Ultima Thule: Explorers and Natives in the Polar North Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is the ultimate book on Greenland with a sensitive approach to the inuit people. Both breathtaking and informative. Respect of nature, art and people. A masterpiece.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Ultima Thule: Explorers and Natives in the Polar North

An illustrated history of 170 years of Arctic exploration and its effects on indigenous peoples.Ultima Thule is the terrible and yet fantastic story of European and American exploration in the polar north. Based on excerpts from the explorers' logs counterbalanced by Inuit testimony, it brings to life both sides of the clash that arose when white men arrived in the Far North, dreaming of conquest and believing that they brought with them a civilization superior to that of the indigenous peoples they found. Today, the outlook for the Inuit and the polar environment is bleak: the people and their landscape are in danger of disappearing for good. But according to Jean Malaurie, the situation is not altogether without hope.Heavily illustrated with period photographs, engravings, artifacts, and drawings, the book gives the readers the impression of having an entire museum of North Pole history in their hands. 650 color and black-and-white photographs.--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Click here for more information about Ultima Thule: Explorers and Natives in the Polar North

Owls of the North: A Naturalist's Handbook Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This charming little book will fit easily into your backpack, although not into your back pocket. Naturalist David Benson's keys to identification make "Owls of the North" a good field guide, and his sidebars on related facts make for some interesting reading. But the real strength of the book is in the photos of the owls. They are absolutely captivating.
The photo credits are given on page 84. Benson comments: "If we add up all the hours in the field it took to get the photos in this book, the number would be nearly unbelievable. Not to mention the conditions these photographers endured--cramped blinds, soggy feet, blood-thirsty mosquitoes, finger-numbing cold. But the results are spectacular."
They are. There is something about the owl countenance that is thrilling: the big eyes, the rounded face, the invisible mouth (suggesting strong reticence, I guess), the strong beak in the middle. They are simultaneously cute and seemingly "wise" as they look into our souls.
Fortunately Benson does not wax so anthropomorphically! His text is informative and interesting. He explains the ear tufts on some owls--or actually he explains that we don't really know for sure what they are for. He explains their acute hearing and how their ears are placed that help they home in on the faintest of sounds, such as voles moving under the snow. He touches on how their talons work and he identifies their habitats, their food, and many other bits of fascinating information. There are little global maps showing the range that the owls occupy. Interesting enough at the center point of the maps is the North Pole. The range of many of these northern owls extends from the US and Canada over the Pole to Europe. These are some of the best cold-weather adapted creatures on the planet.
Seeing owls is a sometime thing I can tell you, and I congratulate Benson for his time in the field. In all my "nature studies" over the years I have seen perhaps two or three owls. Of course I usually do not go out at the most opportune times, that is to say at night! The owls I have seen appeared at dusk.
I highly recommend this book not only for those who want to know more about owls, but birders in general. I did find one small error. On page 32 Benson writes: "...Red-shouldered Hawks aren't found west of the eastern Great Plains..." Believe me, they are. I see quite a few along the riparian trails here in the Sacramento area.
By the way, the cover photo shown here on Amazon is not the same as on the cover of the book I have. (I like the one I have even better!) But the cover photo does appear in the book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Owls of the North: A Naturalist's Handbook

Like a hike in the woods with a seasoned naturalist, this book takes you on a journey into the world of owls. It explains how to tell them apart, how they live, where they live and the most interesting, down-to-earth details about their lives. Packed with photos that capture the beauty and intrigue of owls, this book will answer your questions about the owls that you see...and help you find the ones you haven't seen.

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Owls of the North: A Naturalist's Handbook

Tying Down the Wind: Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Eric Pinder subtitles his book "Tying Down The Wind" with "Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth." But when Pinder writes about such weather, he does so with such a poetic pen that you want to experience it with him. I read much of this book sitting outdoors, enjoying the last days of autumn warmth and dryness I found it difficult to read more than one page at a stretch because Pinder's poetic descriptions of the sky made me stop and look more closely at the sky above me, hoping to see some of what he had described. If I gave you all the passages that stirred my imagination, I'd be infringing on copyright laws.
I rate Tying Down The Wind as one of my three favourite weather books for sheer beauty of the writing. On a few occasions, Pinder's poetic license results in a description falling just off the edge of strict scientific accuracy but in only one case does he go too far for my scientific side.
If you love watching the sky or have weather aficionados or nature nuts on your holiday shopping list, buy this book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tying Down the Wind: Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth

