Biography & Autobiography

This is a study of the famous controversy between Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke, fellow explorers who quarreled over Speke's claim to have discovered the source of the Nile during their African expedition in 1857-59. Speke died of a gunshot wound, probably accidental, the day before a scheduled debate with Burton in 1864. Burton has had the upper hand in subsequent accounts. Speke has been called a “cad.” In light of new evidence and after a careful reading of duelling texts, Carnochan concludes that the case against Speke remains unproven-and that the story, as normally told, displays the inescapable uncertainty of historical narrative.

All was fair in this love-war.

Producer of Nanook of the North, Moana, Man of Aran, and other pioneering documentaries between 1920 and 1940, Robert J. Flaherty was America's first independent film artist. Popular conceptions of Flaherty have led many either to worship his work and regard him in mythical terms or to debunk him as a fraud and castigate him for lack of a social consciousness. Rarely has the attempt been made to understand him in the context of his times. This captivating study presents Flaherty through the eyes of someone who knew him personally—the brilliant British filmmaker and scholar Paul Rotha. A colleague and close friend of Flaherty, Rotha gives us s a powerfully written biography that is a balanced and intimate look at the life and work of an American genius.

Editor Jay Ruby has restored the Rotha biography, including a wealth of anecdotes, letters, and memoirs that begin to bring Robert Flaherty the man into focus. An especially valuable dimension of this work is the appraisal of Flaherty the filmmaker from the viewpoint of a major figure of the British industry. He summarizes in detail the critical response to Flaherty of his contemporaries, about which only sketchy information has previously been available.

Flaherty regarded himself as an explorer as well as a filmmaker. The exciting story of this biography takes us from the Arctic, where Flaherty spent years filming Nanook, to the South Pacific, England, the Aran Islands, and finally the United States. his courage and overarching vision resulted in an unprecedented recording of the human struggle and in documentary films that reached a wider audience than ever before.

What does it mean to be an explorer in the twenty-first century?

This is the story of what first led Benedict Allen to head for the farthest reaches of our planet - at a time when there were still valleys and ranges known only to the remote communities who inhabited them. It is also the story of why, thirty years later, he is still exploring. Benedict decides to journey back to a clouded mountain in New Guinea to find an old friend called Korsai, and to fulfil a promise they made as young men.

Explorer tells the story of what it means to be 'lost' and 'found'.

What does it mean to be an explorer in the twenty-first century?

Explorer is the story of what first led Benedict Allen to head for the farthest reaches of our planet - at a time when there were still valleys and ranges known only to the remote communities who inhabited them. It is also the story of why, thirty years later, he is still exploring. It's the story of a journey back to a clouded mountain in New Guinea to find a man called Korsai who had once been a friend, and to fulfil a promise made as young men. It is also a story of what it is to be 'lost' and 'found'.

Honest, sensitive and packed with insight, in Explorer Allen considers the lessons he has learnt from his numerous expeditions - most importantly, from the communities he has encountered: there is a value in disconnecting from all that we are familiar with, particularly in today's crowded world. And there is a value in connecting with worlds unfamiliar to us, some of whom have lived in harmony, not competition, with nature for generations.

We explore not to plant a flag, or leave a mark, but to open up and allow the place and people to leave their mark on us.

Dewey Soper first travelled to the Arctic in 1923. During the next seven years he accepted three research postings on Baffin Island, each of which lasted between one and two years. In 1929 he discovered the breeding grounds of the blue goose in the southwest corner of Baffin Island. He also charted the final unknown region of Baffin Island's coastline. Later in life he worked in the western Arctic. Outside the Far North, Soper studied bison in Wood Buffalo National Park, documented bird life on the Prairies, and made a detailed study of small mammals in Alberta.

Soper was the last of the great pioneer naturalists in Canada. He was also a skilled and meticulous explorer. As a naturalist, he was a major contributor to the National Museum of Canada, as well as to the University of Alberta and other museums across the country.

