Friendship Fires

Sam Cook's writing has brought readers home to the north country for almost two decades. Gather around Friendship Fires and cover new ground with visits to the region's vast prairies, towering forests and shimmering water retreats. Friendship Fires lives up to its name by sparking the memories shared by anyone who's dusted off a canoe at the first break of ice in spring or savored autumn's fading sun in late November. Sam's stories, both touching and hilarious, offer a new perspective on how the outdoors rekindles the wilderness spirit when we build our own Friendship Fires. Discover the magic of crustwalking on a frozen morning. Hear the secrets that lie beneath black ice. Sit ringside as Sam attempts ski-joring—a Northland tradition involving dogs, harnesses, and skis, but not necessarily in that order. Sam Cook, award-winning author and columnist, has gained renown for his witty and heartfelt descriptions of life in the north country. Born and raised in Kansas, Sam moved to Minnesota in 1976 and soon thereafter became the outdoor writer for the Duluth News-Tribune. Since then, Sam's readers have savored his poignant observations of life throughout the seasons. When not hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, or hiking, he pursues an arduous life of research around a campfire. Sam lives in Duluth with his wife and two children. Other Sam Cook titles include Up North, Quiet Magic, CampSights, and If This is Mid-Life, Where's the Crisis? "In these fascinating tales, Sam Cook captures the remote and beautiful North Woods, examining how this dramatic and forbidding landscape shapes his life and the lives of other people who reside there. Like a skilled storyteller sitting near a campfire, he leaves his audience spellbound with tales of adventure. "Cook writes so well that his text reads effortlessly. His descriptions are striking without being self-conscious or showy. . . . In his writing, Cook passionately evokes the feelings that come from contact with wild places and wild creatures. He creates in us a longing for the seasons-all the seasons, not just summer, but all the seasons of the north." -Duluth News-Tribune. "Sam Cook is a northeastern-Minnesota transplant with an engaging voice. . . . Friendship Fires is made all the friendlier with the charming illustrations of Terry Maciej." -Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. In 1976 Sam Cook trekked north from his native Kansas to work for an outfitter in the Superior-Quetico canoe country. Now, as the Duluth News-Tribune's award-winning outdoors writer, he uses Duluth, Minnesota, as "base camp" for creating his humorous, powerful, and compassionate columns."--Amazon.com