Solo to the Top of the World: Gus McLeod's Daring Record Flight

How many of us have thought we were born at the wrong time? For most of us, the era of barnstorming heroes is long gone, but Gus McLeod brought those times back with his bare hands and an ancient biplane. The results are both harrowing and humorous. Gustavus balances wry wit with self-effacing humor. He also fills the story with well-observed, quirky characters (including an Inuit, rechristened Studley, who need help handling the ladies). This is a FUNNY book. My daughter said she enjoyed listening to me chuckling out loud as I read it. At the same time Gustavus brings together bits of history and contemporary concerns to draw us into the meaning of his quest. This is a spiritual journey as well as a man against nature tale. Gustavus struggles with his identity in a society that wants to categorize him according to only part of his rich heritage, and he shows how to win some battles. He also survives against punishing odds, repeatedly tipped against him by frostbite, failing equipment, loneliness, exhaustion and unrelenting cold.The main creation of this book is a full, complex character, a man of charm and intelligent observations. You won't meet another like him.

Solo to the Top of the World is a great American adventure story. This is a lively historic account of how the first person reached the magnetic and geographic North Pole in a open cockpit airplane, a 1939 Boeing Stearman biplane, respectively in 1999 and 200, after several others had failed, died or disappeared in the Arctic. The book has all the elements of a great thriller- danger, excitment, high risks, success against tremendous odds, but it is even better than most thrillers because it is true. Readers will not want to put this book down.