This is Kevin Vallely's first book by a small publisher in a niche genre. Based on the number of reviews around the Internet it's not getting a lot of readership. But that is too bad as it's pretty good. It seems to be pioneering a new genre of writing, climate travel writing. Others have traveled and written about climate change as the main subject of the book. But Vallely is on an expedition to row the Northwest passage, climate change is an often-present background force. He notices signs like grizzly bears in polar bear country, or southern beavers where they were never seen before. The locals describe the changes they have seen in their lifetime. This is witnessing climate change as if you were there, it's part of the fabric of life. Integrating that fabric into narratives is challenging, but Vallely has done a successful job balancing where others bludgeon you with it Vallely's technique feels more authentic. Beyond the climate aspect, the story has character and humor and gives a snapshot into what it's like taking a long and dangerous expedition into the Arctic. It's descriptive and holds your interest. My only complaint is that while Vallely notices how human technology is negatively impacting the Arctic, they travel with high tech gear and a custom boat for safety and comfort. They did set out to be the first to "row" (rowboat) the Northwest passage and not Kayak or whatever other mode of transport, it turns out rowboats are a terrible way to get around the Arctic. ( )

Of course this is a wonderful book because it provides such an up close and personal view of climate change, happening. Will we all keep living in the fog of "fake news" so long that we will be so far behind in the race to catch up with this human caused problem that there are no answers? This is not a game and I'm just glad there are people like Kevin Vallely trying to break through the wall of denial which is ridiculously thin but incredibly powerful. ( )