Every American has heard of the lumberjack hero Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox. For 100 years his exploits filled cartoons, magazines, short stories, and children's books, and his name advertised everything from pancake breakfasts to construction supplies. By 1950 Bunyan was a ubiquitous icon of America's strength and ingenuity. Until now, no one knew where he came from--and the extent to which this mythical hero is rooted in Wisconsin.

Out of the Northwoods presents the culture of nineteenth-century lumberjacks in their own words. It includes eyewitness accounts of how the first Bunyan stories were shared on frigid winter nights, around logging camp stoves, in the Wisconsin pinery. It describes where the tales began, how they moved out of the forest and into print, and why publication changed them forever. Part bibliographic mystery and part social history, Out of the Northwoods explains for the first time why we all know and love Paul Bunyan.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Published: 10/01/2009
ISBN: 9780870204371
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.34lbs
Size: 9.52h x 6.36w x 1.00d
Award: IndieFab awards - Bronze Medal Winner
Award: Independent Publisher Book Awards - Bronze Medal Winner

Review Citations: Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2010 pg. 89