Boundary Waters

Quotes:

“Remarkable for its honesty, its lucidity, and its sheer poetry, Boundary Waters is a book which will delight all who seek the ‘grace of the wild.'”—San Marcos Daily Record

“Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild is our twentieth century Walden. Like Thoreau, Gruchow travels into the wilderness as a way to understand himself and the world. Like Thoreau, he writes in a style as clear, as ordinary and as filled with brilliance as the night sky. Gruchow worships what he calls, 'the great wildness at the heart of the universe.' He writes of his attempts via canoeing, hiking and camping to find that wildness. He quotes Wes Jackson who wrote, 'We may have colonized the continent but we have not yet discovered it.' This book helps us discover America. Gruchow writes, 'Our deepest longing is to have a place.' With this book, he points us towards home.”—Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia

“This lake and forest wildland that Gruchow writes of is my home. Daily I see and feel its mood and yearn to know it. You might say I cast a critical and protective eye towards any attempt at its portrayal. In this work, I find an unusually honest and revealing word journey that moves through bright waters, across dark portages, and travels the wilds of the even more dimly-lit inner soul. From my vantage point, Paul Gruchow is a most responsible citizen of the literary world who coaxes us to value and embrace our wild places with gifted conviction. Indeed, I will see and dream anew of my beleaguered and beloved Boundary Waters.”—Jim Brandenburg

“Gruchow has a gift not only for aphorism but for description."—Kirkus Reviews

“This superb collection of nature writing from award-winning Minnesota essayist Paul Gruchow is filled with astute observations, heartfelt ecological concerns and sometimes hilarious candor. The giant backdrop is the 2.5 million-acre Boundary Waters ecosystem.... Gruchow's gorgeous prose can evolve into flity observations, and it is this tough dynamic between poetics and steel-eyed social philosophy that gives his work its exceptional bite and appeal . . .. This wonderful book will be welcomed by outdoors-folk of every stripe.”—Bloomsbury Review

“Quiet, contemplative, but alert to what nature reveals, Gruchow writes lucidly when sunlight slants off snow, mistily when morning fog rises off lakes, and exemplarily for perambulators who write after their hikes.”—Booklist

“Boundary Waters: Grace of the Wild is Paul Gruchow's finest book.” —The Corresponder of Mankato State University

“[A] fine little book, . . . Slices of natural history and stories of early pioneers keep Gruchow's pacing and story lines on a spacious winding path.”—Publishers Weekly

“Whether he is canoeing, backpacking, or cross-country skiiing, Gruchow is an expert guide through the largest roadless area east of the Rocky Mountains . . .. In the tradition of the best nature writing, the author draws out each moment, step by step, paddle by paddle, until the reader is gliding alongside him, savoring his revelations and discoveries in natural history . . .. Boundary Waters is a celebration of what we have left. . . with such eloquent defenders as Gruchow, there remains the hope that we will preserve this magnificent landscape.”—New Age Journal

“Gruchow is one of the best practitioners of [nature writing], his most effective narratives encourage readers to lay aside the book and experience the source first-hand . . .. [Boundary Waters] is a diary of trips to the BWCA and Isle Royale . . .. He conveys both the sweaty tedium and the soul-searing beauty of the endeavor in his sagacious prose.”—City Pages

“Minnesota writer Paul Gruchow manages to look inward and still create a book that feels about as representative of an area as any text possibly could . . .. Gurchow is an ideal guide to the BWCA: knowledgeable, introspective and not prone to flowery expositions of the scenery. He also seems perfectly at home in the wilderness, preferring to disappear into the forest rather than try to conquer it.”—Isthmus

“Gruchow's love for the ecosystem of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Canada's Quetico Provincial is unmistakable.”—Lake Superior Magazine

“This is a skilled naturalist with a true gift for limning the landscape, not simply by listing things seen but by revealing the totality of organisms and their visual and physical relationships . . .. No athelete, no John Muir/tree climber, Gruchow enters the wildness of his landscapes and himself without pretension or expectation, but with a profound knowledge that grace can be achieved there once our place in the universe is understood and accepted.”—Georgia Review

“Delighful essays arranged by season.”—NorthWind Books

“The search for harmony is a motive for many of Gruchow's wilderness travels, and the source of his most beautiful prose... As if handing us a map, Gruchow tells of his own voyages of discovery.. with astute observation, heartfelt ecological concerns, and sometimes hilarious candor.”—Abigail Davis, Saint Paul Pioneer Press

“Each section is a meditation, a prayer, a devotion to wilderness.” —Scott Wrobel, Corresponder