Sierra Club Books was the publishing division, for both adults and children, of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who b ...

, founded in by then club President David Brower. They were a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

publishing company located in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

with a concentration on

biological conservation Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

. In the adult division of the organization was sold to

Counterpoint LLC Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...

and the childrens books division to

Gibbs Smith Gibbs Smith is an American publisher based in Utah. The publishing house was founded in 1969 by Gibbs M. Smith (1940–2017) and his wife Catherine. Its offerings include children's books, including the BabyLit line, cookbooks, home reference bo ...

History

The Sierra Club started its book program in , when David Brower, an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

with the

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, became the club’s

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

. In , they published the first of its climbers’ and hikers’ guides. In , when the Sierra Club Books began, they published the ‘Exhibit Format Book Series’, a collection of

nature photography Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis o ...

and in they published their first color volume, Elliot Porter’s ''In Wilderness Is the Preservation of the World''. Volumes intended for club members had been

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...

prior to . In addition,

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physic ...

under their name had been published before , but done through already established publishers, as was the case with ''This Is Dinosaur'', published by

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

. Their first in-house book, volume 1 in the Exhibit Format series, was ''This is the American Earth'', published in . In , they introduced

color photography Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray- monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

to the series with the publication of ''In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World'' with

photographs A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

Eliot Porter Eliot Furness Porter (December 6, 1901 – November 2, 1990) was an American photographer best known for his color photographs of nature.Amon Carter MuseumEliot Porter collection guide. Retrieved September 12, 2008. Early life and education Porter ...

and ''Island In Time: The Point Reyes Peninsula'' with photographs by Philip Hyde. The series won the Carey–Thomas Award for creative publishing, by

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

. Fifty thousand copies were sold in the first four years, and by sales exceeded . The books were successful in introducing the public to

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

preservation and to the Sierra Club.

Paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

reprints of many of the Exhibit Format books were published by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...

. After Brower left the Club in , the club came under the leadership of Jon Beckmann from to . During Beckmann's tenure the program expanded and diversified considerably, publishing books by established and emerging

writers A writer is a person who uses writing, written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, Short story, short stories, books, poetr ...

such as

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays of ...

, Robert Bly,

Galen Rowell Galen Avery Rowell (August 23, 1940 – August 11, 2002) was a wilderness photographer, adventure photojournalist and mountaineer. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972. Early life and education Rowell was in ...

, and

David Rains Wallace David Rains Wallace (born 1945) is an American writer who has published more than twenty books on conservation and natural history, including ''The Monkey's Bridge'' (a 1997 ''New York Times'' Notable Book) and '' The Klamath Knot'' (1984 Burroug ...

as well as field guides,

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

, and books on environmental

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, such as the Sierra Club Battlebooks. Many Sierra Club books were produced by the Yolla Bolly Press run by Jim and Carolyn Robertson in

Covelo, California Covelo ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. Covelo is located as the crow flies east-northeast of Laytonville, at an elevation of . The population was 1,394 at the 2020 census, up from 1,255 at ...

.The program continued for two decades after , first under Peter Beren, the former

marketing director A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may ...

, then under Helen Sweetland, the former

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

. The press closed in with the adult division of the organization being sold to

and the childrens books division to

. The Club continues to publish the ''Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar'' and the ''Sierra Club Engagement Calendar'' annually, which are perennial bestsellers. They are distributed to the book trade by

Publishers Group West Publishers Group West (PGW) is a book distributor founded in 1976 in Berkeley, California, which distributes to bookstores in the U.S. and internationally. They were the largest distributor of independent presses in the U.S. in the 1990s. In 2007, ...

Partial bibliography

Exhibit Format

* () ''This is the American Earth'',

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

and

Nancy Newhall Nancy Wynne Newhall (May 9, 1908 – July 7, 1974) was an American photography critic. She is best known for writing the text to accompany photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, but was also a widely published writer on photography, conse ...

* () ''Words of the Earth'', photographs by

Cedric Wright George Cedric Wright (April 13, 18891959) was an American violinist and a wilderness photographer of the High Sierra. He was Ansel Adams's mentor and best friend for decades, and accompanied Adams when three of his most famous photographs were ...

* () ''Time and the River Flowing: Grand Canyon'', Philip Hyde and Franćois Leydet * () ''These We Inherit: The Parklands of America'', Ansel Adams * () ''In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World'',

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and h ...

* () ''The Place No One Knew: Glen Canyon on the Colorado'', Eliot Porter * () ''Ansel Adams: A Biography, Volume 1: The Eloquent Light'', Nancy Newhall * () ''The Last Redwoods: Photographs and Story of a Vanishing Scenic Resource'', Philip Hyde and Franćois Leydet * () ''Gentle Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada'',

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologis ...

and

Richard Kauffman Richard L. Kauffman (born February 10, 1955) is the first New York State "energy czar," officially referred to as the ''Chairman of Energy and Finance for New York'' in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. In this role, Kauffman ...

