product/indi...

CAST OUT OF EDEN in Healdsburg, Calif., this Thursday evening, 7 p.m. For full details about and tickets to this event in an amazing art space, please follow the link. Hope to see you there! the222.org/product/indi...

My latest on Substack, about a solitary backcountry trip that made me aware of what I knew but had yet to admit. Please give it a read -- and tell me what you think. ramcnally.substack.com/p/healing-in...

Today's *real* headline that @theonion.com wouldn't have even tried: US President Sues New York Times For $15 billion Over Articles Questioning His Success.

CAST OUT OF EDEN is heading to Healdsburg, Calif.! Thursday, 9/25,7–8:30 p.m., at THE 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., in conversation with poet Denise Low (Lenape) about John Muir & Native resilience in her Indigenous Voices series. Order tickets via this link. the222.org/product/indi...

Like many girls growing up in the eighties and nineties, @mfraterrigo.bsky.social leaned on popular culture to transition from childhood to adolescence and beyond. Save 40% on THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD when you order now: bit.ly/467xun5

"The rain starts, a soft thrum, and Dylan, our pandemic lab-collie mix darts from his bed and hurls himself at my ankles." In this essay, @mfraterrigo.bsky.social explores how to limit re-trauma when writing. Read it on Brevity (@dintywmoore.bsky.social): bit.ly/4m2M2KH

THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD by @mfraterrigo.bsky.social is a "raw and courageous exploration of her own life, the lives of her friends and family, and the lives of her two now-teen daughters," writes Patrick T. Reardon for Third Coast Review. bit.ly/3Kb1qY8

A notorious plant parasite -- think THE LAST OF US -- has a great deal to say about walking alone in the wild. My latest Substack explains. Do check it out, please, and leave a comment. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

By interrogating the personal and emotional toll of being female, the essays in THE PERILS OF GIRLHOOD by @mfraterrigo.bsky.social serve as a reckoning for women and girls. Enter our goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a copy: bit.ly/4mNApbl

At moments of extreme danger, John Muir and Alexander von Humboldt shared a cosmic vision of creation. Discover what they saw in my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

"Heading High with No Plan B," my latest on Substack, Iooks at how John Muir willingly took cold and hunger as the price to pay for exploring the Sierra Nevada. Have a read. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...

My latest on Substack, the Trumpian strategy to profit from national parks by breaking them. Read all about it! ramcnally.substack.com/p/break-nati...

John Muir was a big fan of Yosemite. Would he have also been a big fan of the Netflix series set in Yosemite? To find out, read my latest Substack post. open.substack.com/pub/ramcnall...