jetsetpeg's review against another edition
4.0
glad I read it but first half really dragged; would be better as video documentary
bookishwendy's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous writing, dense reading, but worth it. Picked this one up to read before/during (and after -- it's long!) a trip to Alaska, which turned out to be the perfect pairing. Even if I wasn't in the true Arctic above the Circle, I found myself encountering much context in my reading for the Last Frontier and its abundant May wildlife around me -- murres, whales, and glimpses of a never-quite fully set midnight sun. The chapters about the polar bear and the narwhal in particular meld philosophy and biology in such a way that makes for a mesmerizing read.
One chapter I found particularly page-turning detailed the mostly British attempts between the 1500s and 1800s to fully map the channels and islands and uncover the Northwest Passage. Having read [b:The Terror|3974|The Terror|Dan Simmons|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442713631l/3974._SY75_.jpg|3025639] earlier this year about the doomed Franklin expedition, it was interesting to learn there were so many other harrowing (one might even say foolhardy) voyages, even as early as in Henry VIII's reign. Lopez focuses on the few explorers -- John Davis, William Parry -- who seemed to have interest and appreciation for the Artic beyond mere resource extraction and monetary gain. One particular cultural exchange stands out between John Davis who, in the late 1500s on the west coast of Greenland, had his men play musical instruments and dance on the beach in an effort to befriend the Inuit, who then did the same in return.
Lopez's main focus seems to be the relationship between humans and a land deemed by the West "inhospitable", fit only for resource extraction, from bowhead whales to oil. He delves deeply into the changing culture of the Inuit and other native peoples of the Arctic who have found ways to scrape out centuries of living off the land, an uneasy balance because the Artic is constantly changing, and has been since before the last ice age. I appreciated his ability to take on many different perspectives on this multifaceted, mythological realm.
One chapter I found particularly page-turning detailed the mostly British attempts between the 1500s and 1800s to fully map the channels and islands and uncover the Northwest Passage. Having read [b:The Terror|3974|The Terror|Dan Simmons|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442713631l/3974._SY75_.jpg|3025639] earlier this year about the doomed Franklin expedition, it was interesting to learn there were so many other harrowing (one might even say foolhardy) voyages, even as early as in Henry VIII's reign. Lopez focuses on the few explorers -- John Davis, William Parry -- who seemed to have interest and appreciation for the Artic beyond mere resource extraction and monetary gain. One particular cultural exchange stands out between John Davis who, in the late 1500s on the west coast of Greenland, had his men play musical instruments and dance on the beach in an effort to befriend the Inuit, who then did the same in return.
Lopez's main focus seems to be the relationship between humans and a land deemed by the West "inhospitable", fit only for resource extraction, from bowhead whales to oil. He delves deeply into the changing culture of the Inuit and other native peoples of the Arctic who have found ways to scrape out centuries of living off the land, an uneasy balance because the Artic is constantly changing, and has been since before the last ice age. I appreciated his ability to take on many different perspectives on this multifaceted, mythological realm.
osmith977's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
foggy_rosamund's review
4.0
This book gets four-stars from me for the quality of its prose and the scope and depth of the research. No one can write exhaustively about a continent, but Lopez writes in great depth about the Arctic and the Northern Polar regions, and this is a book of great ambition and thought. At times, I found my attention wandered, but this was because, due to the scope of the book, Lopez tackles subject that do not interest me, as well as ones that do, and so I can't criticize him too harshly for the times when he failed to engage me.
Though it's over 400 pages in length, this book is only divided into nine chapters. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of the Arctic: its ecology, the science of light and ice, the history of Polar exploration, the history of peoples indigenous to the Arctic, the stories and myths surrounding different animals. At the time of writing, 1986, Lopez was still optimistic about the future of the Arctic, and did not conceive of the scale of the current destruction of landscape and climate. Reading it now, the book at times feels elegiac in tone, as it captures the scale of what we have lost, and what we continue to lose.
