Sigurd F. Olson (1899-1982) was one of the greatest environmentalists of the twentieth century. A conservation activist and popular writer, Olson introduced a generation of readers to the importance of wilderness. He served as president of the Wilderness Society and the National Parks Association and as a consultant to the federal government on wilderness preservation and ecological problems. He earned many honors, including the highest possible from the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, and Izaak Walton League.

Olson is perhaps best known, though, for his many books that express the wonder, awe, and peace he found in the wilderness, including the nature classics The Singing Wilderness, Listening Point, and Reflections from the North Country. While these books have greatly influenced subsequent environmentalist movements and writers such as Annie Dillard and Barry Lopez, a major portion of Olson’s wilderness writing-much of it originating as speeches-has been relatively inaccessible, scattered in a number of magazines and obscure books over a period of more than fifty years, or never published at all.

The Meaning of Wilderness gathers together the most important of Sigurd Olson’s articles and speeches, making them available for the first time. The book also contains an introduction and chapter-by-chapter commentary by Olson’s authorized biographer, David Backes, that help the reader discover the various facets of Olson’s wilderness philosophy and their development over time. A lively look at the evolution of one of environmentalism’s greatest figures, The Meaning of Wilderness will be essential reading for Olson fans, historians, and outdoors people around the country.

Beautifully illustrates the matter-of-fact ease of Sigurd Olson’s prose and wit. This is a valuable book for nature lovers and lovers of fine writing.

— Dave Wood’s Book Report

A much needed and explicit study, which constitutes the only canon of Sigurd Olson’s varied expressions concerning wilderness and the human interest and spirit. David Backes has the gift of relating and exploring complex issues with effortless intellectuality, with the charm and good humor of a story teller, and the simplicity of everyday affairs we can all understand.

— The View from Listening Point

Anyone wishing to argue on the side of wilderness will find good quotes and great thinking in this book.

— Ely Summer Times

The amazing thing about Olson’s writing is that no matter whether he is writing seemingly with simplicity about wilderness experiences in his books, or asking people who may have never been there to understand the need to preserve wilderness, the same eloquent choice of words and phrases is always present These essays, though some were written over half a century ago, still resonate with the issues we face today.

— The Cardinal

David Backes is the author of A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson (Minnesota, 1997), winner of the 1998 Small Press Book Award for biography. Backes is also the author of Canoe Country: An Embattled Wilderness (1991) and The Wilderness Companion (1992).

(2015)

David Backes is the author of A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson (Minnesota, 1997), winner of the 1998 Small Press Book Award for biography.

Sigurd F. Olson (1899–1982) was one of the greatest environmentalists of the twentieth century.