A chronicle of Mowat's hopscotch across the Canadian Arctic in 1966 on behalf of (would you believe it!) the Canadian government. Mowat encounters and interviews an eccentric cast of characters: fast disappearing traditional and re-settled Inuit, missionaries and priests, Hudson Bay managers and traders, government officials and refugees from the South. Mowat interweaves these diverse stories with his own tales, an altogether enjoyable, important book, in the spirit of "People of the Deer.' With photos, maps, and interview transcripts. The trip was part of an ambitious project with dozens of Canadian writers traipsing about the north, including not only Mowat but also Robertson Davies and Pierre Berton.  (ARC141, $15.95)