My edition includes an introduction by Robert MacFarlane, as well as Lopez's maps and extensive glossary. The first three chapters discuss totemic animals of the North: the musk ox, the polar bear, and narwhal, going deep into their biology, the history of their movements, our understanding of them in myth, how they fit into the landscape, and the relationship the indigenous people of the area have with them. (Lopez uses the word "Eskimo" throughout this book, as he says that only Canadian Indigenous people wish to be called Inuits. I've read this in various sources, but nowhere have I found it said that anyone is happy to be called an "Eskimo".) I really enjoyed these chapters, and found them informative and moving, as well as containing beautiful observations of nature. Pinning the information to specific animals worked to keep the chapters focused and informative. I also enjoyed later chapters on the history of the Indigenous people in the Arctic, which includes the history of the rise of the Thule culture and their vibrant art works, and its loss during the Little Ice Age, as well as the earlier Devonian culture. Lopez also discusses the ways in which Europeans destroyed and wiped out native cultures. Lopez writes with sympathy and respect about the Indigenous people, and he travelled on the ice with various Indigenous explorers.
Some of the later chapters I found less interesting: Lopez devotes two long chapters to the history of Arctic exploration and the hunt for the Northwest passage, and while his prose style keeps these stories vivid and informative, I am a lot more interested in the ecology of the Arctic and the relationship of Indigenous people to it, rather than the history of many ill-conceived Polar voyages. Some of Lopez's writing about sunlight, ocean currents and the relationship of the Arctic to daylight confused me, but I think that's because I personally need a lot more diagrams to fully understand a scientific concept.
Overall, this is an impressive work. It's described as the classic of Arctic writing, with good reason. It is worth having as a reference book for many different aspects of the Arctic, and well-worth reading as a nature writing, travel writing, and history.
Though it's over 400 pages in length, this book is only divided into nine chapters. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of the Arctic: its ecology, the science of light and ice, the history of Polar exploration, the history of peoples indigenous to the Arctic, the stories and myths surrounding different animals. At the time of writing, 1986, Lopez was still optimistic about the future of the Arctic, and did not conceive of the scale of the current destruction of landscape and climate. Reading it now, the book at times feels elegiac in tone, as it captures the scale of what we have lost, and what we continue to lose.
My edition includes an introduction by Robert MacFarlane, as well as Lopez's maps and extensive glossary. The first three chapters discuss totemic animals of the North: the musk ox, the polar bear, and narwhal, going deep into their biology, the history of their movements, our understanding of them in myth, how they fit into the landscape, and the relationship the indigenous people of the area have with them. (Lopez uses the word "Eskimo" throughout this book, as he says that only Canadian Indigenous people wish to be called Inuits. I've read this in various sources, but nowhere have I found it said that anyone is happy to be called an "Eskimo".) I really enjoyed these chapters, and found them informative and moving, as well as containing beautiful observations of nature. Pinning the information to specific animals worked to keep the chapters focused and informative. I also enjoyed later chapters on the history of the Indigenous people in the Arctic, which includes the history of the rise of the Thule culture and their vibrant art works, and its loss during the Little Ice Age, as well as the earlier Devonian culture. Lopez also discusses the ways in which Europeans destroyed and wiped out native cultures. Lopez writes with sympathy and respect about the Indigenous people, and he travelled on the ice with various Indigenous explorers.
Some of the later chapters I found less interesting: Lopez devotes two long chapters to the history of Arctic exploration and the hunt for the Northwest passage, and while his prose style keeps these stories vivid and informative, I am a lot more interested in the ecology of the Arctic and the relationship of Indigenous people to it, rather than the history of many ill-conceived Polar voyages. Some of Lopez's writing about sunlight, ocean currents and the relationship of the Arctic to daylight confused me, but I think that's because I personally need a lot more diagrams to fully understand a scientific concept.
Overall, this is an impressive work. It's described as the classic of Arctic writing, with good reason. It is worth having as a reference book for many different aspects of the Arctic, and well-worth reading as a nature writing, travel writing, and history.