Click here for more information about Tying Down the Wind: Adventures in the Worst Weather on Earth

Time Ghost Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Time travel, climate change, friendship, claustrophobia, nature, oil in the Arctic, lots of good stuff. I personally think this is one of the author's most under-reviewed and under-read books.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Time Ghost

Click here for more information about Time Ghost

Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Most of the books images have been poorly resized upwards. Almost every image is marred by pixelization -- Zebra stripes have jagged stairsteps. While original digital footage was shot with enough resolution for HD DVD, those screen captures do not have enough detail for good prints.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before

Get 38% OFF

Click here for more information about Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before

From Tadpole to Frog (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a nice book with attractive artwork that describes the two-year life cycle of the American Bullfrog. As a Stage One book "From Tadpole to Frog" uses simple sentences and concepts that are appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, and young children up to about 8 or 9 years of age.
Besides a description of the Bullfrog lifecycle, and the 'where Bullfrogs can be found' map, there are pictures with brief descriptions of 5 other frogs, including the Leopard, Pickerel, Wood, Spring Peeper, and Gray Tree frogs.
Four Stars. Good artwork on every page. The color runs from edge to edge. Okay Read-aloud. The Bullfrog is interesting as even the tadpoles hibernate for one year. Nothing objectionable in my opinion; although I should note above that there is a brief mention of reproduction. [I mention this as some parents have concerns and have told me they appreciate such notes.] The book, in any case, says the following about frog reproduction:
At night you hear "Ba-ra-rooom... ba-ra-
room... ba-ra-rooom...". The males are calling
to their mates.
The female hear the call.
The male hugs his mate. He fertilizes her eggs as
she lays them in the water. Thousands of soft
jelly-covered eggs cling together in the cool water.
The artwork shows the frogs hugging, and neither art nor wordage was inappropriate or graphic, in my opinion. Certainly my children didn't think anything of it.
The AR reading level is given as 1.6 which means this is a book for a child in the second half of the first grade. While professionally assessed, this mom thinks quite a few first graders will need some help because of the vocabulary. More difficult words include: hibernate, thousands, whistle, creatures, stretching, fertilizes, speckled, and capture. Words they might not be familiar with are: mate, female, male, breathe, gills, and cling.

Click Here to see more reviews about: From Tadpole to Frog (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Wendy Pfeffer describes the amazing metamorphosis from tiny, jellylike egg, to little fishy tadpole, to great big bullfrog. Holly Keller has created the archetypal frog pond and we see it through the seasons as the tadpoles grow legs and lungs and eventually hop onto land: bullfrogs at last. "Well-designed ink drawings washed with soft-toned watercolors stretch across the double-page spreads, showing the action above and below water level. . . .an attractive, general introduction."-BL. 1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)Best Children's Science Books, 1994 (Science Books and Films)

Click here for more information about From Tadpole to Frog (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Michael F. Robinson's "The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture" focuses on the public perception of American Arctic exploration to illuminate developments in the political and cultural history of the United States between 1850 and 1909. He approaches the Arctic as "a faraway stage on which explorers played out dramas that were unfolding very close to home" (p. 3). He unpacks the political and cultural demarcations of American culture and uses the polar explorers as a means of illuminating U.S. society and culture. Most important, Robinson finds that the explorers offered an unequivocal statement of American exceptionalism that all could embrace. In the end, he asserts that Americans used the Arctic as a surrogate for other controversies and dramas played out far from the snow-covered region.
There is much in "The Coldest Crucible" to admire. Robinson makes a succinct, well-structured argument, using Arctic exploration as a stage on which to dramatize what he thinks are the core elements of the American nation in the nineteenth century. Robinson is at his best when he documents the manner in which the Arctic served as a unifying theme in a nation divided by slavery in the 1840s and 1850s. At a critical level stories of the search for Sir John Franklin's lost expedition diverted the public from the more serious issues taking place on the national stage. I immediately thought of the many diversions of minor stories in the media in the 2002-2003 time period rather than focusing on the huge story of the nation's politicos lumbering toward what became the quagmire of Iraq.
But diversions were no less useful in the post-Civil War era, but Robinson tends to interpret Arctic exploration differently in that era. He seems to emphasize its role more as an expression of anxiety about a loss of masculinity present in the rise of urban America. But I find his unifying theme valid there as well, and would suggest that the race of Robert Peary and Frederick Cook to the North Pole was just as attractive a feature of Americanism writ large as the pre-Civil War efforts in the Arctic.
While I quibble with the details of his thesis, Robinson's study is superb. It effectively demonstrates his central contention that the exploration of the Arctic was effectively invoked by observers to further ends on the continental American landscape far removed from the ice. His innovative approach will have to be dealt with in the historiography hereafter, and no one will be able to deny that Robinson has made his case that our culture gave rise to the polar expeditions undertaken by Americans in the nineteenth century. As he demonstrated, the quest for the Arctic for Americans represented a unique synergy between culture and exploration, each one playing off the other.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture

