On Thin Ice: Breakdowns, Whiteouts, and Survival on the World's Deadliest Roads

By Hugh Rowland

Book Overview

Every year a fleet of men travel beyond the northern equatorial line to the Arctic Circle, a region heavily endowed with natural resources. Locating these resources is relatively easy. Extracting and transporting them less so. The drivers charged with this duty spend two months travelling up to 355 miles on a naturally-formed road of ice. It is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. For more than 20 years Hugh Rowland has survived the ice roads. Known as The Polar Bear, Rowland here reveals his life on this road of ice and iss rich in anecdote and heroism.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401323685
• ISBN13: 9781401323684
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 235 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Brings Back Memories -

Loved the book - brought back memories of my own much more limited truck-driving experiences with whiteouts, wolves, cold temperatures, Yellowknife NWT, and below-zero temperatures. On the other hand, I've never driven a truck over lake ice, and after reading Rowland's book, have no intention of doing so. I'm CHICKEN! Also haven't done on-road repairs, 18-speeds (only 13), and driving 1,900 miles in a day. (My record is only 900.) On the other hand, I've also been fortunate enough to experience incredible scenery traveling the Alaskan and Dalton highways. Was particularly interesting to learn how they build and maintain ice roads over water. Great reading!