Twenty years ago, an adolescent named Nicolas Vanier was inspired by the novel of Jack London to answer the call of the wild. Here is his story - in his own thrilling text, superb color photographs, and lively drawings of the world's morthernmost regions, of fabulous adventures, and of learning how to survive in the most hostile climate on the planet.

Vanier tells of his incredible expeditions around the top of the world, of life with nomadic reindeer breeders in Siberia, with Sekani Indians in the Alaskan Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Yukon, and with Lapps on the Kola Peninsula. He also recounts and sketches his encounters with amazing animals, including polar bears, wolves, and grizzlies.