Over the Top of the World

by Will Steger, Jon Bowermaster

An account of explorer Will Steger's expedition from Russia to Canada by way of the North Pole, traveling by dog sled and canoe

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 26, 1997

Reviews

[Uncannypammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book it just wasn’t my type of book.-Astrid

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

B. is interested in dog sled stories so when I found this I thought it would be good. And it was OK - although I couldn't actually get past how nutty it is to try to cross the artic ocean ice as it is floating along (often in the wrong direction) and breaking apart. (We actually had to stop reading 2/3 of the way in because neither one of us could take one more entry about how the person/sled/dogs/all fell in the icy water. Ack! Still, it was amazing to learn first hand about what the arctic is like!

[Steve Voiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may know how Will Steger led the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole (without re-supply) in 1986, or how he crossed Antarctica in the historic 3,471-mile International dogsled traverse of Antarctica in 1989–90. But in this book written for young adults, he tells about the crossing of the Arctic Ocean by dogsled in a team of 6 people 5 years after the Antarctic journey in 1995 when the ocean was losing its long lived deep ice and slowly beginning to melt. Despite temperatures well below zero, open water constantly complicated the trip and threatened to doom the attempt as 1300 pound dog sleds frequently broke through soft sea ice nearly dragging dogs and people with them into the ocean below.
A thoughtful, direct reporting of yet another of Steger's polar exploits that may never be repeated as the Earth's poles are transformed by global warming.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1995, explorer Will Steger, who had had led the first confirmed unsupported dogsled trip to the North Pole in 1986 and then successfully crossed Antarctica in 1989 travelled on a four-month adventure by dog sled and canoe from Cape Artischesky in western Siberia, Russia, across the treacherous, partially-frozen Arctic Ocean, to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. His team consisted of Victor Boyarsky, Julie Hanson, Takako Takano, Martin Hignell, and Ulrik Vedel who was later replaced by Paul Pregont, along with 33 sled dogs. They arrived at their departure point on March 9, were able to begin their journey on April 3, and arrived at their destination on July 3.

This day-to-day narrative, accompanied by gorgeous, full-color photographs, interesting journal entries, and several Arctic travel-related bits of information, portrays the sometimes life-threatening experiences of renowned polar explorer Will Steger and his team as they travel over the North Pole to record ecological changes in the Arctic. As School Library Journal noted, “Interspersed with Steger’s personalized account are background information and facts about the expedition; a brief history of Arctic exploration; a geographic description of the Arctic Ocean; mini-biographies of the team members and the dogs; and a supply list.” The book would be of special interest to those who enjoy reading about polar exploration.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern expeditions almost seem like "cheating." Planes dropping off supplies along the route? If only early explorers had such luxury. Still, it takes a lot of guts, planning, preparing, quick thinking, muscle, and mental toughness to cross the Arctic Ocean. Especially nowadays with Global Warming wreaking havoc with weather patterns and ice breaking.

Favorite line of the book: "It is important that we face obstacles and adjust our plans, that we figure out how to continue rather than to just quit and go home." (pg 20)

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its like one of those books that looks kinda dated to the 90's but is still interesting. Good pictures to accompany it.