Sigurd F. Olson is the author of nine books describing his adventures in nature and the spiritual insights he gained there. He was one of the most effective and influential conservation leaders of the twentieth century. During his long career he received the highest award in nature writing, the John Burroughs Medal (1974), as well as the Founders Award from the Izaak Walton League of America (1963), the John Muir Award from the Sierra Club (1967), the Robert Marshall Award from the Wilderness Society (1981), and the Conservation Hall of Fame Award from the National Wildlife Federation (1991). According to Olson's biographer, David Backes, only "John Muir has received so much affectionate recognition in his lifetime as both a writer and environmental leader."

Sigurd Ferdinand Olson was born in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago on 4 April 1899, the second of the three sons of Lawrence J. (L. J.) and Ida May (Cederholm) Olson...