-AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHER EDITOR JOURNALIST-
Michael Friis Johansen
Selected book reviews
The Boy Who Walked
From The Compass:
Burton K. Janes
Sept. 29, 2017
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Burton Winters: The Labrador boy who walked into history
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Prior to Jan. 29, 2012, the name of Burton Winters was known to family and friends in and around the northern Labrador community of Makkovik.
Since that fateful day, however, his name is known far and wide. Indeed, the events surrounding his death have reverberated throughout the nation and elsewhere.
The 14-year-old boy left home on his snowmobile and travelled over the unstable sea ice. When his machine became stuck on the endless expanse of white, he became lost. Determined to reach home, he walked 19 kilometres through the trackless snow. Eventually, exposure on the ice leading to hypothermia claimed his young life.
Four days later, searchers located Burton’s body. Early on, crucial errors were made, errors that point to the massive shortcomings in Canada’s search and rescue system.
In the aftermath of Burton’s death, his story was chronicled by Michael Friis Johansen, a journalist who has called Labrador home since 1990. In addition to writing for a variety of media outlets, he is also a columnist for Transcontinental Media.
His book, "The Boy Who Walked," is a tract for our times, evidenced by the subtitle, "The Death of Burton Winters and the Politics of Search and Rescue." His is a descriptive treatment of the almost unthinkable tragedy.
My good friend and fellow author, Benjamin W. Powell Sr., originally of Carbonear, Newfoundland, but now the patriarch of Charlottetown, Labrador, often said to me, "A good writer takes his readers on a journey." If this is true, then Johansen is a writer par excellence. He sets out to investigate what went wrong leading to Burton’s death.
Johansen begins his studied inquiry by setting the context. He reflects on the land, the people, the church, the town, the children and the Rangers.
Labrador is not for the faint of heart at the best of times.
"It does not," Johansen says, "easily welcome settlers, and the people ... had to prove that they were as tough as the land in order to survive."
A word portrait of Burton Winters then emerges. The impressionable boy has been described as funny, quiet, loving, friendly, reserved, imaginative, intelligent; a son who would make any parent proud.
"He was so good," his mother, Paulette Winters-Rice, says, summing up the feelings of many.
In vivid detail and with great pathos, Johansen reconstructs Burton’s outing and ordeal. The reader vicariously travels with the teenager as he jams his snowmobile between massive slabs of ice, then continues his journey on foot.
"Cold kills in stages," Johansen explains. "Hypothermia progresses through a series of symptoms that usually begin with mild shivering, increased heart rate, and rapid breathing. As the cold penetrates, the body limits blood flow to the extremities, saving most of the blood for the torso in order to keep the vital organs warm. If the body is allowed to cool even more, the shivering becomes more violent and the sufferer loses muscle control …"
The moment came when Burton "could go no farther. He had been too cold for too long and his body could no longer keep any part of itself warm enough for life."
No parent can dispassionately read this description of hypothermia without a tear in the eye, a lump in the throat and a pain in the heart.
In the second part of his book, Johansen provides an anatomy of the four-day search, from Sunday, Jan. 29 to Wednesday, Feb.1.
In the final section, the author engages the reader by reflecting on how a small boy walked into history, sparking a nationwide debate. There was a concerted effort by the public "to wrest something positive out of the terribly tragedy." Along the way, Johansen highlights communication breakdowns, delayed and inadequate response, equipment failure, jurisdictional confusion, a lax appreciation of the urgency of the situation, questionable protocols, inter-governmental squabbling, and out-of-order lifesaving equipment.
Did Burton Winters die in vain? What will be his lasting legacy? Will it be a case of out of sight, out of mind? That is the worst possible thing that could result from his death.
Johansen suggests: "even if Burton hadn’t gone missing, there is cause to call an inquiry into the federal and provincial search and rescue system."
Labrador MP Liberal Yvonne Jones insists: "It’s never too late to do an inquiry. I will always push for one."
Perhaps the final word, at least for now, should be left with Burton’s mother who plaintively pleads, "Why can’t they just tell us the truth?" One can only hope.
From Goodreads:
Mar 02, 2017
It was amazing
This was a book that I really loved. A very sad story to what happened to such a young boy. Just thinking of how he got lost on that cold winter day and froze to death trying to make his way back home. Oh, what courage and strong-willed he was after walking 19 kilometers, which is 12 miles in trying to make it back home to safety. He didn't get help fast enough from search and rescue, which was not right at all. Burton Winters you are a hero in my eyes despite the tragic ending to your life! May you rest in peace and fly with the angels in your Heavenly home.