The working life of the distinguished surveyor Guy Blanchet reflects the story of northern Canada in the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning his career in the boreal forests of Alberta and Saskatchewan, using pack horses and dog teams, Blanchet went north to map large areas of the Barrens by canoe, and soon became caught up in pioneer northern aviation. His story encompasses the Great Depression and the Second World War, which in turn led to his work finding the routes for oil pipelines. His life was rich in contacts with First Nations people, and his friendships included most of the well-known northern travellers of the time. While Blanchet did not seek adventure, adventure often found him and he had many narrow escapes. While Blanchet published a number of articles about his experiences, this is the first time his fascinating life story has been told in book form.

George Mercer Dawson was indeed no ordinary man. Born in 1849, son of the first Principal of McGill University, Dawson defied health circumstances that would have defeated many people and went on to become one of our most exceptional Canadians.

As a geologist in the British North American Boundary Commission between Canada and the U.S.A. and as Director of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1895, Dawson examined and explored every aspect of Canada's unknown territories.

This collection of writings, letters, diaries and essays begins with the young George and moves through his developing years to his adult life.

"He climbed, walked and rode on horseback over more of Canada than any other member of the Geological Survey of Canada at that time -- yet to look at him, one would not think him capable of a day's hard physical labour .... It was his hand that first traced upon vacant maps the geological formations of the Yukon and much of British Columbia."
- Lois Winslow-Spragge

"To read about him is like taking a drink of water from a cool, unpolluted spring. His sense of values was so great that he once said he didn't care much for money or possessions. All he wanted was what he could hold in his canoe."
- Anne Byers, Ottawa

"We live, as we dream - alone." Sometimes our inner isolation is alleviated; in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event, rescuer and rescued meet, and loneliness is bridged.

This book of true stories shows ordinary people in extraordinary events - a ski accident, a missing child, thrilling sea rescues - that take place from snow-bound Labrador to the coast of California. It is about the lives of rescuers who search for life's meaning while engaging in deeds of heroism and compassion. It is about the aftermath of rescue. There are stories from each Canadian provinces and from the United States. Each is a story of action and inspiration.

As Bob and Mildred Lee, they amazed audiences with their death-defying motorcycle act. In reality they were Bob and Mildred Restall, parents of three, who balanced their glamorous show-business career with a happy, stable home life.

In October 1959, the Restalls embarked on the ultimate family adventure, as Bob led his family to the east coast of Canada to dig for the famous treasure of Oak Island. For nearly six years they lived without telephone, hydro, or running water while newspapers and magazines chronicled their attempts to solve the mystery of the Money Pit. On August 17, 1965, their quest ended in tragedy when four men died.

This biography, compiled by their daughter, includes material written by each family member. Lyrical descriptions of nature, amusing anecdotes, details of the dig, and numerous photographs help to tell the story. This book is a must for Oak Island enthusiasts.

Elizabeth Simcoe's diary, describing Canada from 1791 to 1796, is history written as it was being made. Created largely while she was seated in canoes and bateaux, the diary documents great events in a familiar way and opens our eyes to a side of Canadian history that is too little shown.

During her time in Upper Canada (now Ontario), Mrs. Simcoe encountered fascinating figures, such a explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, and Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant. She took particular interest in the First Nations people, the social customs of the early settlers, and the flora and fauna of a land that contained a mere 10, 000 non-Natives in 1791. The realm she observed so vividly was quite alien to a woman used to a world of ball gowns, servants, and luxury in England, but the lieutenant-governor's wife was made of stern stuff and embraced her new environment with relish, leaving us with an account instilled with excitement and delight at everything she witnessed.

In 1607 Henry Hudson was an obscure English sea captain. By 1610 he was an internationally renowned explorer. He made two voyages in search of a Northeast Passage to the Orient and had discovered the Spitzbergen Islands and their valuable whaling grounds. In the process, Hudson had sailed farther north than any other European before him. In 1609, working for the Dutch, he had explored the Hudson River and had made a Dutch colony in America possible.

Sailing from England in 1610, on what would be his most famous voyage, Hudson began his search for the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic. This was also his last exploration. Only a few of the men under his command lived to see England again. Hudson's expedition was one of great discovery and even greater disaster. Extreme Arctic conditions and Hudson's own questionable leadership resulted in the most infamous mutiny in Canadian history, and a mystery that remains unsolved.

