Review 27: The Sun Is a Compass

The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a well written book. The imagery is vital in an adventure book like this. Caroline and her husband Pat decide to traverse across mountains, rivers, oceans and glaciers using their own muscles. They hike, row or paddle into the arctic and back.

For me this is what arm chair travel is about. While I would love to be out in the wild, not that far north. It's way too cold and or rainy, very wet. Their time on the river with mosquitoes so thick you can't even eat, ummm, no thank you.

Caroline Van Hemert grew up in Alaska so it's not odd for her to take this long wilderness adventure in her own backyard. She is a biologist, or more accurately an ornithologist. One aspect I loved in this book is her descriptions of the birds they see and hear. It even made me more aware of the birds that are around me in my daily life.

It's crazy what humans will put themselves through. For these two it was worth the physical sacrifice and danger, and certainly won't be their last trip into the wild. This was an amazing adventure, and I enjoyed reading about it.


Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.