Canoe Country

Book excerpt: The classic and gorgeous accounts of two legendary naturalists' journeys through summer and winter in the north country--in two new stand-alone paperback editions When Canoe Country and Snowshoe Country were first published, in 1938 and 1944, respectively, readers were charmed by their enchanting portrayal of the wilderness of northern Minnesota. Florence Page Jaques and her husband, Francis Lee Jaques, became celebrated champions of the Boundary Waters and its majestic environs. Now, these classic books are both back in print as paperback editions. A well-traveled New York sophisticate, Florence Page Jaques fell in love with northern Minnesota during her first trips to the region, and she recounted those early experiences in Canoe Country and Snowshoe Country. She writes of the excitement of traveling by foot, canoe, snowshoe, and dogsled. Weeks of solitude canoeing through the Boundary Waters are interrupted by encounters with the denizens of the north country. In these two volumes, her vivid stories are matched by her famous husband's spectacular drawings; Francis Lee Jaques captures the delicate power of Minnesota's seasons, from the cascading falls of summer to the frozen lakes of winter.