Polar Regions Books

This book is a great introduction for 8-12 year-olds to environmental science in one of the coolest spots on Earth - Antarctica's Dry Valleys. Great artwork from real kids and the illustrations are beautiful. Clear information, and a story about compassion and cooperation. I recommend it for third through fifth grade classroom teachers, middle school science teachers, families and kids who love animals.

This book is great for kids. It is an interesting book that combines elementary school level science and the adventure of a seal lost in Antarctica. One of the great features is the kids art on the side of each page that come from all over the world. The kids really liked looking at the differences between the artwork from England, New Zealand, and the US on the same topic. Also, it is nice that there are some links online where the kids can watch live footage of the seal. It is a really great way to get kids interested in learning about science. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a christmas present for young kids. I have already bought five copies.

Although the Cook/Peary North Pole controversy still rages after over 90 years, I believe that this republication of Frederick A. Cook's My Attainment of the Pole should help immeasurably in eliminating all doubt about Cook's accomplishment.

The book not only is a faithful, easy-to-read republication of Cook's 1911 opus, it contains up-to-date data from well-established polar explorers and historians that validate Cook's original observations. It also confronts the Peary arguments (and what appear to be "dirty tricks") head-on, and emergesw victorious.

After reading the book, I was convinced that Cook was the first to attain the Pole and believe you will reach the same conclusion.

Excellent book and excellent adventure book. I especially enjoyed the updates provided in the book which is a reprint by the Cook Society. I am only vaguely aware of the controversy because of a friend who is invloved in high arctic camping. No matter what, Dr. Cook and his Inuit friends are cut of exceptional cloth to have endured so much, almost casually. However, I will say that Dr. Cook appears to be a more pleasant person than Admiral Peary.

Sophie Webb has applied her wonderful drawings to a travel log of her trip to the Cape Royds penguin colony on Ross Island, Antactica. Her drawings of the penguins in all their various activities are wonderfully accurate and delightful. She also recounts her experiences traveling to Antactica in a way that makes it very real -- I should know, I was there with her! The book is very well suited to kids as well as adults. However, note that she is quite truthful about some of the various fates that can await less fortunate penguins! Sophie has done a great job with this book.

Sophie has written a brilliant book for children and adults to learn about the amazing Adelie Penguins of Antarctica. Her illustrations and story are very well done and it will start a long love affair with the southern continent for you and your child, encouraging you to learn more about the Antarctic.

This book makes the polar areas very interesting. It can help you understand what a great loss these areas are going to be if we continue to do nothing about global warming. This books is about the joys of the polar regions however, not the loss. More fish prefer the polar regions than warmer regions. Penguins can't survive the bacteria and viruses found in warmer areas and get sick and die in zoos. Polar bears survive better in the cold areas. They love these places and are well suited to them. Musk Oxen and reindeer live in polar regions too. People live in the Arctic. To me, it's cold but it is an important ecosystem that we can't afford to lose. I appreciated learning more about the region and how well some living things are suited to it.

Penguins are in right now, whether they are marching or giving polar bear cubs soft drinks, so the one on the cover of "Penguins Swim But Don't Get Wet and Other Amazing Facts About Polar Animals" should catch a lot of eyes. This book by Melvin and Gilda Berger for the Speedy Facts series looks at the two coldest places on earth, the Arctic and the Antarctic. As this book explains, there are animals that live on the polar ice and the icy cold water where you can find birds that swim but do not fly, bears that spend more time in water than on land, fish with white blood, whales as long as three buses, and a bunch of other polar animals. The fact that bears can swim 62 miles (99.8 kilometers) without stopping is quite fascinating, but the book does not explain why they stop so close to the 100 km mark. Then again, curiosity is a good thing in young students and the hallmark of this series is that it makes subjects like ocean creatures, the human body, and wild weather seem absolutely fascinating.

