Trees Go Longer, Farther, Deeper into Space Than Humans Artemis II continued the arboreal cosmic travel that began with Apollo 14, but Artemis I took it the farthest yet.

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...

To Make America’s Forests Healthy Again, Look to the Original Owners The Menominees steward a Wisconsin forest that nurtures both trees and tribe.

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...

The Dangerous Books MAGA Plans to Ban A year ago, Trump ordered national parks and monuments to scrub the unpleasant history they present. George Orwell warned us about this.

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!

Big Basin Wasn’t One Man’s Big Win 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.

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...

The Wild Beauty This Warring World Needs As bombs fall and people die, spring flowers hold out hope.

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...

Making the Majestic into the Mundane In the market a tree is no longer a tree. It’s stakes, shakes, boards, pilings, ties, etc., all at a price.

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.

From Landmarks to Lumber Two giant redwoods guided sailing vessels past a sunken hazard. Then they disappeared into some lumberman’s pile of planks.

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...

The Little Bird That Stopped the Big Lumber Baron But now MAGA is planning to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act and hand the trees over.

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...

Genocide and Resurrection on Humboldt Bay Given everything they were put through, the Wiyots should have been exterminated. They refused to disappear.

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 and the Rhinoceros When Thomas Merton encountered the redwoods, a rainy night had already primed him for revelation

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...

To See Such Trees California’s redwoods drew mystic Thomas Merton toward the spiritual center he had long been seeking.

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...

The Massacre That Helped Save the Last Redwoods Attaching a survivor’s name to an old-growth grove made its preservation immediate, personal, and possible.

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.

Thoreau Foresaw Trump’s Arctic Desecrations The seer of Walden Pond understood how greedy men attack wild evidence of their own cosmic insignificance.

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...

“Re-envision No More Division”: A Reflective Photo Essay of 2025 Take a photographic stroll in 2025--from Inauguration Day in January to unauthorized cows crossing the Rio Grande in the fall--as we seek a “different way forward.”

As the New Year is born, envision less division in 2026.

www.theborderchronicle.com/p/re-envisio...

What Trump Shares with Gilgamesh — and Where He Falls So Short The Babylonian epic hero knew the impulse to destroy the green and wild, then he wised up. With Trump, wisdom is a forest too far.

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...

The Capitalist Delusion of Endless Supply Keeps Killing No less a prophetic vision than "Moby-Dick" fell for it. The madness continues today.

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...

Unveiling the hidden story of John Muir Author Robert Aquinas McNalley shares tales of John Muir and his racist attitudes in his new book, Cast out of Eden

@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

Did Calling out John Muir Kill the Sierra Club? According to the New York Times, the club’s repudiation of its founder for his attitudes on race helped trigger its decline. Really?

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...

Back up and Running! A pause clears the head and clarifies purpose.

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.

Unveiling the hidden story of John Muir Author Robert Aquinas McNalley shares tales of John Muir and his racist attitudes in his new book, Cast out of Eden

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

Author Talk: Robert McNally on John Muir The Mill Valley Library presents an evening with Robert McNally, author of Cast Out of Eden: The Untold Story of John Muir, Indigenous Peoples, and the American Wilderness. John...

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

Author Talk: Robert McNally on John Muir The Mill Valley Library presents an evening with Robert McNally, author of Cast Out of Eden: The Untold Story of John Muir, Indigenous Peoples, and the American Wilderness. John...

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