I am buying this book for my husband for Christmas. He has the entire rest of the Olson collection, and I know that this will certainly complement that. I would highly recommend any or all of the collection. Especially to anyone interested in the true spirit of the north,and all it symbolizes and embraces. Excellent work!!

Anyone who has enjoyed the incredible beauty of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area owes a debt to Sigurd Olson, subject of David Backe's "A Wilderness Within". This well-written book helps us understand Sig and how his intense passion to become a significant writer intertwined with his deep spiritual need for wilderness. The book may go a bit overboard in emphasizing some of his shortcomings: his temper, his need to be important, his occasional mistakes, but it also makes clear how much those close to him loved him. It is painful to consider how much the northern Minnesota wilderness would have been developed and decimated but for his efforts. TH Bracken MD Onamia MN

After reading five books by Sigurd F. Olson I felt it only right to read his biography. A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson was an insightful look at an incredible person.

From the very early days of Sigurds Life he is drawn toward nature. As Olson's life progresses this propensity turns into his lifes calling. Olson accomplishes more than ten people could in one lifetime. Wilderness defender, author, family man, canoeist- If you are entranced by Sigurd Olson's books you owe it to yourself to read his biography.

The biography describes things about Sigurd F. Olson that one would never guess from reading his books, and elaborates on others.

I'm particularly enjoy reading how hard it was for Olson to get published. He encountered numerous rejections before his first book The Singing Wilderness way published in the 1950's.

Perhaps what I like most about this biography is that Olson seems so much like myself. With each page I learned more about myself and my potential. There is a lot we can learn from the life of Sigurd F. Olson. It is best summed up this way: If you have a cause that is worth persuing keep at it, and don't stop until you've achieved your goals.

Thanks Becks for writing such a wonderful book about a wonderful person.

There's nothing really bad about the stories in this anthology, but there's nothing exceptional or revelatory, either. One story in particular is kind of old hat (war victims haunting a U.S. soldier). All but one of the tales are contemporary. I found the more memorable works to be from the following authors: Charles deLint, Thomas Tessier, Kathryn Ptacek, Melissa Mia Hall, and David B. Silva.
Recommended only if ghost tales are your particular area of interest.