Susan Snyder

Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries Susan Snyder First edition

An Oprah Book Pick
Delve into a secret history

Beyond Words is a collection of excerpts from fifty illustrated diaries spanning two hundred years of adventure and contemplation. From the records of eighteenth-century Spanish explorer Pedro Font to those of a young David Brower first encountering the wilderness, these unfolding stories reveal as much about the times in which they were written as they do the diarists particular inner worlds.

Whether filled with chicken-scratch sketches or gilded illuminations, these diaries have become objets d art that expand our understanding of the uniquely compelling experiences of their creators from anonymous writers to luminaries like LeConte and Muir, and from Beat poets to twelve-year-old girls. Beyond Words is a fascinating and intimate collection that will inspire you to pull out pen and paper to capture the fleeting images and experiences of your own life.

Contributors include:
Mark Twain, author, 1879
John Muir, naturalist, 1879
Mae Somers Peterson, mother, 1891
Jesse Colmer, adventurer, 1908
William Otis Raiguel, architect, 1911
Florence Merriam Bailey, ornithologist and rock climber, 1917
David Ross Brower, founder of the Sierra Club Foundation, 1928
Abner Doble, inventor, 1931
Yoshiko Uchida, author of Journey to Topaz, 1943
William E. Voigt, magician, 1943
Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, Oakland-born Muslim poet, 1960
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights publisher and poet, 1965
Philip Whalen, Buddhist and Beat poet, 1967
Ayako Miyawaki, artist, 1979