The first chapter of the book is devoted to the Polar Lands, explaining about the icy cold, glaciers and icebergs. Then the Bergers look at the Arctic and Antarctic in turn, comparing the weather and the people that can be found in both (Inuits up north and scientists in the south). Then there are chapters devoted to penguins, polar bears, caribou and reindeer, musk oxen, arctic wolves, small arctic land animals (lemmings, arctic foxes, arctic hares, and ermines), whales, seals, walruses, Arctic birds, and Antarctic birds. Each chapter devotes each page to a separate topic. For example, the one on penguins looks at where penguins live, family life, getting along on land, and swimming champs. Each page has a couple of paragraphs of basic information and then up to five Speedy Facts (although you will find that most of the Speedy Facts about the emperor penguin you already know from "March of the Penguins," which just speaks to the educational value of that documentary).

There are also charts that will show the relative size of the various types of penguins, bears and seals (oh my), although often the Bergers will couch things in terms that young students can better understand (e.g., the emperor penguin is about as tall as second grader but weighs as much as a sixth grader). The table of contents only talks about the general category of animals and you will not find an index in the back of the book so that finding specific information is going to require you to flip through the book and look at the titles and facts here assembled. The last chapter talks about how polar animals are in danger because of human beings and ends with a plea to help protect these animals (although there is not a specific solution advanced). It would be nice to see Speedy Facts books about animals in other parts of the world, but of course the polar regions are ideally suited for this series because of the relatively few animals that live there (imagine trying to cover all of the animals you would find in just the basin of the Amazon River).

IF YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH POLARbears or just LOVE ANIMALS LIKE WE DO THIS IS NOT A BOOK TO PASS UP! IT'S AFFORDABLE & PACKED WITH ALL YOU WOULD WANT EXCEPT FOR MORE COLOR PICTURES... THERE R NEVER ENOUGH FOR ANIMAL WARRIORS LIKE WE ARE! (IF U LEARN ABOUT THEM YOU'LL LOVE EM & IF YOU LOVE EM YOU'LL WANNA SAVE THEM!) RIP STEVE IRWIN...

This research guide was purchased for my classroom. In the first week I had it available, six students were on the waiting list to check it out. Once again Mr. and Mrs. Osborne have provided a teacher/student friendly support book for a Magic Tree House book.

This is one of the best books I have ever read about human evolution and geography. The author seems thoroughly knowledgeable. He synthesizes his knowledge into a wonderfully readable, easy to understand text. If you are curious about the peopling of the north or just about the development of people in general, this is a good choice. If you could give six stars, I would do it. And I'm certainly not so effusive about everything...

I think this is a beautiful synthesis of the state of information today regarding human occupation of the higher latitudes (read: brrr chilly). I have never met Dr. Hoffecker but I was one of the last students of Dr. Roger Powers, with whom Hoffecker worked in Alaska in the Nenana Valley and elsewhere, in the search for early human occupation in Alaska. Coupled with the same author's book on the Eastern European record, it provides an excellent picture of an important aspect of the upward trajectory of humanity from ambitious primate to h. sap. technologicus. If I return to teaching I will definitely use this as a text where subject appropriate, and in my consulting work I will likely refer to it frequently as the newest and best compendium of information.

Excellent book. I raced in the 1998 Dyea to Dawson wilderness ultra-marathon. John does a very good job of describing the race and the Klondike Gold rush of 1898.


Jerry S. Dixon

River Time: Racing The Ghosts Of The Klondike Rush is a chronicle of a Canadian backcountry adventure undertaken by John Firth and his nephew in their determination to travel the miles of rugged ground traversed by so many thousands of others back in the days of the Yukon Gold Rush. Combining historical record and modern-day adventure, as an uncle and nephew retrace the steps their grandfather blazed during the Klondike Rush of 1897-98, River Time is a breathtaking journey that stunningly portrays beautiful natural scenery, the rough hardships of nature, and reflects upon the reality of fierce human competition then and now. An absorbing travelogue, the next most vivid thing to embarking upon a Klondike gold rush recreation oneself.

This book must be added to your collection if you are a true student of the Shackleton story. It combines the best of all the books (picture books, biographies, and personal accounts) out there with beautiful photographs in the tradition of National Geographic and the color shots truly enliven the original black and whites from the expedition. The maps are outstanding and there are reproductions of pages from Shackleton's and Hurley's diaries.
I haven't really found a book on the Shackleton story that is horrible . Maybe the story is so inspiring it tells itself. Trapped by The Ice, the picture book for kids by Michael McCurdy, is the worst example I know and I still like that for the rendering of the sea leopard leaping at Ordes-Lee, the officer in charge of food supplies. There are better children's books, Sea of Ice, by Monica Kulling, a fairly easy read for upper elementary students with beautiful watercolors, Trial By Ice, by K. M. Kostyal, a photobiography of Shackleton, Ice Story for middle school students, with black and white photographs and a magnificent large picture book with paintings and photographs, Spirit of Endurance, by Jennifer Armstrong. Get them all!

The major events of the ill-fated voyage of Sir Ernest Shakelton's attempt to cross Antarctica are well known. However, what most do not know or understand is the depth and breadth of this extraordinary man. Shackleton was not only a bonified explorer, more importantly he was a noble leader.

"Leaders do not force their fellow citizens to follow, they inspire them to do so."

If there is one thing to learn from this book, it is the true meaning of leadership and how important willing-loyalty is to our basic survival. Seen in the face of unimaginable odds, they survived - and they survived in whole: worn and frazzled from nearly 2 years of struggle, they were rescued mentaly tough and spiritually whole. In no small part, this was due to the quality of leadership demonstrated by Shackleton: it was embraced and reflected in his men.

It is amazing, this entity we call 'the human spirit'. If trained - but, not broken - like a fine horse, it has great wonders to show and is a true beauty to behold. Such are the many lessons learned from the tales of this "Endurance" voyage: did anyone ever wonder about the naming of that ship? What started out as a championing exploration, became a struggle with life itself to survive.

Likewise, what most will perceive as an "interesting read", will soon become an invaluable source for life-guiding principles. Get the book - read it - and put these incalculably precious lessons into practice in your own life. You never know when you'll need the endurance.

the product was in wonderful condition, as i expected. i couldn't believe how quickly this book arrived. the price was so low, i will shop here again soon. i highly recommend buying here.

Emmadine. a cow, joins Admiral Byrd's 1933 expedition to the South Pole. Factual information about the South Pole is blended with the details of Emmadine's escapades, impressions, and adventures in the coldest place on earth. All the while she is collecting memories to tell to her "grandcows" when she gets home to the farm.

In 1963 20-year-old Michael Warr signed up for a two-year hitch with the British Antarctic Survey as a meteorologist in the Antarctic. He kept a diary. "South of Sixty" is the diary transformed into a most engaging memoir forty years later by the now sixty-year-old Michael Warr.

I recently read Charles Darwin's famed "Voyage of the Beagle," and while Warr's account of his adventures is modest compared to that masterpiece, it is nonetheless similar in some respects. They went to some of the same places, Montevideo and the Falkland Islands, for example; and while Warr didn't circumnavigate the globe, he did get a lot colder than Darwin even did! And both men transcribed their notes some years after the event. There is a certain charm in such narratives perhaps because the writer gets to look back at the life of a younger man who was himself.

The further similarity that struck me was the love of learning and exploring that both men share. Like Darwin, Warr observes the flora and fauna and takes a delight in what he sees. His interaction with the huskies that pull the sledges, full of warmth and understanding, was one of the highlights of the book. Here's an example of Warr's clean, crisp prose:
"In May 1958 three men from the Horseshoe Island base sledged west to the Dions. They were not seen again. Nine of their fourteen huskies made their way back to the Horseshoe Island and the Stonington Island area. The dogs had traveled east for thirty miles over broken sea ice. One of the men, to give the dogs a chance at surviving, had cut their traces." (pp. 111-112)

