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...

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.