I'm still trying to work out how I feel about this book -- the images are stunning, the adventure is remarkable, the narrative is... well, I _think_ it's refreshing to have someone be so blunt about their own social failings, but there are times when self-deprecation becomes uncomfortable. Dude's kind of an asshole. He's upfront about that, but that doesn't necessarily make him more endearing or super fun to read about. Also, he's pretty much constantly down on himself for his perilous decision making -- and I did think, occasionally while reading the book, wow, that sounds like survival despite very long odds, much hampered by personal stupidity, but ultimately, it's also an insult to your reader, because it's not really true.

Why would I want to read about someone repeatedly making incredibly bad choices and surviving despite that? I think this is a savvy survivalist who doesn't want to encourage other people to go get themselves killed following in his footsteps, but altogether it wraps up into: excellent story, somewhat difficult voice. Bears are cool. The arctic is amazing. What a delight to be able to see it without all the excruciating outdoorsy behavior that is required to successfully capture wild animal images in the wild. Well done, Souders, try harder not to hate yourself in the morning. ( )