Extreme Frontiers: Racing Across Canada from Newfoundland to the Rockies

by Charley Boorman

EXTREME FRONTIERS: CANADA is Charley Boorman's brand-new adventure/travel book. Travelling mainly on his much-loved bike, Charley will explore the world's second largest country - home to some of the most stunning and challenging terrain known to man. Along the way he will work with Alberta's famous 'Bear Whisperer'; travel with Native Canadians and learn more about their mythology and shamanic rituals; get involved in the world famous National Lumberjack competition; work with the Mounties search and rescue team and visit the world's smallest jail in Ontario. Along the way he will take a raft along the Nahanni river; cross Canada's only desert in Okanagan Valley; climb the Canadian Rockies and circumnavigate Newfoundland, taking an old steel sloop through the infamous Iceberg Alley, stopping to camp, hunt and cook with local foraged food. EXTREME FRONTIERS is vintage Boorman, packed with all the excitement, adventure - and bikes! - of his previous bestselling books.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Travelogue, Adventure, Motorcycling, Canada

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2012

About the author

Charley Boorman grew up in Ireland, spending much of his childhood riding motorcross bikes. From 1998 to 2002, he ran a British motorcycle team with Ewan McGregor, winning the Superstock Series with David Jeffries.
His first film role was as Ed's Boy, Jon Voight's son in Deliverance, directed by his father John Boorman. Since then, he has appeared in Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, Karaoke, The Serpent's Kiss and The Bunker.
Married with two daughters, Charley rides a Ducati 748, lives in London and takes part in rallies, if his wife lets him.

Reviews

[Dy-an · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few mistakes that I just can't get past. Like, I didn't know I lived in Regina, Manitoba. How does one get the province wrong when there are only 10? And last time I went from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, I drove east not west. It makes me wonder what else was wrong in the book.
My advice is stick to watching Boorman's shows and skip this book.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Boorman is not the best writer I have experienced in this genre, I find his choice of destinations inviting: from Cape Speer in Newfoundland to whale watching in Tuktoyaktuk to the Horne Lake Caves of Victoria Island. There's plenty of wonderful sites to explore in our great land.

[Samieko Linke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love reading travel tales - just makes the travel bug bite even harder though

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not familiar with this British actor/travel writer nor did I know that his father was the director of the movie Deliverance. This book describes his trip from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Tofino, B.C. mostly by motorcycle. He participates in all kinds of activities, some more extreme than others, from lobster catching in Newfoundland to diving in Tobermory, whale watching in Tuk, NWT, and cow riding in Calgary as a substitute for bronco riding. He tries out kayaks, gliders, dirt bikes, and trains as a cadet for the RCMP. I know he is being filmed, but he is up for any challenge from ice skating to rock climbing. His musings on the past were quite thoughtful, like what was it like to be a miner. Pretty awful, we both think. A pretty good view of all activities available in Canada.

[Terri Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything by Charley Boorman is on my high list. I have enjoyed watching Charley on movies and TV and reading his books since we were both kids. His adventures never cease to entertain and teach me. This book covers his personal experiences while filming his adventures in Canada and it is a great companion to the TV series. It's a wonderful read.

[Linda Kaban · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic adventure!! And I got to see my country Canada through an adventurer's eyes. I love Charley. He's funny, thoughtful and daring; and is not shy about sharing what scares him sh*tless. I've been a long-time fan of the Long Way Round, Long Way Down and more recently the Long Way Up series. Extreme Frontiers joins that line up.

[RA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charley Boorman experiencing Canada East to West, in his own style. And motorcycles, too.

[Rachel Welton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great adventures, although Charley is somewhat self-absorbed and competitive. I want to explore Canada too.

[Christina MacIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Charley Boorman and his adventures with Long Way Round. I enjoyed reading about his experiences as he crossed Canada 🇨🇦

[Marie Tailor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read. A bit blokey for me but still great.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flirt with travel books from time to time, and without consciously doing so I have stayed completely away from travel books that have to do with my birth home (the USA) and my adopted (and spiritual) home (Canada).

Reading about others travels in the lands that have been my homes has never appealed to me, but I am enough of a fan of Charley Boorman that I was willing to give his travelogue through Canada Extreme Frontiers: Racing Across Canada from Newfoundlad to the Rockies a shot. If nothing else, it helped me crystallize what it is that keeps me (and probably many of us) away from travel books about our place in the world.

Don't get me wrong. It was fun. And liking Charley as I do, it was particularly fun to see his reaction to things I know so well. Charley twenty clicks from my house eating clams, excellent; Charley marching in the Calgary Stampede parade, sweet; Charley paddling the rapids, cool; Charley shitting his pyjamas (figuratively) in the haunted room of the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, nice.

Unfortunately, though, there was very little that really excited me, that did what I always want travel tales to do: nothing made me want to up and travel. Apart from Charley's brief moments up in Nunuvat and the Yukon, I have been everywhere he went on this trip, and I am sure someday, when it isn't the deep, dark, Canadian winter, I will get to those two territories I so long to see. So nothing in the travel really jazzed me the way his trip to Magadan did back when he started this whole travel routine with Ewan MacGregor.