From Amazon:
December 2, 2013
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Just a military-bashing rehash of old news
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Disclaimer: This review is based on an interview with the author on CBC Radio; I haven't read the book yet, but I am trying to find it in the library.
The book description says "rescue crews waited three days before finally searching for the boy". This is an outright lie; the search was launched the same night he went missing, and a search helicopter found his abandoned snowmobile the following day. Burton Winters knew, or should have known, that his family and neighbours would come looking for him. All he had to was remain with the snowmobile and dig himself a snow shelter, he would almost certainly have been found alive at that time. Instead, he did what far too many people in this situation do - he tried walking to safety, which pretty much sealed his fate. That's not blaming the victim, it's simply the cold, harsh reality of survival in the arctic.
In the radio interview, the author and the interviewer continued to blame the Canadian military for not responding sooner. But the fact is, as has been pointed out almost ad nauseam, this search was never a military responsibility. The ground searchers never tried to contact the CASARA volunteer unit in Goose Bay, who would happily have provided trained observers to ride in the civilian search helicopters. It appears that the local SAR coordinator was unaware of their existence.
This book appears to be nothing more than predictable military-bashing.
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December 12, 2013
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Dr. William Lorimer's comments are hard to take seriously mainly because he has given no information about the source of his knowledge about the military's response and responsibilities in this matter. I give even less weight to his opinions because, by not reading the book, he has no idea how the author dealt with the issues he's raising. I know for a fact that the author has spent hundreds of hours doing careful research. I've ordered a copy because of Michael Johansen's exemplary record as an objective journalist and provocative author. I look forward to reading it and will respond to the content, unlike Lorimer whose comments, by his own admission, are uninformed.
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January 10, 2014
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Mr. Lorimer has chosen to provide a review in a forum which is normally reserved for books. His 'review', however, is merely criticism of some unlikely targets, including a radio interview and the book's brief description, which is contained on this site.
It has been over a month since his review and either Mr. Lorimer has nothing else to say or he has not been able to get his a hands on a free copy to read.
I would like to address some of what he had to say.
The reference in the description to the rescue crews waiting three days to search is a reference to the fact that Burton was reported missing on Sunday But DND aircraft did not arrive on scene until close to Midnight on Tuesday. Indeed, a collection of ground personnel from the community made a courageous effort on Sunday to locate Burton. If Mr. Lorimer had waited to read the book then he would have understood the context of the book's description and what the book is about.
Mr. Lorimer starts of by stating that he had not read a single word in the book and yet ends off his review with the statement that 'the book appears to be nothing more than predictable military-bashing'.
Contrary to what Mr. Lorimer stated, DND did have a responsibility to respond when requested by virtue of being a partner in Canada's National Search and Rescue Program.
It was not a search helicopter that found the snowmobile but rather a fixed wing, RCMP aircraft. It was not, as Mr. Lorimer stated, the next day but rather on Tuesday, two days later.
The term 'bashing' suggests some biased or unfair attack or criticism of DND. If Mr. Lorimer had read the book then he would have found substantiated and documented criticism that has not been explained nor defended by DND. Furthermore, he would have found criticism of other government agencies, not just DND.
The failure to use CASARA as spotters was irrelevant. The problem was the lack of aircraft.
Lastly, Mr. Lorimer found somebody else to be the target of his criticism. He chose to criticize Burton Winters.
Burton's actions, following his mishap are completely irrelevant to the decisions made by government bureaucrats. Having said that, if you look at what Mr. Lorimer is saying then Burton is at fault for not staying with his snowmobile.
Firstly, they did not locate his snowmobile until late Tuesday afternoon. How long was he expected to stay with his snowmobile and survive? How long before he concluded that they were not looking in the right place?
Secondly, It snowed Sunday night and Monday night yet, Burton's tracks leading from the snowmobile were visible Tuesday night. Thus, We do not know how long he may have stayed with the snowmobile.
Thirdly, he was only fourteen years old and lost in a blizzard .Mr. Lorimer says he is not blaming the victim while doing exactly that. With all the mistakes that were made, Mr. Lorimer chose to blame Burton.