Many of the pilots Bruder interviewed for the book are now gone and readers will relish the immediate experience of heroic, life-and-death adventures in the rugged Northern wilderness as Bruder lets the pilots speak for themselves. We hear from the likes of Jack Wilson, "dean of glacier pilots"; Mary Worthylake, the first licensed woman pilot in Alaska; and Shell Simmons, the intrepid pilot of Southeast Alaska about whom even the best say "that man sure can fly." The portraits also convey the history of early Alaska and the role played by airmen and airplanes in the North Country's development.