W I L D S A M

Founded in 2012, Wildsam began with a core idea: The world was peopled with wonders. Steinbeck’s words tap into a timeless sentiment. Wonder is a transformative force. It strikes the match of our curiosity and jolts awake what Frederick Buechner calls the “original, shimmering self.”

And often, wonder is found in the stories of a physical place, whether the Texas barbecue joint or the Golden Gate Bridge. At Wildsam, we seek out these real and rooted things, what’s truly authentic to a place, and share the pathways to deep connections in the world, for travelers and locals alike.

OUR BELIEFS

We believe in the power of roots. With the modern ease of movement, people are less connected to place that ever before.

We believe in the full scope of history. That people desire the unvarnished truth of a place. These cultural complexities are our lens on the world.

We believe that we tell ourselves stories in order to live. Shared stories give us context, deepen our understanding of place, give us bearings and bind us together.

We believe that all people, regardless of race, gender, ancestry or other distinctions, possess an inherent dignity. We are each keepers of the wonders we seek.

OUR NAME

Read a couple hundred pages into John Steinbeck’s classic novel, East of Eden, and you’ll meet a character named Sam Hamilton. He’s an Irishman who’s settled with his sprawling family into a dried-up spread in California’s Salinas Valley. One day, Sam is out digging a water well with two of his sons when the men hit a quarry of unfamiliar black rock. One of Sam’s son’s thinks it might be a discovery of valuable ore. The other thinks it could be a buried train locomotive. As they ponder, Sam gets what Steinbeck describes as a “faraway joyous look” on his face. He is a dreamer, quick to be curious, wide open to the unknown. In that moment, Steinbeck writes, of the moment and the man, that “the world was peopled with wonders.” We conjured up the name WILDSAM as a homage to this broad-minded, big-hearted pursuit of awe in everyday life.

Taylor Bruce............................................................................

Taylor Bruce is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Wildsam Field Guides. He grew up on his family farm on the border of Georgia and Alabama. Taylor studied writing at Vanderbilt University, and, after, wrote freelance for magazines such as Men’s Journal, Oxford American and National Geographic Adventure, among others. He took a full-time writer’s post at Southern Living in 2007. After moving to New York and pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Brooklyn College, Taylor launched Wildsam out of his 500-square foot apartment in 2012. The original Nashville guide caught the attention of national media and thoughtful travelers alike, and in 2015, National Geographic awarded Wildsam the “Traveler 50” award. Taylor lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Robin, and two sons, Booker and Truett.

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