The map of my dead pilots The dangerous game of flying in Alaska

*Starred Review* For thrill seekers, outlaws, and renegades everywhere, Alaska may be the last bastion for those in pursuit of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants lifestyle. To hear Mondor tell it, it could be where the saying originated. As operations manager for a commercial airline servicing Alaska's remote villages and hamlets aka, the bush Mondor has had a bird's-eye view of the rigors of flying cargo that often as not included carcasses as well as crates, sleds as well as the dogs that hauled them, and passengers who had no other means of traversing a state whose isolation was both allure and aggravation. The men who flew these missions are and, all too sadly, were a lethal combination of danger junkies and hotshots, dreamers and schemers, dedicated professionals and determined daredevils who reveled in the challenges that Alaska's climate and terrain threw their way. That most of them are no longer alive may or may not be the moral of the story, but because dead men tell no tales, thank goodness Mondor is around. Though they were her colleagues and friends, Mondor, who walks the tightrope between admiration and detachment with a deft and agile balance, presents an equitable yet passionate memoir that virtually flies off the page.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist