Far North is a 2009 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction. My father had an expression for a thing that turned out bad. He'd say it had gone west. But going west always sounded pretty good to me. After all, westwards is the path of the sun. And through as much history as I know of, people have moved west to settle and find freedom. But our world had gone north, truly gone north, and just how far north I was beginning to learn. Out on the frontier of a failed state, Makepeace—sheriff and perhaps last citizen—patrols a city's ruins, salvaging books but keeping the guns in good repair. Into this cold land comes shocking evidence that life might be flourishing elsewhere: a refugee emerges from the vast emptiness of forest, whose existence inspires Makepeace to reconnect with human society and take to the road, armed with rough humor and an unlikely ration of optimism. What Makepeace finds is a world unraveling: stockaded villages enforcing an uncertain justice and hidden work camps laboring to harness the little-understood technologies of a vanished civilization. But Makepeace's journey—rife with danger—also leads to an unexpected redemption. Far North takes the reader on a quest through an unforgettable arctic landscape, from humanity's origins to its possible end. Haunting, spare, yet stubbornly hopeful, the novel is suffused with an ecstatic awareness of the world's fragility and beauty, and its ability to recover from our worst trespasses.

From the window of the small floatplane, fifteen-year-old Gabe Rogers is getting his first look at Canada's magnificent Northwest Territories with Raymond Providence, his roommate from boarding school. Below is the spectacular Nahanni River -- wall-to-wall whitewater racing between sheer cliffs and plunging over Virginia Falls. The pilot sets the plane down on the lake-like surface of the upper river for a closer look at the thundering falls. Suddenly the engine quits. The only sound is a dull roar downstream, as the Cessna drifts helplessly toward the falls . . . With the brutal subarctic winter fast approaching, Gabe and Raymond soon find themselves stranded in Deadmen Valley. Trapped in a frozen world of moose, wolves, and bears, two boys from vastly different cultures come to depend on each other for their very survival.

Moscow Is Furious—and Plotting Revenge Tensions are at a breaking point. The Western markets that once relied on Russian gas have turned to Israel for their energy needs. Furious, Russia surreptitiously moves to protect their interests by using their newfound ally, Iran, and Iran’s proxy militias. As Israel’s elite fighting forces and the Mossad go undercover, they detect the Kremlin is planning a major attack against Israel. Hunting for clues, Mossad agents Nir Tavor and Nicole le Roux plunge themselves into the treacherous underworld of Russian oligarch money, power, and decadence. With each danger they face, le Roux’s newfound Christian faith grows stronger. And battle-weary Tavor—haunted by dreams from his past—must confront memories and pain he’d sought to bury. In this electrifying thriller, hostilities explode as Tavor and le Roux fight to prevent a devastating conflict. Will they be able to outwit their enemies, or will their actions have catastrophic consequences? And how can Tavor’s Kidon team possibly survive when forces beyond the Mossad’s control step in and turn the whole operation upside down?

Duane the polar bear and the other animals of the very, very far north find their friendships deepening as they are challenged by the arrival of a contentious weasel and an unexpected departure.

When Sam visits Zara and Ben and their great-uncle, the quirky inventor Professor Ampersand, he never expects to embark on a fantastical adventure. But when Professor Ampersand and his group of professor friends are kidnapped by the evil Professor Murdo, it's up to Sam, Zara, and Ben to save them. They have only three days in which to journey to an icy, desolate land and uncover Murdo's sinister plot. Only then can they save the professors— and the fate of the whole world.

At the edge of a great frozen river, Kumak and his family lived in their house by the willows. Though their house was warm and cozy, Kumak was not happy. His wife was not happy. His sons and daughters were not happy. His wife's mother was not happy. Too small, this house, said Kumak. I will go to see Aana Lulu. She will know what to do. Set in an Inupiat Eskimo village in the northwest Arctic, KUMAK'S HOUSE is a folktale that conveys a humorous lesson on life with Kumak as the foil. As Kumak treks again and again to elder Aana Lulu for advice, the book's charming illustrations incite laughter and introduce children to traditional Inupiat activities and animals of the Arctic.

This engaging book celebrates the wonders of Alaska in rhyme and meter. Adapted from the classic counting poem "Over the Meadow" by Olive Wadsworth, it inspires children to count the wildlife of the great northern wilderness: baby whales, bear cubs, fox kits, ptarmigan chicks, and more. In addition to the rhyme, the text includes a short description of each animal and a glossary that explains in simple terms things like what igloos are and why Alaska is called "The Land of the Midnight Sun."

More 'modern traditional tales' from an acknowledged master of the genre, drawing on the author's deep knowledge of classical mythology and traditional stories from every continent. 'Far North', based on an Inuit myth, is set among desperate women in the frozen north surviving against all odds. Here is a new version of the Grimms' tale of the seven swan brothers and their sister's vow of silence; the Sirens justify the mayhem they wreak on the Greek sailors, while a tribe struggles over the tattooing of babies in the Amazon. Scheherazade is still trying to stay alive by telling stories, and the Princess Kalito tries to free both her feet and her heart from their bindings. All these stories, formally bold and innovative, emotionally edgy and deeply imbued with a sense of location, address Sara Maitland's primary concerns about the links between beauty and terror, modernity and ritual. Intertwining the everyday and the inexplicable to witty and disquieting effect, her wildest flights of fantasy are anchored in deep psychological understanding and vivid description, overlaid with a wickedly ironic humor.

Go home, boy. Sink your toes in that rich soil and grow some roots. So America's first poet laureate urged his apprentice Timothy Murphy, back in 1972. 'Very Far North' is the third book depicting the consequences of that advice. After his undergra