2011 National Outdoor Book Award winners announced this week

The National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education recently announced the winners of this year’s National Outdoor Book Awards.

A total of 12 books were named either winners or honorable mentions in 10 categories, including Classic, Natural History Literature, Outdoor Literature, Nature and the Environment, Design & Artistic Merit, Children’s, History/Biography, Nature Guidebook, Outdoor Adventure Guidebook and Instructional.

Winners of the National Outdoor Book Awards over the years have represented some of the absolute best in outdoor writing, artwork and photography. If you enjoy reading about the outdoors, you probably will not be disappointed by any of the books on this list.

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2011 National Outdoor Book Awards:

Classic – The Works of John Muir, including titles such as “My First Summer in the Sierra,” “Stikeen,” “Steep Trails” and others

Natural History Literature – “Salvaging the Real Florida: Lost and Found in the State of Dreams” by Bill Belleville

Outdoor Literature – “Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout” by Philip Connors

Nature and the Environment – “Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees” by Nancy Ross Hugo

Design and Artistic Merit – “Raptors of the West Captured in Photographs” by Kate Davis, Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop

Children’s – “The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs” by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards

Children’s – “To Market, To Market” by Nikki McClure

History/Biography – “Take a Seat: One Man, One Tandem and Twenty Thousand Miles of Possibilities” by Dominic Gill

Nature Guidebooks – “Naturally Curious: A Photographic Field Guide through the Fields, Woods and Marshes of New England” by Mary Holland

Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks – “The Rio Grande: A River Guide to the Geology and Landscapes of Northern New Mexico” by Paul W. Bauer

Instructional Category – “The Cycling Bible: The Complete Guide for all Cyclists from Novice to Expert” by Robin Barton.

Honorable mention winners included:

History/Biography – “An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science” by Edward J. Larson

Complete reviews of these books, as well as the list of past winners, may be found at the National Outdoor Book Award’s Web site at www.noba-web.org.

This year’s slate of judges included Natalie Bartley of Boise, Idaho; Val Cunningham of St. Paul, Minn.; Dave Devoe of Walhalla, S.C.; Laura Erickson of Duluth, Minn.; Liam Guilar of Queensland, Australia; Steve Guthrie of Lock Haven, Pa.; Jim and Sara Fullerton of St. Simons Island, Ga.; Dale Harrington of Boone, N.C.; Rob Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah; Paul Kallmes of Berkeley, Calif.; Rodney Ley of Fort Collins, Colo.; John Miles of Bellingham, Wash.; Susanne Dubrouillet Morais of Raleigh, N.C.; James Moss of Littleton, Colo.; Tom Mullin of Unity, Maine; Sophie Osborne of Laramie, Wy.; Tammie L. Stenger-Ramsey of Bowling Green, Ky.; Ron Watters of Pocatello, Idaho; and Melanie Wulf of St. Charles, Ill.

In the end, let me know if any of you have had a chance to read any of the above books. What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.