David Backes (author)

David Backes (born May 14, 1957 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American author and professor, best known for writing a biography of Sigurd F. Olson. The book, entitled A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson, won the Small Press Book Award for 1998, and received a positive review in The New York Times.

Backes was a professor in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies department of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee until his retirement in 2015.

Works

 * A Private Wilderness: The Journals of Sigurd F. Olson
 * Spirit of the North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson
 * The Meaning of Wilderness: Essential Articles and Speeches of Sigurd F. Olson.
 * Canoe Country: An Embattled Wilderness
 * The Wilderness Companion
 * A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson