Breath of Wilderness: The Life of Sigurd Olson

Breath of Wilderness is the story of Sigurd Olson’s love for wild places and how that love transformed his life. It inspired him to play a key role in the movement to preserve wilderness throughout North America, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the largest lakeland wilderness in the country. Olson’s successful writing career, born from his devotion, spread his fervor worldwide. This is a story of one man finding his passion and standing up for what he believed even in the face of tremendous adversity.

[Olson] knew immediately that once the wilderness was gone it would be gone forever. There would be no getting it back.

Kristin Eggerling is passionate about preserving wild places, reading, and exposing kids to the outdoors. Currently, she works as a freelance writer, community activist, and parent. She writes about natural resources and serves on her local library board and a number of regional and state boards focused on sustainability and conservation. She has worked in the public health field, coordinated watershed education, taught sociology at the University of Minnesota Crookston, and served as the administrator of the Environment and Agriculture Budget Committee at the Minnesota Senate. She has also served on the Citizen’s Advisory Committee of the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. Kristin holds a BA in sociology from Augsburg College and an MA in sociology from the University of Manitoba.