A 3,400 km Odyssey From My Doorstep to the Arctic
“Looking out his porch window one spring morning, Adam Shoalts spotted a peregrine falcon flying across the neighbouring fields near Lake Erie. Falcons migrate annually from southern Canada to remote arctic mountains. Grabbing his backpack and canoe, Shoalts resolved to follow the falcon’s route north on an astonishing 3,400-kilometre journey to the Arctic.
Along the way, he faces a huge variety of challenges and obstacles, including storms on the Great Lakes, finding campsites in the urban wilderness of Toronto and Montreal, avoiding busy commercial freighter traffic, gale force winds, massive hydro electric dams, bushwhacking without trails, dealing with hunger, multiple bear encounters, and navigating white-water rapids on icy northern rivers far from any help.”
Reviews:
“For most of us, the expression “as the crow flies” – or, in this case, peregrine falcon – is usefully descriptive. Not so for adventurer-historian Shoalts…” —Globe and Mail
“Epic…the adventure of a lifetime.” —Global News
“A tremendous trek. . . . Shoalts has melded history, geography, anthropology, and storytelling to bring Canadians into his canoe. . . . the charity and kindness of complete strangers Shoalts meets along the way becomes an enduring theme in the book. It is inspiring to read…”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Epic….this trip was like no other.” —The Hamilton Spectator
The True History of a Wilderness Legend. The story of Adam’s expedition deep into the Labrador mountains to investigate a spooky old legend and solve a historic mystery about strange tracks in the woods. This is a book for anyone who likes adventure, mystery, and the great outdoors.
Reviews:
“A fantastic, fun and chilling tale.” —Canadian Geographic
“Modern-day explorer Adam Shoalts reminds us that our world is full of mystery, possibility and awe.” —CBC
“It is a spooky read, and after finishing it you might want to take a few days off before heading back into the wilderness.…a page turner for sure.” —Explore Magazine
A Journey Alone Across Canada’s Arctic.
Destined to become an adventure classic, Beyond the Trees is the story of Adam’s harrowing, nearly 4,000 kilometre canoe journey across Canada’s arctic in 2017…alone. A journey spanning nearly 4 months, the book tells the tale of weaving through ice floes, facing down snarling bears and galloping musk-ox, and paddling under the midnight sun in a land as old as time. But also why we urgently need to save vast wild places while it’s still possible.
Reviews:
“Beyond the Trees is a remarkable tale—and a staggering feat… It’s mesmerizing to be guided through Canada’s wilderness through Shoalts’ eyes…Shoalts also wields a wicked wit.” —Atlantic Books
“Explorer Adam Shoalts’s remarkable solo foray…is the kind of incredible effort that fosters legends.” ——The Winnipeg Free Press
“Explorer Adam Shoalts’s monumental 4,000-kilometre journey
calls to mind the likes of Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Joseph Tyrrell.”-—Canadian Geographic
“Engaging”—Nature
“Adam Shoalts [has] finished an incredible journey through Canada’s Arctic.”–Global News
The Epic, Untold Story of Canada’s Maps. 10 Maps is not your grade school history; this is the violent, sweeping, spectacular history of Canada as told through 10 historic maps. From the Vikings to the battlefields of 1812, the explorers and First Nations, Shoalts’ book is Game of Thrones meets Canadian history all rolled into one epic saga. The book is a must-read for anyone who thinks Canadian history is dull!
Reviews:
“Shoalts analyzes early maps in order to paint a picture of the land that would become a nation, bringing its earliest stories, voices, and battles to life. Combining geography, cartography, history and anthropology, Shoalts leaves no stone unturned.” -–CBC
“If you like maps, you’ll like this book; if you like both maps and crisply recounted Canadian history, you’ll love it. Shoalts…takes you inside their heads as they face fear, doubt and despair in tandem with cold, starvation and rebellious wanting-to-turn-back companions ….Canadian history writ well.” —Winnipeg Free Press
“One fine book perfectly written for the armchair adventurer.” —Postmedia
An Expedition into the Unknown. The story of Adam’s incredible adventures alone to some of the world’s last unexplored places. Alone Against the North was a #1 national best-seller in Canada for non-fiction.
“Adam Shoalts, 21st century explorer, calmly describes the things he has endured that would drive most people to despair, or even madness…Rare insight into the heart and mind of an explorer, and the insatiable hunger for the unknown that both inspires and drives one to the edge.” —-Col. Chris Hadfield, astronaut, International Space Station commander
“Doing things the easy way has never been my style. There is no adventure in that! In Alone Against the North, Adam Shoalts does nothing the easy way. He travels to places no one has ever seen before and as a result comes back with an amazing story. As gripping to read as it must’ve been exciting to live!” —-Les Stroud, Survivorman
“Adam Shoalts is Canada’s Indiana Jones—portaging in the north, dodging scary rapids, plunging into darkness, and surviving to tell the tale.” —–The Toronto Star