Hell, even his Extreme Adventures in each province weren't all that exciting. I haven't done everything he did --for instance, I haven't climbed Mt. Fable or spelunked under the Rockies (although I've ascended plenty of faces and played in more than a few caves in the Kananaskis) -- but I've done more than a few of the things he did, and more besides, and some of the things he did -- like hanging out with the RCMP -- don't appeal to me at all.

Still, it is always fun to be able to see your home through the eyes of someone else, and this book was definitely worth the time. I wonder how folks from away would feel about this book. If you've read it, let me know if you have a sudden burning desire to come to Canada. We could meet up for a pint, then head to the shore and take a polar dip in some ice cold water.

[Carla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really loooking forward to reading this book and to learn about places I have yet to visit in my country. I have read the other books from Charley and Ewan McGregor and really enjoyed them.

Extreme Frontiers has two glaring mistakes in the book. On page 80, he is in Winnipeg and he is to head to Regina, Saskatchewan not Manitoba as it states. He then goes onto to say that Manitoba is the flattest province in Canada which maybe true, however, SK is famous for being flat as a pancake. After I read this I couldn't devote anymore of my time into something that had such a huge mistake.

I also thought the book was very boring. In the last books, there was dialogue between Ewan and Charley and they fed off each other and it was great to hear what they thought or felt on the same activity. In this book it was mediocre detail and was missing Ewans side of the story.

I woudn't recommend this book at all!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charley Boorman's starting to establish a reputation as a good travel writer in his own right, having had done several travel documentaries and tie-in books, both with his friend Ewan McGregor and on his own. In this book, Charley travels across Canada, from east to north to west, by various means, getting to know the country, meeting new people and undertaking things he wouldn't have thought he'd be doing. He's got a good, informal sense of style in the way he writes- pretty much the way he talks, and he keeps the reader drawn into the narrative. There's the odd glitch a Canadian would pick up on, mind you, but it's fun to see a foreigner's point of view in this way, visiting your homeland. Well recommended to those who liked Long Way Round and Long Way Down.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered Charley Boorman in Long Way Round and have followed his adventures ever since. His enthusiasm for travel, new experiences, and life itself is contagious. In Extreme Frontiers he and his crew traverse Canada, setting Charley up for one trial after another. From riding a cow at a rodeo to piloting a glider, climbing the second highest mountain in North America to descending 70 meters into a cave, Charley faces his fears and finds the fun in everything. He seems to have carved out a real niche for himself in these travels, and though I'd rather be on my bike riding alongside of him, if I can't, it's still fun to read about it.

[Shelbie Allred · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little disappointing. I loved the "Long" books. I was expecting different though because it is Charlie's voice alone that we are hearing. But I also like "Race to Dakar". But this book on the other hand just didn't have the same oomph. It seemed rushed. There wasn't enough detail about the experiences to make you feel like you are there with him experiencing it for yourself which is why I love to read travel books. I live in Canada but haven't seen very much of my country so I was hoping to see it with Charlie but that wasn't the case.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading a travel book per se. I haven't watched his videos so maybe if I did, then the books would help compliment the title.

This book talks about the author's travels across Canada, which I thought it was quite interesting. Not bogged down in any one bit although for some parts it was somewhat difficult to visualize. Maybe it would help if the photos were in the different chapters rather than at one place.

a good read nevertheless.

[Prakash Holla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travellers and Travelogues can be categorized as pass time, serious and passionate. Charlie Boorman is undoubtedly a passionate traveller who can infect you with the travel bug more so through his TV episodes than his writing prowess. Well I would also own it up that I'm able to make this conjecture as he does both....he does succeed in making you fall in love with travelling in general and motorcycle in particular..

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a lot more ... whether it was because it took place in my own backyard, or because Charley seemed to be having a more enjoyable time, I'm just not sure - but it was definetely better than the last one!

I still haven't seen the shows that follow these books, but keeping thinking that maybe I should - it would be great to get more than just a still photo visual.

[Phil James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was enjoyable but not as good as some of the other books Charley has written. I was looking forward to getting to know more about Canada but I can't help but feel he slept his way through this trip - or the writing. It covers barely 200 pages and just feels like he couldn't come up with a whole lot to say.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I would have enjoyed this book anywhere near as much if I hadn't seen Charley's TV shows. Much like Garrison Keillor, I like reading it because I could hear Charley's voice in my head, and the way he writes is much the same as the way he talks. He never goes into too much detail about things, just gives the reader a run down of what happened and little of what it felt like.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to go with the TV series. He is really fully of enthusiasm, and enjoys his travelling

[Kathleen Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this book. There were a number of errors the editors should have caught. Nevertheless a very quick read and interesting.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great read by Charley.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great adventures in Canada that I would like to do one day!

[Sandra Vanwesterneng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read and learning experience about Canada at the same time.

[Iany Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, i liked some much.

[Paulr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was enjoyable like his others nothing special bit good