In the late 1800s, "Arctic Fever” swept across the nation as dozens of American expeditions sailed north to the Arctic to find a sea route to Asia and, ultimately, to stand at the North Pole. Few of these missions were successful, and many men lost their lives en route. Yet failure did little to dampen the enthusiasm of new explorers or the crowds at home that cheered them on. Arctic exploration, Michael F. Robinson argues, was an activity that unfolded in America as much as it did in the wintry hinterland. Paying particular attention to the perils facing explorers at home, The Coldest Crucible examines their struggles to build support for the expeditions before departure, defend their claims upon their return, and cast themselves as men worthy of the nation’s full attention. In so doing, this book paints a new portrait of polar voyagers, one that removes them from the icy backdrop of the Arctic and sets them within the tempests of American cultural life. With chronological chapters featuring emblematic Arctic explorers—including Elisha Kent Kane, Charles Hall, and Robert Peary—The Coldest Crucible reveals why the North Pole, a region so geographically removed from Americans, became an iconic destination for discovery.

Get 21% OFF

Click here for more information about The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture

Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I remember a paradoxical statement about the Bible that I heard attributed to Karl Barth: "The Bible is not the word of God, but it contains the word of God." Well, TEACHING A STONE TO TALK is not Annie Dillard's finest book (that distinction belongs to either PILGRIM AT TINKERS CREEK or AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD), but it contains her best work, i.e., some essays that are as good as anything that she has ever written. Almost inevitably, as in most collections, some of the essays aren't nearly as strong as the best, but the good ones make this slender volume essential reading for any fan of Ms. Dillard.
My personal favorite among the fourteen comprising this book is also the longest, "An Expedition to the Pole." I consider myself to be a deeply religious person, but I also find church services to be almost unbearable (much like one of my literary heroes, Samuel Johnson). In this essay, Dillard contrasts her experiences in an utterly dreadful church service with many of the attempts in the nineteenth century to mount expeditions to reach the North Pole. The attempts of those adventurers are simultaneously tragic and laughable, in that their goal was so vastly beyond their means. The implication is that the same is true in worship: we attempt to worship god, but our efforts are clumsy and fall far short of the mark. There is nobility in both, and certainly Dillard doesn't want to imply that worship is futile. But the parallels are there. It is a brilliant essay.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings.

Get 41% OFF

Click here for more information about Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

Keep On: The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole is a picturebook biography of intrepid African-American explorer Matthew Henson, who is often overlooked even though he discovered the North Pole along with the more famous Admiral Robert Peary. Matthew Henson was the most valuable member of Peary's team; he repaired equipment, hunted, traded with and learned from the Inuit. After an eighteen year odyssey he and Peary were the first to stand at the top of the world; yet due to the racial climate of the era, only Peary was widely remembered and credited for the achievement. Award-winning artist Deborah Hopkinson brings to life this stirring, little-known saga of a born explorer.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Keep On: The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole

Get 23% OFF

Click here for more information about Keep On: The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole

The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had to go to the post office to pick up my package and couldn't wait until I got home to open it. I opened it right there in the post office, "This is beautiful," I said out loud. The layout is so perfect for the pictures - it opens lengthwise. Other people standing in line all had to take a peek and loved it too.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole

Antarctica remains largely unknown and infinitely fascinating. Stuart Klipper has traveled to Antarctica six times in twentyyears to photograph this astounding body of workoffering a sweeping look at this majestic continentwhich has lately become central to global climate change concerns. Shot in panoramic format—the only way to encompass a landscapethat seems to stretch on forever—Klipper's work captures major features and surprising details: ships suspended in the frozen seaglowing blue icebergsvistas of endless snowand troops of penguins. This volume's substantial sizepanoramic shapeand unique vertical-opening case emphasize the grandeur of these austere and lovely photographs from the bottom of the world.

Get 34% OFF

Click here for more information about The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole