The Boy with the U. S. Survey

Sixteen-year-old Roger Doughty wants to map the last wild places on earth, and nothing will stop him. The US Geological Survey seems like his ticket to adventure, but instead of Alaska's soaring peaks, Roger finds himself trudging through Minnesota swamps, hauling equipment through mosquito clouds and sinking mud. It's not exactly the frontier romance he imagined. Yet every evening, by lantern light, he studies his maps and dreams of the north. Then he meets Mr. Rivers, a grizzled Alaskan explorer who sees something in the boy's fierce determination. Rivers becomes his guide, teaching him that real exploration isn't about glory, it's about perseverance through brutal work, precise observation, and learning to read the land before you try to change it. When finally the call comes for the Alaska survey, Roger must prove he's more than just eager he's actually ready. This is the story of how a boy transforms himself through sheer will into the kind of man who can survive where the map ends.