Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape
Barry Lopez's National Book Award-winning classic study of the Far North is widely considered his masterpiece.\ Lopez offers a thorough examination of this obscure world-its terrain, its wildlife, its history of Eskimo natives and intrepid explorers who have arrived on their icy shores. But what turns this marvelous work of natural history into a breathtaking study of profound originality is his unique meditation on how the landscape can shape our imagination, desires, and dreams. Its prose...
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Barry Lopez's National Book Award-winning classic study of the Far North is widely considered his masterpiece.Lopez offers a thorough examination of this obscure world-its terrain, its wildlife, its history of Eskimo natives and intrepid explorers who have arrived on their icy shores. But what turns this marvelous work of natural history into a breathtaking study of profound originality is his unique meditation on how the landscape can shape our imagination, desires, and dreams. Its prose as hauntingly pure as the land it describes, Arctic Dreams is nothing less than an indelible classic of modern literature. London Review of Books - William Fiennes ...[W]ritten after 'four or five' years of traveling in the Arctic; its cargo of observation and research is colossal....[I]n part a series of dispatches on despoliation, the consequences of 'the sudden arrival of a foreign technology'...where Lopez discovers 'some of the saddest human lives I have ever seen.'
AcknowledgmentsxiiiAuthor's NotexviiPrefacexixPrologue: Pond's Bay, Baffin Island11.Arktikos152.Banks Island: Ovibos moschatus423.Tornarssuk: Ursus maritimus764.Lancaster Sound: Monodon monoceros1195.Migration: The Corridors of Breath1526.Ice and Light2047.The Country of the Mind2528.The Intent of Monks3029.A Northern Passage355Epilogue: Saint Lawrence Island, Bering Sea407Notes417Maps421Appendices427Bibliography445Index449
\ William Fiennes...[W]ritten after 'four or five' years of traveling in the Arctic; its cargo of observation and research is colossal....[I]n part a series of dispatches on despoliation, the consequences of 'the sudden arrival of a foreign technology'...where Lopez discovers 'some of the saddest human lives I have ever seen.'\ — London Review of Books\ \ \ \ \ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ This is one of the finest books ever written about the Far North, warmly appreciative and understanding of the natural forces that shape life in an austere landscape. The prize-winning author (Of Wolves and Men spent four years in Arctic regions: traveling between Davis Strait in the east and Bering Strait in the west, hunting with Eskimos and accompanying archeologists, biologists and geologists in the field. Lopez became enthralled by the power of the Arctic, a power he observes derives from ``the tension between its beauty and its capacity to take life.'' This is a story of light, darkness and ice; of animal migrations and Eskimos; of the specter of development and the cultural perception of a region. Examining the literature of 19th century exploration, Lopez finds a disassociation from the actual landscape; explorers have tended to see the Arctic as an adversary. Peary and Stefansson left as a troubling legacy the attitude that the landscape could be labeled, then manipulated. Today, he contends, an imaginative, emotional approach to the Arctic is as important as a rational, scientific one. Lopez has written a wonderful, compelling defense of the Arctic wilderness. Illustrations. BOMC main selection. (March 11)\ \ \ Library JournalThe themes of this book are as vast as the landscape it encompasses. Having lived in the Arctic for long periods of time, Lopez authoritatively conveys an enormous breadth and variety of knowledge, including Arctic exploration, geography, weather, animal migration, and behavior. His portraits of animalsmuskox, polar bear, narwhale, and othersreflect a sensitive melding of facts and mystery. The work is suffused with philosophical and lyrical strains. Through the centuries the Arctic landscape has woven a ``legacy of desire'' in many a mind and heart, shaping imagination and knowledge. For Lopez, how the Arctic is comprehended will determine its fate. Whether its land, peoples, and animals are honored or vitiated will depend upon the working out of this metaphorical analogy between mind and landscape. Highly recommended for most collections. Carol J. Lichtenberg, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman\ \ \ \ \ William Fiennes...[W]ritten after 'four or five' years of traveling in the Arctic; its cargo of observation and research is colossal....[I]n part a series of dispatches on despoliation, the consequences of 'the sudden arrival of a foreign technology'...where Lopez discovers 'some of the saddest human lives I have ever seen.'\ — London Review of Books\ \
