David Backes (born May 14, 1957 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Backes was a professor in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies department of the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

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''

References

External links

University bio

Sigurd F. Olson website
(maintained by Backes)
Interview with David Backes
at Listening Point about his Sigurd Olson biography (Part One), ''NORTHERN LIGHTS Minnesota Author Interview'' TV Series #437 (1999)
Interview with David Backes
at Listening Point about his Sigurd Olson biography (Part Two), ''NORTHERN LIGHTS Minnesota Author Interview'' TV Series #438 (1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Backes, David 1957 births Living people Writers from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty