Where the Falcon Flies - by Adam Shoalts

Book Synopsis

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 SPEAKER'S BOOK AWARD

"Epic. . . . The adventure of a lifetime." --Global News

From Canada's most accomplished adventurer and storyteller comes a gripping journey into the vastness of Canada's landscape and history.

Looking out his porch window one spring morning, Adam Shoalts spotted a majestic peregrine falcon flying across the neighbouring fields near Lake Erie. Each spring, falcons migrate from southernmost Canada to remote arctic mountains. Grabbing his backpack and canoe, Shoalts resolved to follow the falcon's route north on an astonishing 3,400-kilometre journey to the Arctic.

Along the way, he faces a huge variety of challenges and obstacles, including storms on the Great Lakes, finding campsites in the urban wilderness of Toronto and Montreal, avoiding busy commercial freighter traffic, gale force winds, massive hydroelectric dams, bushwhacking without trails, dealing with hunger, multiple bear encounters, and navigating white-water rapids on icy northern rivers far from any help.

In his signature style, Shoalts roams as much across space as he does time, winding his way through a stunning diversity of landscapes ranging from lush Carolinian forests to lonely windswept mountains, salty seas to trackless swamps, pristine lakes to glittering mega-cities, as well as the sites of long ago battles, shipwrecks, forgotten forts, and abandoned trading posts. Through his travels, he reveals how interconnected wild places are, from the loneliest depths of the northern wilderness to busy urban parks, and the vital importance of these connections.

Where the Falcon Flies invites readers on an extraordinary armchair adventure that spans five ecoregions and centuries of fascinating history, and is a masterwork by one of Canada's most successful and audacious authors.

Review Quotes

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE 2024 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD FOR JOURNEYS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 SPEAKER'S BOOK AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK COMPETITION FOR ADVENTURE TRAVEL

"For most of us, the expression "as the crow flies"--or, in this case, peregrine falcon--is usefully descriptive. Not so for adventurer-historian Shoalts. . . ."
--The Globe and Mail

"An exceptionally fine writer as well as adventurer, Shoalts knows how to keep you turning the pages, whisking you along, every paddle stroke of the way."
--National Outdoor Book Awards

"Epic. . . . fighting gale-force winds and plunging into freezing water . . . this trip was like no other."
--The Hamilton Spectator

"Adam Shoalts has famously explored the Arctic, created A History of Canada in Ten Maps, and now in Where the Falcon Flies, reveal[s] the interconnectedness between landscape and nature."
--Toronto Star

"A tremendous trek. . . . Shoalts has perpetually melded history, geography, anthropology, and storytelling to bring Canadians into his canoe. . . . the charity and kindness of complete strangers Shoalts meets along the way becomes an enduring theme in the book. It is inspiring to read how, in these days of great division in our society, a single adventurer paddling down a river or tromping down a logging road can bring out the best in people."
--Winnipeg Free Press

"Adam Shoalts has hit the mark again with his latest book. . . . my favourite portion of Shoalts' writing is the way he stitches moments of Canadian history into his book. A high school kid can skip every history class, but still gain more knowledge just by reading Where the Falcon Flies."
--Kevin Callan, Explore Magazine

"Where the Falcon Flies takes readers along, vicariously, on this incredible journey-prepare to be wowed!"
--Horizon Magazine

"Epic. . . . the adventure of a lifetime."
--Global News

About the Author

ADAM SHOALTS is a historian, archaeologist, geographer, and Westaway Explorer-in-Residence at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Shoalts holds a PhD from McMaster University where his research examined the influence Indigenous oral traditions had on fur traders in the subarctic and Pacific Northwest. He is also the author of the national bestsellers Alone Against the North, A History of Canada in Ten Maps, Beyond the Trees, and The Whisper on the Night Wind. He enjoys long walks in the woods. Follow his adventures on Facebook and Instagram.