George Erickson discovers the 'true north' in many ways
. . . in ways you cannot imagine! He does it all from years and years of journeys in small planes. This is not your ordinary 'how I spent my (fill in the blank)'. He has gotten to know the indigenous cultures, the people who landed here and stayed on -- lots of local color! His sense of place is marvelous. He also ties together culture,history,science,religion - and where to get the best food in what tiny outpost. He clearly loves this Canadian North and it's people.. . . and this shines throughout the book. How much can a writer say about a series of trips to off-beat northern place? You will be quite surprised. Also, it's a peaceful kind of book; just kick back in a cozy place and open the cover . . .

Very Interesting
Loved the book,,hard to put down. Highly recommed for pilots. Like all the detail in the storys of the people that the author had met along the way. Good book for people interested in bush living and for the history of the North.

Deceptive and Overbearing
Have you ever been surprised when visiting a friend's house they pull out the slide show and force you along as they relive their holiday? Brutal, isn't it?

As a pilot, I was looking forward to a bush plane book. However, I was duped by True North. As good a writer as Erickson is, he could not make me care about his vacation trip. Like an overbearing professor, he tosses in disjointed lectures which are meant to impress me as much as educate me. Rarely the subject matter related to his trip. Often they were horribly ill-fitted lessons of Galileo or Vasco. Who cares?

Furthermore, I was led to dislike Erickson. As a pilot, it seems, he is marginal. However, this tree hugging, earth worshipping, religion hater is a gifted writer. The book, however, is NOT a bush plane book.

If you are curious about his bias and his vacation, you might like True North. If you are looking for a plane or flying book, spare yourself the inevitable misery.

History, fun, camping and flying. Its all here.
This is a wonderful collection of stories about how various parts of Canada, and Alaska were settled. More accurately, how the many companies (from mining, to fur trading, to religion) attempted to move into the Northern regions, either failing or surviving on the bold courage of those sturdy individuals who manned the "forward outposts".
What this book is, is a great collection of little histories of the different regions and micro-communities that dot the "outback" of the Great White North. The reader has the feeling of sitting in a cozy bar next to a fireplace and listening to someone tell stories about "the early days". George Erickson has a gift for writing about these histories, and his camping and fishing stories, in an interesting and captivating way. He obviously has a passion for the history of Canada and Alaska.
But pilots be advised; this is not a deep, personal book about flying. While Mr. Erickson uses a Super Cub on floats to access the many lakes and rivers, he never moves to an emotional level of writing about flying. It lacks the flying emotions of, say, a Steven Coonts or Mariana Gosnell.
But that also means the non-aviator can enjoy the book without getting lost in a world only known to flyers. At times, he begins to develop the image and feel of flying, but it is not the center of the book. One example is his explanation of landing in Juneau, Alaska. He begins to write a description of the "huge blue-green wall" of the Mendenhall Glacier while on final approach. But within one sentence, he is on the water, landing, and within a two short paragraphs, we are done flying and back to more "ground stories". It's all part of it, I understand, but us pilots would enjoy much more of Mr. Erickson's gift of story telling in descriptions of the feel and emotion of the flight over wild Canada.
The book contains a number of little thumbnail sketches of each leg (a-la cocktail napkin quality), and some truely stunning color photoes. But the book could use an overview map in the appendix to give the reader a much better appreciation of the enormous distances the author covers. I made my own to follow George, and was amazed with the extent of his odyssey!!
Mr. Erickson gives a fascinating history of the north, and an enjoyable read of fly-in camping his way across Canada and Alaska.
The book is a fun read, and will make you want to load up your floatplane and strike out into the Canadian wilderness...or just go get another cup of hot cocoa and read another chapter.
Thanks Mr. Erickson, for the fun history lesson.

Well done!
Erickson does a great job in this book. If you can't handle the fact that evolution is how our world works, I'd suggest you read something else.