Whenever I read a memoir I can't help but read between the lines, asking myself, what kind of person is the author? What does he think of himself? How candid is he? How much or how little does he try to make himself look good? The magic of this book is that Warr doesn't attempt to make himself out in any way. He lets the words of the 20-year-old that he once was speak for themselves. What comes through is an earnest, likeable, and talented young man learning about the world. His interactions with the other "Fids" at the two bases suggest a young man eager to learn from others and eager to take his place in that unique world of men, a world that was in some respects like being in the army or in the French Foreign Legion or even in prison! Warr adapted so well that when it came time to leave after two years of virtual isolation, he was a bit sorry to go and even wanted to stay longer. Personally I think I would be rabid with cabin fever.

Warr describes the penguins, the seals, the flying birds and the few other bits of wild life that he encounters in a way that makes them vibrant. His descriptions of breaking up fights between the huskies, of feeding them and sledging with them read like something from Jack London. There is a sense of being one with the dogs, of sharing their short, harsh existence, and learning from them, that reminds me of the best in nature writing. His observations about the seals reminded me of an experience I had with a friend a few years ago. We think of seals as being basically harmless since we usually meet them on land or see them from ships. But Warr mentions that one of the men living in the Antarctic was actually drowned by a leopard seal. I can believe this because my friend and I had hopped out onto a kind of natural rock pier north of Ft. Bragg, California, and while standing there with the waves splashing by us as they hit the rocks, we spotted a couple of animals in the water. One of them got closer and then so close that we could see it was a male elephant seal who was eyeing us strangely, like maybe we were something to eat! Because we were out on the low lying rocks it was like being in the water with the seal. For a moment I realized that, had we actually been in the water, perhaps the seal would have bitten us, or--surprising technique--tried to drown us!

Warr ends the book with a return to the Antarctic as a tourist and sees how things have changed. Women are now working there along with the men. They have snowmobiles and other modern equipment, and the dogs are no longer used to pull sledges. Trash is no longer just dumped into the sea or crevasses. There's email and the Internet, and clear evidence of global warming as the ice has receded noticeably. Warr looked at the changes that have taken place and realized that you can return, but it will never be the same. He notes though that there are more of the protected fur seals now.

There are a couple of small maps in the book, a brief bibliography, and 16 color photos, some taken back in the sixties and some from 2005. Here's another beautifully written passage from Warr:

"Saki, grey around the muzzle, got more arthritic as the winter progressed. Sometimes it was too painful for him to have his harness removed, and he had difficulty keeping up with the team.... It was decided to put him down. Jim offered to do it, but I felt it was my job. One morning in late October I led Saki up the edge of Neptunes Window overlooking Bransfield Strait. Cathedral Crags loomed up either side of the narrow gap, and a sheer drop fell to the sea below. I fired the .45. Saki whimpered as I grazed him. The next bullet killed him. I removed his wrinkled collar, and pushed him over the edge. I walked back to the base with tears in my eyes." (p. 76)

This is a day-to-day account of life in an Antarctic base in the 1960's. Michael Warr was a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey, first on Deception Island, then on Adelaide Island.

The author makes no bones about the harshness of life below 60 degrees of latitude; there are scenes of seal-killing that will affect the animal-rights people (they needed seals to feed the dogs; if you can't stand hunting scenes, you won't like this.) The gritty details like cooking, sledging, what plant life you find, is in excellent detail. Then the author takes a tourist trip to Antarctica a few years ago and compares life today versus life in 1963.

I really enjoyed this memoir (well, I love memoirs, and travel memoirs especially.) But what I really liked was how the author discussed how he matured from a raw youth, how it was to be young, in a remote, dangerous place and how the Antarctic had changed when he went back as a tourist forty years later. The scene of Briscoe House, abandoned and damaged by volcanic ash, was poignant. The pictures more so.


I don't know if I will ever be privileged to go to the South Shetland islands, but if I don't, I can enjoy this tale of an arctic expedition, complete with dogs and funny British customs. This is wonderful reading.