A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic

by E.C. Pielou

Book Overview

This book is a practical, portable guide to all of the Arctic's natural history--sky, atmosphere, terrain, ice, the sea, plants, birds, mammals, fish, and insects--for those who will experience the Arctic firsthand and for armchair travelers who would just as soon read about its splendors and surprises. It is packed with answers to naturalists' questions and with questions--some of them answered--that naturalists may not even have thought of.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226668142
• ISBN13: 9780226668147
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Able to capture the beauty of nature for the every day reader.

The book is an extremely well written piece on a complex subject that doesn't require one to have degrees in meteorology, botany, and zoology. The book lays out the landscape of the air, sky, water and land giving you a "touch and feel" sense of the arctic from the warmest to the coldest spots. Then the book populates this landscape with flowers, insects, animals and fish. As each piece is added you are able to understand how the bits all work together; and more amazingly, survive. The author also writes with the knowledge of people. Many people who read this book will most likely be people who are not living in the arctic. She writes knowing that many people live in places like cities and suburbs. For example, she makes observations on how one may find an animal charming until one is startled by the reality of its wild side. When I read these I feel she is trying to ground you in reality, without being dismissive. I feel she is trying to really sit, side by side with you, and lead you through a world in a very compassionate way. The book, for me, seems to have two purposes. 1. to give a reader a picture of the world one will see and hear as well as what you can't see! 2. to prepare people for the raw and sometimes startling harsh aspects that you probably will see if you go there, so you are in a sense, prepared mentally for the experience. She paints a thousand pictures with her words! I would highly recommend this to anyone who is planning on going to this part of the world, or to someone who wants to get more information than is usually available in a single documentary.

Naturalist's guide to Northern Canada and Greenland, not the European Arctic

This is a great handbook for the North American Arctic, and probably should be labeled as such. For Svalbard, or the Russian Arctic, not so much. See Spitsbergen: Svalbard, Franz Josef, Jan Mayen, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide instead. The coverage is quite broad, meteorology, ice, wildlife, climate, the sea, and the plants are all discussed. From my limited knowledge and experience, I've seen no errors. With ongoing climate change, the Arctic is an increasingly important location with more visitors and renewed interest. This book serves well.

Arctic Ecotour guide's life-line

I worked for four years in a remote, eco-lodge and used to carry at least five books for the guest who wanted to know everything. When I found this book, it remidied the necessity to carry so many books. This book covers enough topics to be useful in almost every situation. It is well written and clear. This book was my life-line and I recommend it to everyone who is travelling north of the tree-line.

a book to be read again and again

I have backpacked on the arctic plain on numerous occasions. Having this book along helps one appreciate the beauty and inter-related nature of the terrain. This is a book to be read more than once; read it on the flight to Alaska. Reading about how the insects torment the caribou makes one appreciate that one has repellants along, and a tent to be inside of. Of the various guides I have been with, this is almost a standard reference book to have with them.

Beautifully illustrated, elegantly written

This book is a "must have" for the advanced undergraduate, beginning grad student, or serious amateur naturalist interested in the North. While a combination of other books may be more comprehensive, if I had to trek north to the Yukon, this is what I would throw in my backpack. Pielou's knowledge and love of the high latitudes bursts through every page, and the pen and ink illustrations convey a real sense of both fauna and flora.