Product Description

The stark, vast beauty of the remote Arctic Europe landscape has been the focus of human exploration for thousands of years. In this striking blend of travel writing, history and mythology, Gavin Francis offers a unique portrait of the northern fringes of Europe. His journey begins in the Shetland Isles, takes him to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and on to Lapland. Following in the footsteps of the region's early pioneers, Francis observes how the region has adapted to the 21st century, giving an observed insight into the lives of people he encounters along the way. As with all the best travel writing, "True North" is an engaging, compassionate tale of self-discovery, whilst blending historical and contemporary narratives in the tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Robert Macfarlane.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18996 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-15
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 266 pages

Review
True North is a wonder-voyage - an immrama - out into the landscape of the northern regions, but also into the mindscape of those many travellers who have been drawn irresistibly northwards over the millennia. Fluent, subtle, tough and often beautiful, True North stands alongside Peter Davidson s The Idea of North and Joanna Kavenna s The Ice Museum as a significant recent addition to the Arctic canon --Robert Macfarlane

A deep empathy with the land and its history runs like a golden thread through every chapter of True North --The Spectator

Thank goodness for people like Gavin Francis who are prepared not only to visit our northerly neighbours, but write about them in a way that shows how much of their history is our history too --The Scotsman

Review
A deep empathy with the land and its history runs like a golden thread through every chapter of True North

Review
Thank goodness for people like Gavin Francis who are prepared not only to visit our northerly neighbours, but write about them in a way that shows how much of their history is our history too

Customer Reviews

An informative and fascinating book
Some travel writing tells you an awful lot more about the person who's written it than the places that person has been. Those books can be entertaining, depending on whether you like the author's personality or not, but they're not much use if you want to learn anything about the place you had every reason to believe you were going to learn about when you picked up the book.

"True North" is not one of those books. True, you get a fair impression of the writer -- he comes across as an inquisitive, studious, friendly and cheerful sort of chap as he tramps around the arctic, rambling in and out of libraries, bumping into interesting strangers and sleeping in inhospitable landscapes, always in possession of a capacious rucksack that seems stuffed to bursting with esoteric books -- but you get a much fuller feel for the history, culture and geography of the countries that make up that peculiar part of Europe that lies north of all the bits that you might have been to.

Using the stories of people ranging from the 4th century BC Greek explorer Pytheas, through St Brendan and the Vikings, right up to 20th century figures like the Czech playwright, Karel Capek, Francis talks about not only the history of the region, but the role that the idea of "the north" has played in the world's imagination. That might sound like a lot to take on, but Francis's writing style is clear, unfussy and engaging, which makes the book a pleasure to read.

"True North" takes you on an informative journey, in excellent company.

Open up a box of Nordic delights
Everything you've ever wanted to know about the frozen wastes of the north. From the Faroes Islands to Finland, this book is well written, with a great wealth of excellently researched information. Really loved the early stuff about the first travellers to ever head north, thinking they might fall off the end of the map, just after hanging a right at Iceland. This book certainly gave me a few new holiday alternatives to the mundane norm of the beach. A good read!!!

Go North Young Man!
Gavin Francis is a young man with a very bright future as a writer. This is a great book touring a fascinating area of Europe, eclipsed by its sunnier southern cousin. Following ancient journeys and trade routes Francis links past, present and a decidedly dicey future as the modern world and global warming impinge on one of the remotest and most complex areas of the planet.