James Douglas's story is one of high adventure in pre-Confederation Canada. It weaves through the heart of Canadian and Pacific Northwest history when British Columbia was a wild land, Vancouver didn't exist, and Victoria was a muddy village.

Part black and illegitimate, Douglas was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1803 to a Scottish plantation owner and a mixed-race woman. After schooling in Scotland, the fifteen-year-old Douglas sailed to Canada in 1819 to join the fur trade. With roads non-existent, he travelled thousands of miles each year, using the rivers and lakes as his highways. He paddled canoes, drove dogsleds, and snowshoed to his destinations.

Douglas became a hard-nosed fur trader, married a part-Cree wife, and nearly provoked a war between Britain and the United States over the San Juan Islands on the West Coast. When he was in his prime, he established Victoria and secrured the western region of British North America from the Russian Empire and the expansionist Americans. Eventually, Douglas became the controversial governor of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia and oversaw the frenzied Fraser and Cariboo gold rushes.

Born in Manitoba of Icelandic parents, Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) became one of Canada's most famous and controversial Arctic explorers. After graduate studies in anthropology at Harvard University, Stefansson lived with and studied Inuit in the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories in the winter of 1906-07. In two subsequent expeditions he completed a major anthropological survey of the Central and Western Arctic coasts and islands of North America; located and lived with the Copper Inuit, a previously unknown group of aboriginal people; and discovered the world's last major land masses.

During his third and final great Arctic expedition from 1913 to 1918, some of Stefansson's men perished tragically, an outcome that severely damaged his reputation. Nevertheless, the hardy explorer contributed immensely to knowledge about the Far North, particularly in his championing of the "Friendly Arctic." Part scientist, part showman, Vilhjalmur Stefansson was truly unique among polar adventurers.

During the American Revolution and the border conflicts that followed, Simon Girty’s name struck terror into the hearts of U.S. settlers in the Ohio Valley and the territory of Kentucky. Girty (1741-1818) had lived with the Natives most of his life. Scorned by his fellow white frontiersmen as an "Indian lover," Girty became an Indian agent for the British. He accompanied Native raids against Americans, spied deep into enemy territory, and was influential in convincing the tribes to fight for the British.

The Americans declared Girty an outlaw. In U.S. history books he is a villain even worse than Benedict Arnold. Yet in Canada, Girty is regarded as a Loyalist hero, and a historic plaque marks the site of his homestead on the Ontario side of the Detroit River.

In Native history, Girty stands out as one of the few white men who championed their cause against American expansion. But was he truly the "White Savage" of legend, or a hero whose story was twisted by his foes?

This nonfiction book traces the childhood dreams of former Navy SEAL Marc Lonergan and the secret island world he created as a young boy. This is a story about a young man’s dreams becoming the reality of an adult. Starting at the age of ten, Marc played on an island in the forest behind his house and imagined himself as both a warrior and an explorer. He ultimately grows up to be a Navy SEAL/Sniper, and also travels the world on an expedition with one of our generation’s greatest sea captains, Sir Peter Blake. It is an epic quest to document the pulse points of the planet's health in Antarctica and the Amazon for National Geographic Channel and The Discovery Channel.

Following the tragic death of Sir Peter by pirates in the Amazon, Marc first works with the family of Jacques Yves Cousteau, as a mentor to his youngest son, then return to the world of combat with a classified government project. He risks his life to save innocent men, women, children; as well as his fellow warfighters on the streets of Baghdad, Iraq. To do this he battles elements of what has become current day ISIS, and ultimately defeat the enemy that hunts the ones he has sworn to protect. During his adventures, he finds the purpose of his life as that of a protector. His greatest challenge is finding redemption for the loss of those he felt he could have saved along his journey.

The true story of a half-Chinook, half-Scot adventurer who entered feudal Japan in 1848 and helped pave the way for its modernization.

