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(More customer reviews)Bruce Batchelor was a friend from high school, some 30 years before when we reconnected over the internet and he sent me a copy of his 3rd book, "Nine Dog Winter," to read.
I LOVED reading it. Bruce has a rare gift among writers: he writes like he speaks. His "voice" comes through his literary voice as if he was sitting telling you these amusing incidents while you share a hot cocoa by the fireside of a winter evening. You can almost "hear" his voice rising in excitment at the dangers and pausing dramatically before revealing the outcome. Of course, he didn't die, or he wouldn't have been around to write the book, but he also survived having a Volkswagen slit his throat from ear-to-ear when he was still a teen, so you never know just how close to death he (or the other characters - real life characters) just might come at any moment.
If you know Bruce, you are doubtless one of his thousands of "fans", and you should not miss this delightful "visit" with him and his lovely mistress, er, I mean, lover, well, ummm, bride!
If you don't know Bruce Batchelor, it is all the more reason to take this chance to introduce him to you. This "math geek" from high school was and is full of surprises, not the least of which was his indomitable pioneering spirit to take on the frozen wilderness.
(As some of your older folks may know, the musical group "Three Dog Night" got its name from an Aboriginal expression for a cold night in Australia, "Nine Dog Winter" is just that much colder and you couldn't get me to do it if I had 99 dogs!)
Bruce is one of the smartest people I know. Why he would do a crazy thing like this I will never understand, but I sure am glad he wrote about the experience, because now I will never have to see snow again to know how cold it was.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Nine Dog Winter: In 1980, two young Canadians recruited nine rowdy sled dogs, and headed out camping in the Yukon as temperatures plunged to Sixty Degrees Below and colder
Nine Dog Winter: Winter camping with sled dogs in Canada's Yukon by Bruce T. Batchelor is a true story, about two young Canadians who recruit nine mismatched huskies, and head out camping in the Yukon as the temperature plunges to Sixty-Eight Below.
Follow this 1980-'81 winter adventure of a young couple intent on recreating the classic Yukon pioneer lifestyle.
Includes dozens of photographs, maps and diagrams, plus complete instructions for building toboggans, harnesses, moccasins and other traditional winter camping equipment.
Hundreds of tips gathered from native and white trappers, pioneers and others who live and thrive in the Northern bush.
About the author BRUCE BATCHELOR: Though he'd lived in the Yukon for five years, the author's unfulfilled dream was to spend a winter in a remote wilderness cabin with a woman he loved, training dog teams and making long expeditions. When he teamed up with backcountry ranger Marsha McGillis in 1980, the (mis)adventures could begin!
Bruce Batchelor came to the Yukon in 1973, planning to stay just long enough to earn money for a trip to Europe. Instead, he fell in love with the wilderness and its people, and stayed for most of the next eight years. He has written three books about his stay in the North. Marsha McGillis, heroine of Nine Dog Winter, agreed to marry him in 1983. Their son, Dan, was born in 1992. They live in Victoria, BC, with a white lab-husky cross named Tyhee Too in honour of the Tyhee in this story. Bruce and Marsha own Agio Publishing House, where he edits and directs marketing, while Marsha designs the books and Dan takes photos.
REVIEWER'S COMMENT: "A real page turner. I couldn't wait to see what was around the next bend in the trail as I raced through this delightful read. An instant classic about Canada's North as experienced by two plucky southerners." -- David Pettigrew, filmmaker, adventurer and sourdough
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