ACROSS THE ROOF OF THE WORLD

An account of the now famous odyssey which took the author at 19, from Oslo, across Russia, China and the Himalayas in his attempt to reach the Norwegian Air Force in Canada. An accident in Sinkiang separated him from his companions, and he spent months in a native hospital where a Russian girl was the only grace note. Then on alone, none too steadily, he took an incredible trip which wound up eventually in Canada, via Turkestan, across mountains to Kashgar, to Capetown and on. There's a sense of grandeur and isolation -- of beauty along with filth- of primitive people, usually hospitable and friendly, in a highly personal, pleasantly styled narrative.