How Japan, after 250 years of self-imposed isolation, began the process of modernization is in part the story of Ranald MacDonald. In 1848 this half-Scot, half-Chinook adventurer from the Pacific Northwest landed on an island off Hokkaido. Although promptly arrested and imprisoned for seven months in Nagasaki, the intelligent, well-educated MacDonald fascinated the Japanese and became one of their first teachers of English and Western ways.

Based on primary research in Japan and North America, this book chronicles the events leading to MacDonald's journey and his later struggle to obtain recognition at home.

Labib Habachi, Egypt’s most perceptive and productive Egyptologist, was marginalized for most of his career, only belatedly receiving international recognition for his major contributions to the field. In Labib Habachi: The Life and Legacy of an Egyptologist, Jill Kamil presents not only a long-overdue biography of this important scholar, but a survey of Egyptian archaeology in the twentieth century in which Habachi’s work is measured against that of his best-known contemporaries—among them Selim Hassan, Ahmed Fakhry, Abdel Moneim Abu Bakr, and Gamal Mokhtar.
The account of Habachi’s major discovery, the Sanctuary of Heqaib on Elephantine in 1946, was shelved by Egypt’s Antiquities Department for thirty years. When it was finally released for publication, it became the subject of a heated controversy between Habachi and a western scholar that was never resolved.
To construct her picture of Labib Habachi, Jill Kamil draws on a wide range of sources, including a long personal acquaintance with the subject. Tracing the arc of Habachi’s career, Kamil sets his life’s work in its full context, providing a valuable perspective on the development of Egyptian Egyptology and the sometimes fraught relationship between Egypt’s scholars and the western archaeological establishment.

Few Western scholars of the Middle East have exerted such profound influence as Edward William Lane. Lane’s Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1836), which has never gone out of print, remains as a highly authoritative study of Middle Eastern society. His annotated translation of the Arabian Nights (1839–41) retains a devoted readership. Lane’s recently recovered and published Description of Egypt (2000) shows that he was a pioneering Egyptologist as well as orientalist. The capstone of his career, the definitive Arabic-English Lexicon (1863–93), is an indispensable reference tool.
Yet, despite his extraordinary influence, little was known about Lane and virtually nothing about how he did his work. Now, in the first full-length biography, Lane’s life and accomplishments are examined in full, including his crucial years of field work in Egypt, revealing the life of a great Victorian scholar and presenting a fascinating episode in east–west encounter, interaction, and representation.

Italian adventurer and sea captain Celso Cesare Moreno traveled the world lying, scheming, and building an extensive patron/client network to establish his reputation as a middleman and person of significance. Through his machinations, Moreno became a critical player in the expansion of western trade and imperialism in Asia, the trafficking of migrant workers and children in the Atlantic, the conflicts of Americans and Native Hawaiians over the fate of Hawaii, and the imperial competitions of French, British, Italian, and American governments during a critically important era of imperial expansion during the nineteenth century. Oh Capitano! teases out Moreno’s enormous peculiarities and fascination as well as his significance.

Celso Cesare Moreno was simultaneously toxic, deceitful, and charming in equal measure. He wandered, adventured, cheated, exaggerated, promoted (mainly himself), and continuously created newly invented past lives. He repeatedly sought a role at the center of a globalizing world with gusto and had no qualms about lying or betraying others. He claimed at times to be the ruler of a Southeast Asian island that he then offered for sale to several western nations. He briefly became prime minister of Hawai’i. He testified before the U.S. Congress as an expert witness. He sought to promote a trans-Pacific cable project. He fought with the ministers and leaders of many countries (and with his fellow Italians and Catholic churchmen almost everywhere) but was more often ignored and rejected than feted. He was accused, probably with good cause, of abusing his obligations after claiming guardianship of the sons of King David Kalakaua of Hawaii. Dragged by his uncontrollable polemical passions, the old Captain died alone, unloved by anyone and with no significant relations to others.

With its focus on Moreno, Oh Capitano! illustrates some of the most puzzling cultural traits of emigrant Italian elites. Called a “carpetbagger,” “land pirate,” “extinct volcano,” among many other derogatory monikers, Celso emerges in this fascinating biography as a multifaceted, chameleon-like personality not reducible to a single epithet.