* () ''Not Man Apart: Photographs of the Big Sur Coast'',

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...

* () ''The Wild Cascades: Forgotten Parkland'', Harvey Manning * () ''Everest: The West Ridge'', Thomas F. Hornbein * () ''Summer Island: Penobscot Country'',

* () ''Glacier Bay: The Land and the Silence'', Dave Bohn * () ''Navajo Wildlands: As Long as The Rivers Shall Run'', Stephen Jett * () ''Kauai and the Park Country of Hawaii'', Robert Wenkam * () ''Baja California and the Geography of Hope'',

Joseph Wood Krutch Joseph Wood Krutch (; November 25, 1893 – May 22, 1970) was an American author, critic, and naturalist who wrote nature books on the American Southwest. He is known for developing a pantheistic philosophy. Biography Born in Knoxville, Tenne ...

* () ''Central Park Country: A Tune Within Us'', Mireille Johnston * () ''Galápagos: The Flow of Wildness - Vol. 1: Discovery'',

* () ''Galápagos: The Flow of Wildness - Vol. 2: Prospect'',

Battlebooks

* () ''Oil on Ice: Alaskan Wilderness at the Crossroads'', Tom Brown * () ''Mercury: How Much Are We Eating?'', Katherine and Peter Montague

Yolla Bolly Press

* () ''The Wilder Shore'',

* () ''The Yosemite'', John Muir

Material World

* () ''Material World: A Global Family Portrait'',

Charles C. Mann Charles C. Mann (born 1955) is an American journalist and author, specializing in scientific topics. In 2006 his book '' 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus'' won the National Academies Communication Award for best book of the ...

* () ''Women in the Material World'', Faith D'Aluisio

Other

* () ''Island in Time: The Point Reyes Peninsula'', Philip Hyde (photographer) * () ''On the Loose'', Terry and Renny Russell * () ''

The Population Bomb ''The Population Bomb'' is a 1968 book co-authored by Stanford University Professor emeritus Paul R. Ehrlich and Stanford senior researcher emeritus in conservation biology Anne Howland Ehrlich. It predicted worldwide famine due to overpopulati ...

'',

Paul R. Ehrlich Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist known for his warnings about the consequences of population growth and limited resources. He is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of St ...

* () ''On the Shore of the Sundown Sea'', T.H. Watkins * () ''Starr’s Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region'', Walter A. Starr, Jr. * () ''The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture'',

* () ''Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas'',

Donald Worster Donald Worster (born 1941) is an American environmental historian who was, until his retirement, the Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas. He is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of ...

* () ''The Dark Range: A Naturalist's Night Notebook'',

* () '' Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'',

Steve Roper Steve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal ''Ascent''. Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mou ...

and Allen Steck * () ''Annapurna: A Woman's Place'',

Arlene Blum Arlene Blum (born March 1, 1945Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, page 34Chapter 24 /ref>) is an American mountaineer, writer, and environmental health scientist. She is best known for leading the first successful American ascent of Annapurna (I), ...

* () ''The Klamath Knot: Explorations in Myth and Evolution'',

* () ''In a Grain of Sand: Exploring Design by Nature'',

Andreas Feininger Andreas Bernhard Lyonel Feininger (December 27, 1906 – February 18, 1999) was an American photographer and a writer on photographic technique. He was noted for his dynamic black-and-white scenes of Manhattan and for studies of the structures ...

* () ''Wild by Law: The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and the Places It Has Saved'', Tom Turner * () ''California's Wild Heritage: Threatened and Endangered Animals in the Golden State'', Peter Steinhart * () ''In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations'',

Jerry Mander Jerry Irwin Mander (born May 1, 1936) is an American activist and author, best known for his 1978 book, ''Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television''. In a more recent book, ''The Capitalism Papers'', Mander argues against capitalism as a ...

* () ''Mother Earth: Through the Eyes of Women Photographers and Writers'', Judith Boice, editor * () ''Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind'', Theodore Roszak, Allen D. Kanner and Mary E. Gomes * () ''The Monkey's Bridge: Mysteries of Evolution in Central America'',

* () ''Bay Area Wild: A Celebration of the Natural Heritage of the San Francisco Bay Area'',

and Michael Sewell * () ''The Winemaker's Marsh: Four Seasons in a Restored Wetland'',

Kenneth Brower Kenneth Brower is an American writer known for his natural environment writings. His published works include articles with the National Geographic Society, The Atlantic Monthly, Smithsonian, Audubon, and several other periodicals. Brower has ...

* () ''Galen Rowell: A Retrospective'', Andy Grundberg * () ''Gloryland: A Novel'', Shelton Johnson

References

{{Portal bar, San Francisco Bay Area Sierra Club Organizations based in San Francisco Book publishing companies based in San Francisco Environmental non-fiction books Environmental publishers Publishing companies established in 1960