William Joseph Long (1866–1952) was an American writer, naturalist and minister. He lived and worked in Stamford, Connecticut as a minister of the First Congregationalist Church. As a naturalist, he went to travel to "the wilderness" of Maine. He wrote of these wilderness experiences in the books Ways of Wood Folk, Wilderness Ways, Wood-folk Comedies, Northern Trails, Wood Folk at School, and many others.
Nineteenth-century naturalist William J. Long invites us into the secret worlds of woodland animals in this, his second, fascinating book. Long's stories of the secret lives of woodland animals come from time he spent in the woods, observing the behaviors and characteristics of the wilderness inhabitants directly. Wilderness Ways opens up the hidden world of its woodland subjects with beautiful imagery and descriptive prose which is accessible enough for a child to read while at the same time engaging for readers of all ages.