A veteran dog musher, Dave Olesen finished the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race eight times. After a fifteen-year career as a sled dog racer, Olesen set out to fulfill a lifelong dream. In four successive winters he steered his dogs and sled on long trips away from his remote Northwest Territories homestead, setting out in turn to the south, east, north, and west, and home again to Hoarfrost River.

His narrative ranges from the personal and poignant musings of a dogsled driver to loftier planes of introspection and contemplation. Olesen describes his journeys day by day, but this book is not merely an account of his travels. Neither is it yet another offering in the genre of “wide-eyed southerner meets the Arctic,” because Olesen is a firmly rooted northerner, having lived and travelled in the boreal outback for over thirty years. Olesen’s life story colours his writing: educated immigrant, husband and father, professional dog musher, working bush pilot, and denizen of log cabins far off the grid. He and his dogs feel at home in country lying miles back of beyond.

This book demolishes many of the clichés that imbue writings about bush life, the Far North, and dogsledding. It is a unique blend of armchair adventure, personal memoir, and thoughtful, down-to-earth reflection.

Author Corey Ford writes the classic and moving story of naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who served on the 1741-42 Russian Alaska expedition with explorer Vitus Bering.

Steller was one of Europe's foremost naturalists and the first to document the unique wildlife of the Alaskan coast. In the course of the voyage, Steller made his valuable discoveries and suffered, along with Bering and the crew of the ill-fated ship St. Peter, some of the most grueling experiences in the history of Arctic exploration. First published in 1966, Where the Sea Breaks Its Back was hailed as "among this country's greatest outdoor writing" by Field & Stream magazine, and today continues to enchant and enlighten the new generations of readers about this amazing and yet tragic expedition, and Georg Steller's significant discoveries as an early naturalist.

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879) is a work of travel literature by British explorer Isabella Bird. Adventurous from a young age, Bird gained a reputation as a writer and photographer interested in nature and the stories and cultures of people around the world. A bestselling author and the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society, Bird is recognized today as a pioneering woman whose contributions to travel writing, exploration, and philanthropy are immeasurable. In 1872—after a year of sailing from Britain to Australia and Hawaii—Isabella Bird journeyed by boat to San Francisco before making her way over land through California and Wyoming to the Colorado Territory. There, she befriended an outdoorsman named Rocky Mountain Jim, who guided her throughout the vast wilderness of Colorado and accompanied her during a journey of over 800 miles. Traveling on foot and on horseback—Bird was an experienced and skillful rider—the two formed a curious but formidable pair, eventually reaching the 14,259 foot (4346 m) summit of Longs Peak, making Bird one of the first women to accomplish the feat. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, Bird’s most iconic work, was a bestseller upon publication, and has since inspired generations of readers. This edition of Isabella Bird’s A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains is a classic of American literature and travel writing reimagined for modern readers.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879) is a work of travel literature by British explorer Isabella Bird. Adventurous from a young age, Bird gained a reputation as a writer and photographer interested in nature and the stories and cultures of people around the world. A bestselling author and the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society, Bird is recognized today as a pioneering woman whose contributions to travel writing, exploration, and philanthropy are immeasurable. In 1872—after a year of sailing from Britain to Australia and Hawaii—Isabella Bird journeyed by boat to San Francisco before making her way over land through California and Wyoming to the Colorado Territory. There, she befriended an outdoorsman named Rocky Mountain Jim, who guided her throughout the vast wilderness of Colorado and accompanied her during a journey of over 800 miles. Traveling on foot and on horseback—Bird was an experienced and skillful rider—the two formed a curious but formidable pair, eventually reaching the 14,259 foot (4346 m) summit of Longs Peak, making Bird one of the first women to accomplish the feat. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, Bird’s most iconic work, was a bestseller upon publication, and has since inspired generations of readers. This edition of Isabella Bird’s A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains is a classic of American literature and travel writing reimagined for modern readers.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Depicted by the man himself, The Journals of James Cook is an intimate first-hand account, providing an uncensored and reliable narrative of adventures spanning across the globe. The Journals of James Cook depict three of Captain James Cook’s most glorious expeditions, starting in 1768 and leading to Cook’s tragic death in 1779. Having ventured all over the Pacific, Cook encountered lands not yet charted by the British. Though his discoveries and maps inadvertently led to British colonization, Cook held a deep respect for the native people he encountered. He recorded their practices and wrote of them fondly. Cook even befriended some of the native people he encountered, including a Tahitian man who, after hearing of Cook’s homeland, wanted to visit it as well. Per the man’s request, Cook sailed him to Britain, where the man stayed until he and Cook sailed back to Tahiti three years later. After charting Australia, and the whole coast of New Zealand, Cook was involved in a plot to kidnap a Hawaiian monarch and ransom them in order to recover stolen property. He was killed during this expedition, leaving behind a legacy of a detailed description of the Pacific Ocean and its coasts.

