A Place in the Woods

by Helen Hoover

Book Overview

Helen Hoover and her husband, Adrian, were trailblazers in the American back-to-the-land movement. Well ensconced in their professional lives in Chicago, they made the decision to follow their dream of a simple existence, pulling up their stakes and plunging into the wilds of northern Minnesota.A Place in the Woods, first published in 1969, describes how the Hoovers gradually adapted to the rigors of wilderness survival, relating events that occurred...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816631298
• ISBN13: 9780816631292
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Double standard

Helen and Ade Hoover move full time to the north woods and end up interfering with the natural world around them. A pleasant read, but borders on the unbelievable, and their behaviour feeding the wildlife is totally irresponsible.

To Relax

We have a cabin deep in the woods! Some of the things written just made me bust out laughing, or gasping and most of all relating to some of the things written. If you're looking to relax and put your feet up this book is perfect!!!! My husband read it before me and he just loved it!!

Simple pleasure

A place in the woods lets you get a sense of spending time in the deep woods of the north. Well written story about getting away from it all to spend life in a simple place with few material things but rich with nature and its pleasures. A story of persistance and self reliance rare in today's world. I enjoyed this years ago and enjoyed it just as much here 30 years or so later. Find a quiet place, read and be taken away form your own problems.

Helen Hoover was a gifted writer

Anyone who has ever experienced the damp cool of forest shadows, heard the russle of leaves as a wild occupant gathers food, or stood in awe while listening to the forest breath high in the tree tops upon a gentle breeze, will immediately be transported back to that magical place through the words of Helen Hoover and the wonderful illustrations of her artist husband Ade. Fleeing the city of Chicago to risk making a life in the far northern woods of Minnesota, seeking virgin timber and solitude, Helen writes of their struggles with near poverty and the anxiety of isolation. Through it all they find peace of mind and spirit, and advocate for the preservation of wild natural places to the greatest degree possible. Once you read one of her books you will collect them all, and like another reviewer has so stated, you read them over and over and over again. Dr. Daniel Baney

Northwoods Escape

This book has been in my family for decades, and to a person, all who read of Helen and Adrian's sorrows and triumphs find it to be one their all-time favorite reads. I have read the book a dozen times, and never lose interest in its capacity to instantly transport me to another time and place. Having spent many of my summers as a young boy in the Northern woods of Minnesota, this book brings back to me the scent of resin from the pine and birch, the fleeting glimpse of a black bear, and the natural curiosity of deer and other woodland creatures. You cannot help but be touched by this book.

Thought Provoking Book

I loved this sequal to The Gift of the Deer. I really think these two books are one of the main reasons that we have a cabin in the woods. We enjoy the forest so much. Each time we go into the deep woods I think of the Hoovers. They were a real inspiration to me. I never realized that I was a lover of wildlife until I read Helen Hoover's books. I have ordered two more of her adventrous books , and can't wait to get started

A Comforting Book

This book was very comforting and therapeutic for me. Being in a world of mainly material importance, it is pleasant to find a book that lets you retreat to a place, were tangible significance is not important. The Hoovers found the courage to begin a new life in the wilderness, without electricity and the modern conviences of city life. They found a much more satisfying way of life for them,although having to struggle everyday to persevere the wilderness. They found great compensation for there struggles. Anyone who appreciates, and respects wildlife will enjoy the great rewards the Hoovers gained while interrelating with the animals, and how the animals in the wild became there friends. I am looking forward to reading The Gift of the Deer also by Ms Hoover.