BOOKS ABOUT WISCONSIN
Byron Crowns: Wisconsin Through 5 Billion Years of Change, Wisconsin Earth Science Center, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, 1976. Good photos of minerals, geological features. paleoartifacts, and industries dependent upon the geological and geographical features of Wisconsin.
Esther Gibbs: We Went A Loggin'. A Lively autobiographical account of a family scratching out a living farming and working at a logging camp in northern Wisconsin.
Jacqueline Dougan Jackson: Stories from the Round Barn, TriQuarterly Books, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL 60208-4210. Stories and history about a scientific dairy farmer (Jacqueline's grandfather), his family and neighbors near Beloit, Wisconsin in the early 1900's.
Theodore F. Kouba: Wisconsin's Amazing Woods, Wisconsin House, Ltd., 1973. A good introduction to the forests of Wisconsin with an excellent historical summary. Well balanced treatment of the subject with an explanation of the importance of managed woodlots and commercial forestry but also a strong defense of wilderness and primitive campsites where wheeled campers should not be allowed.
Lawrence Martin: The Physical Geography of Wisconsin. The first edition of this classic was published in 1916, but it is still a very useful guide to the geology and geography of the state.
Barbara & Justus Paul, editors: The Badger State, A Documentary history of Wisconsin, Wm.B.Erdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, MI, 1979. A collection of excerpts from contemporary documents and retrospective accounts and analyses of Wisconsin events and places. Many of the selections provide refreshing glimpses into life in Wisconsin since the first settlers arrived.
William Joseph Seno: Up Country. Translations of early accounts of explorers and visitors to Wisconsin beginning with Jean Le Quens who left a brief note of his abortive attempt to reach Wisconsin.
Richard P. Thiel: The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin. Wolves have returned to Wisconsin, but this small book tells the story of how the wolf was exterminated from the state for a generation.
George Vukelich: North Country Notebook. Enjoyable sketches about the outdoors in Wisconsin.
BOOKS ABOUT TROUT FISHING
Bob Becker: Fishing Stories. More than just brook trout fishing tales, but well told stories about walleyes, muskies,bass and the people who fish them. This book is privately printed, so you may have to call (715) 635-2317 to order a copy.
David James Duncan: The River Why. One of my all time favorite trout fishing books. The story of Gus and how he found happiness, wooed and won Eddy. But so much more, including "The Great Izaak Walton Debate". Read it.
Sid Gordon: How to Fish from Top to Bottom. First published in 1955, this classic of Wisconsin limnology and fishing is dated but still one of the most readable books you will find to help you "think like a fish." I caught my first trout on a nymph tied from a pattern in this book back in '56 or '57. A trout fly fishing friend, Tom Johnson, gave me the copy I have today. A great gift.
Gordon MacQuarrie: More Stories of the Old Duck Hunters. Despite the title, this book is filled with great stories about trout fishing on the Brule River, one of the finest brook trout and steelhead streams in Wisconsin. And less than an hour from PineSong.
Charles F. Orvis & A. Nelson Cheney: Fishing with the Fly. Orvis printed this book supposedly to help sell fly fishing tackle. Wonderful essays about fishing trout in the 19th century, though catch-and-release anglers may occasionally cringe.
Ernest Schwiebert: The Compleat Schwiebert. Classic essays about fishing around the world. "Night Comes to the Namekagon" is about the river near PineSong.
Robert Traver: Trout Madness. One of the very best collections of essays about brook trout fishing ever written. Traver's other books include Trout Magic, Laughing Whitefish, and Anatomy of a Murder, which gave him the financial independence to resign from the Michigan Supreme Court, move back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and get down to some serious brook trout fishing.