Singing Wilderness (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) [Paperback]

Sigurd F. Olson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage | Publication Date: August 13, 1997

Book - MN Heritage

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press (August 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816629927
• ISBN-13: 978-0816629923
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural History
  • #100 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Essays

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should see this place!, August 7, 2004

By 

Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Singing Wilderness (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) (Paperback)

Noted conservationist Sigurd F. Olson wrote this collection of essays about his years canoeing, snowshoeing, skiing and fishing the Wilderness areas of Superior National Forest and the Quetico of Canada.

The essays are organized according to the four seasons. Olson has an almost metaphysical relationship with the animals that live in the wilderness: red squirrels, loons, otters, even field mice are fellow travelers.

Olson canoes and portages scores of miles to listen to the loons sing on Lac La Croix. He searches hundreds of lakes, looking for the perfect wilderness area, unspoiled by civilization. And he finds it! Saganaga, "a symbol of the primitive, perfect and untouched." Later, he hears that a road has come to Saganaga and he ventures back to see what's been done to it. It seems the same until he rounds a bend and is confronted with a modern lodge. He's conflicted; he wants human companionship but he doesn't want to lose his "singing wilderness."

In another essay, he tells of "flying in" to one of the lakes, rather than spending days canoeing and portaging to get there. He feels disoriented and can't really appreciate the experience. He hasn't put in enough effort; he doesn't deserve it. And he never does this again.

Olson is a sentimental, nostalgic man. He tells of catching trout for his grandmother, whom he credits with instilling a love of nature. While fishing on the Manitou, he is confronted with an eighty-year-old trout fisherman who's come to his favorite fishing spot for one last time.

Olson also limns essays that show the brutality of nature. In "The Storm" we see white-throated sparrows, Killdeers, purple finches, chickadees, and robins returning to the wilderness area after a long and brutal winter. Olson is marveling at their music until snow begins the fall and the temperature plummets. Thousands of confused birds freeze to death.

Admittedly, there is some clunky writing in the SINGING WILDERNESS; one gets the impression that Olson is writing from memory in a lot of instances. Also, at times he doesn't tell you where he is: he refers to the "lake" as if we should know which one of the thousands in the Superior/Quetico wilderness he's referring to. There's also a dearth of people. Often, he refers to "we" but the person or persons he's with are invisible.

That said, I think everyone would benefit from reading these essays. I couldn't help but wonder how many people know this place exists. These days the area is called the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. No motor boats allowed; no ATVs allowed! Everyone should see it at least once in his/her lifetime.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars _Walden_ for Minnesotans, January 6, 2002

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Singing Wilderness (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) (Paperback)

Originally published in 1956, this classic still speaks to nature lovers today, and it deserves to share the same shelf with Thoreau, Muir, and Beston. Olson's essays convey the spirit and sense of place in what is now known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area -- Superior National Forest in Minnesota and Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. North country life is special, and Olson obviously loved living there. He writes with delight of seeing Northern Lights, portaging canoes, cross country skiing, hearing the echoes of loons calling, and witnessing the occasional mouse tobogganing off a tent roof. Though the chapters are organized by seasons and begin with Spring, it is the essence of cold and snow and winter that carries the reader through the book. Best to be read by a warm fireplace with a light snow falling outside and a mug of hot chocolate nearby.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true Boundary Waters, September 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing Wilderness (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) (Paperback)

This book is my favorite! It describes all the feelings common to those who have visited canoe country and will never forget it. Sigurd Olson's writing is so clear and descriptive, you'll feel like you're in the Boundary Waters every time you pick it up. Everyone who has visited the Boundary Waters or ever plans on doing so, not to mention all the other nature lovers out there, should read this book. I don't know how many times I've read it and it seems to get better every time.