The Magnetic North

[Has] a meditative, often melancholy, quality that tells us a lot about what it's like to simply be in the Arctic...the author deftly weaves in some nicely crafted vignettes that illuminate various aspects of the Arctic experience

Jonathan Dore, Times Literary Supplement

[Wheeler brings] and open-eyed sense of salutary wisdom and timely protest to her view of the Arctic Ocean and its surrounds

Tom Adair, The Scotsman

A chilling and fascinating work

Guardian

A funny, entertaining and humane piece of writing

Jeremy Lewis, The Oldie

A wise, provoking and zestful chronicle, poetic, often tragic and always engaging. Wheeler, a prolific raconteur of distant places, has created the finest book on the Arctic since Hugh Brody's The Other Side of Eden

Rory MacLean, Sunday Times

An ambitious, adventurous, well-researched, spirited account

Robert Carver, The Tablet

An excellent narrator, intelligent, amusing, poetic and down to earth

Fergus Fleming, Literary Review

Beautiful and terrifying

The Times

Beautiful and terrifying

Christopher Summerville, The Times, Christmas Books

Carries lightly a depth of research that gives alarming edge to Wheeler's engrossing

James Urquhart, Financial Times

Elegant prose ... a stylish and engaing account of some of the world's most mysterious, unknowable spots and, like the best travel writing, is infused with the writer's reflections on growing up, life and death

Clover Stroud, Telegraph

Her adventurous spirit, tireless intelligence, and joy shine through...a rare and precious talent

Roger Hutchinson, Scotsman

Her writing, while brilliantly evocative, is never overblown... If you are lucky you might get to travel in the Arctic yourself; if you don't, this book is the next best thing

Erica Wagner, The Times

In its many-layered discoveries, the book is truly magnetic

Jane Knight, The Times

Irresistibly attractive ... coddling hoosh of personal travelogue, historical anecdotage and speculative thinking

New Statesman, Books of 2009, Will Self

Is an entertaining mix of popular science, history and reportage, wrapped up in some seriously fine writing

Katherine Hughes, The Mail on Sunday

It is a testament to the author's ability that the text never lurches into despondency- above all, this is a book that celebrates the inspiring endurance and colourful past of those who populate the area

Sebastian Clare, Irish Times

It is the warmth and the honesty of the portraits that is Wheeler's forte

The Tablet

One of the greatest travel books of our times - poignant, funny, a delight to read

Christopher Hirst, The Independent

Quite wonderful

Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail

Sara Wheeler is the literary maestro of the earth's frozen regions... The prose is startling and sharp-edged as the icy landscapes themselves

Harry Eyres, Financial Times, Travel Books of the Year

Wheeler is excellent company for the journey, with her observations on the consequences of our actions always well balanced and open-minded

Big Issue

Wheeler's beautiful language and riveting narrative add up to a powerful account of what is at stake and what has already been lost

Irish Times

Wheeler's book teaches a lot about what is happening in the far north, which is valuable

Kathleen James, Guardian

Wonderful account of her journeys through the region

Simon Kuper, Financial Times