Snow Man: John Hornby in the Barren Lands Book

Far to our north lie Canada's Barren Lands, one of the last great unexplored areas of North America. For half a million square miles, fierce blizzards rule in winter and unending sunlight holds sway in the brief, torrid summer. In 1923 John Hornby and James Critichell-Bullock staked their lives on the honor of being the first men of European descent to live off the Barrens for an entire year supported only by their wits and their weapons.

This narrative of their journey holds all the vivid interest of a great novel. Reading it today, we share in the sufferings and triumphs of the two explorers: the canoeing of and portaging across the endless taiga; the grinding hunger they endured; the awe of watching a million-strong caribou herd stampede across their camp; the handling of their dogs, such as Whitey, their lead Samoyed, on whom their lives depend; and the satisfaction of achieving their ultimate goal. Snow Man is an epic of true adventure and a testament to the human capacity to endure hardships beyond what many of us imagine possible.