Songs of the North

by Sigurd F. Olson, Howard Frank Mosher (Introduction)

Selected essays describe the natural beauty of northern Minnesota and Canada, and share the author's experiences in the wild

Genres: Nature, Essays, Nonfiction, Environment

28 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

Sigurd F. Olson was an American author, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the Quetico-Superior country of northern Minnesota and northeastern Ontario. He was known honorifically as the Bourgeois — a term the voyageurs of old used of their trusted leaders.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Songs of the North is a selection of stories for six of Sigurd Olson’s other books and is a great jumping off point to figure out which of his books you’d like to tackle next. I marked and especially enjoyed five of those stories. If you’ve been to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota, you’ll recognize many of the places he writes about, even though most of the writing is set further north and west in Canada. The last story, The Feel of Spring, is set in an area that I’m very familiar with and I didn’t need to imagine what he was writing about, I could almost remember it; I’m fairly certain I know exactly where Jean’s lake is and where they caught their trout. It’s been many years since I read Sigurd’s books and that’s a shame as this is a relaxing reflection on our place in nature and how to escape our daily lives when we enter into it.

[Ethan Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Canoe Propaganda

[Tom Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of Sigurd's best writings from various books are included here. What a love he had for the north! A true savior of American canoe country. Influential for Canada's conservation too.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, a book to read and savor, a chapter at a time. Then go back and read another chapter and savor. The book has the flavor of the North, Boundary Waters, Canadian Shield, in an age when people truly left civilization behind. Living out of their packs and what they could catch, discovering what each person was made of. Surviving as a result of careful planning and good guides, Olson worked as a guide for several years, keeping a journal for his own use, and finally turning the journal entries into books.

[Bitsy]

1987