In May 1993, Up North was published. By that summer it was starting to appear on The Toronto Star’s list of national non-fiction best sellers. Thirty years later, we continue to receive stories of people who grew up with the book and loved it on their up north adventures, at the cottage, or their trip to the outhouse (yes, great bathroom reading). The updated and revised edition, The Complete Up North, remains in print and available online.

In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll publish fan mail, stories and contemporary nature sightings. It’s spring and the birds and blossoms are back. Now more than ever, we need to stay close to nature and respect and protect the ecosystems that keep us alive. We hope Up North can be a small part of your life-long enjoyment of and devotion to nature.

Pick up an issue of the Canadian adventure travel magazine Outpost to find great feature articles… and a nice review of The Complete Up North. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Complete Up North is not your typical field guide… unlike the majority of nature guidebooks, it’s also a surprisingly entertaining page turner from start to finish. Its prose is so engaging and the author’s curiosity so obviously infectious that you’ll be completely unable to set it aside.

“The book is filled with those bits of folk-lore and little-known trivia that made your grandpa’s almanac fascinating fireplace reading. You might know that the Canada goose mates for life, but did you peg it as a sneaky adulterer? Can you cite the estimated size of Toronto’s raccoon population? Do you know the detection range of the mosquito, and why this cottage plague finds women more appealing than men? Know why a ladybug is called a ladybug? Can you forecast rain by looking at a poplar leaf? You’ll find the answers to all of these questions, and much more.”

Well, the book is launched and we’ve had a great reception. We hope you heard the interview with Tim on CBC Radio 1’s show “Fresh Air” with Mary Ito on May 22, broadcast across Ontario. Waterloo radio station CKWR also interviewed Tim for the show KW Magazine with John Maciel.

The Haliburton Echo did a piece on the book, as did the Bloor West Villager in Toronto. Click here to see the Villager article.

Thanks to all the local bookstores and gift shops that have ordered the book, and to readers who have already purchased a copy… many as gifts for the cottage-lovers and campers in their lives. For information on ordering the book, visit our publisher’s web site here