... wants to be a hybrid: a personal memoir and a hiking journal, a geology lesson and a history lesson about one of the truly epic nature spots in the world. The book’s structure attempts to create order from Robinson’s sheer exuberance and enthusiasm, but only half-delivers on that promise.

... gives Robinson the room to write at great length about a wilderness he cherishes, and he brings an idiosyncratic perspective in describing its wonders, large and small, in this unique memoir and guidebook.

The Robinson fluency is here: the compact, mobile sentences; the narrative ease; the technical detail. Prosy perhaps—he’s talking right at you—but only literally pedestrian.

It’s hard to think of another writer who can touch upon climatology, geology, Gary Snyder, LSD, Aristotle, botany, zoology and Spinal Tap in a book about a mountain range.

... a fascinating combination of memoir, travelogue, scientific overview, history and much more. Robinson cleverly breaks up his book (which is over 500 pages) into short chapters, interspersing these various strands with one another.

A capacious and truly original work of nonfiction.

Robinson’s knowledge and adoration of the Sierra’s reverberate.

Robinson vividly conveys his passion for the Sierra mountains in this enthralling blend of memoir, history, and science.

A celebration of California’s formidable mountain range.