Twenty years ago, an adolescent named Nicolas Vanier was inspired by the novels of Jack London to answer the call of the wild. Here is his story - in his own text, superb color photographs, and lively drawings of the world's northernmost 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. Vanier shares a wealth of information and lore garnered over two decades of travel: how to make an igloo, how to weave a pair of snowshoes from elk leather, how to navigate in snowstorms, and how to place a fishing net under ice.