Down East 2013 ©
Paul J. Fournier knows the North Woods. He started his career as a Registered Maine Guide and a bush pilot, then went to work for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and later produced a television show Maine Fish and Wildlife. Now, he brings readers Tales From Misery Ridge (Islandport Press, Yarmouth, Maine; paperback; 195 pages; $16.95) in which he shares some of his most memorable tales gathered mostly from his decade-long experience living in Somerset County’s Misery Township. He thrills readers with anecdotes about transplanting caribou from Newfoundland to Maine, learning to fly a Piper Cub, and what to do when a mother bear threatens to attack (his tip: Don’t panic). It’s a collection of the type of love stories Mainers can identify with — those between one man and the great outdoors.