thayer is a great writer. always positive. tells you all the details. sorry to finish her arctic story. ( )

Read this while planning a polar trip. I was suprised at how well written it was for someone who was not a writer - and it didn't seem to be ghostwritten. Lots of drama, emotion. It lacked some sappy emotional overdose after the ending - which I won't spoil - so that was a relief. Also a relief was a third of the book being written about all the prep. So it get's moving quickly, the right mix of technical, emotional, factual, etc - very engrossing. You will read this more quickly than you might think due to the excitement in it. ( )

Great! In her 50th year, Helen decides to go by foot to the North Pole.....solo. (except the Eskimos up there won't let her go without at least a dog... good polar bear alarm...) I met the author years later and walked up to her, asking "Can I see your fingers?". She laughed.