David Backes (born May 14, 1957 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American author and professor, best known for writing a biography of Sigurd F. Olson. The book, entitled A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson, won the Small Press Book Award for 1998 [1], and received a positive review in the New York Times [2].
Backes is currently a professor in the Journalism and Mass Communication department of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.