James Cook’s expeditions around the world and his detailed and innovative work as a cartographer inspired advancements in scientific, medical, historical and geological fields. His influence has also reached the literary world, inspiring novel series and characters, including the infamous Captain Hook. Exuding ambition, courage, and confidence, The Journals of James Cook provide a privileged peak into the travels and accomplishments of an adventurous, and invaluable man. Packed with wonder but free of imperialistic arrogance, The Journals of James Cook serve as a valuable an intriguing primary source of a time when places in the world were yet to be mapped.

Now presented in an easy-to-read font and redesigned with a stunning new cover, James Cook’ The Journals of James Cook is accommodating to contemporary readers, providing a fresh version of the esteemed literary work while preserving its wonders and adventures.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Depicted by the man himself, The Journals of James Cook is an intimate first-hand account, providing an uncensored and reliable narrative of adventures spanning across the globe. The Journals of James Cook depict three of Captain James Cook’s most glorious expeditions, starting in 1768 and leading to Cook’s tragic death in 1779. Having ventured all over the Pacific, Cook encountered lands not yet charted by the British. Though his discoveries and maps inadvertently led to British colonization, Cook held a deep respect for the native people he encountered. He recorded their practices and wrote of them fondly. Cook even befriended some of the native people he encountered, including a Tahitian man who, after hearing of Cook’s homeland, wanted to visit it as well. Per the man’s request, Cook sailed him to Britain, where the man stayed until he and Cook sailed back to Tahiti three years later. After charting Australia, and the whole coast of New Zealand, Cook was involved in a plot to kidnap a Hawaiian monarch and ransom them in order to recover stolen property. He was killed during this expedition, leaving behind a legacy of a detailed description of the Pacific Ocean and its coasts.

James Cook’s expeditions around the world and his detailed and innovative work as a cartographer inspired advancements in scientific, medical, historical and geological fields. His influence has also reached the literary world, inspiring novel series and characters, including the infamous Captain Hook. Exuding ambition, courage, and confidence, The Journals of James Cook provide a privileged peak into the travels and accomplishments of an adventurous, and invaluable man. Packed with wonder but free of imperialistic arrogance, The Journals of James Cook serve as a valuable an intriguing primary source of a time when places in the world were yet to be mapped.

Now presented in an easy-to-read font and redesigned with a stunning new cover, James Cook’ The Journals of James Cook is accommodating to contemporary readers, providing a fresh version of the esteemed literary work while preserving its wonders and adventures.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Nick Jans leads us into his "found" home—the Eskimo village of Ambler, Alaska, and the vast wilderness around it. In his powerful essays, the rhythms of daily arctic life blend with high adventure—camping among the wolves, traveling with Inupiat hunters, witnessing the Kobuk River at spring breakup.

The poignancy of a village funeral comes to life, hordes of mosquitoes whine against a tent, a grizzly stands etched against the snow—just a sampling of the images and events rendered in Jans' transparent, visual prose. Moments of humor are offset by haunting insights, and by thoughtful reflections on contemporary Inupiaq culture, making A Place Beyond a book to read and enjoy.