I recently bought it and read Kabloona in a weekend. The result was an incredibly valuable experience that has increased my awareness not only of Inuit life in the Netsilik area but of human behavior in general.Dde Poncins' prose is magnificent, even poetic. Numerous passages simply sing. Whether he is describing the describing bouts of cabin fever at the post in Gjoa Haven or celebrating the renewed vigor of villiage life that Springtime brings, De Poncins's eye for detail is refreshingly balanced and clear. What's more, Kabloona does not pretend to be an unbiased narrative. Instead, the author leads us through his physical and spiritual journey to show us how living with the Inuit has allowed him to become "a man preeminently." Certain passages seem somewhat romanticized, while others reveal the author's deeply-entrenched provincial values. The latter is evident when he describes an Inuit "pedarast" with a mixed sense of fascination and revulsion. But rather than hindering the narrative, such honesty and straightforwardness only enhances the humanity of this book. Kabloona is a thoroughly engrossing read that feeds into many areas of Inuit life, including myths, legends, and belief systems, as well as daily life and habitat.

It's been years since I read "Kabloona" by gontran de poncins. I don't remember the specifics of the book (I'm going to read it again, soon). What I do remember is the lingering humanity of the people. The hard life they lived. The culture shock between my life and theirs. I remember the mirror they held before me, forcing me to question our idea of "progress," "civility," and "modern man". Books such as "Kabloona" and "Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt and "Mutant Message" by Marlo Morgan tells us more about our roots as a species than many of the great thinkers and philosphers who speak in the abstract and grandeur of modern man. You read a book like this and you must pause and reflect, look deeper into yourself and the rushing stream you were born into. Step back and look at life from a different perspective. It can be life-altering or at the very least a stunning revelation.

I read this book many, many years ago and have forgotten many of the details. I remember one, however. When the old one couldn't travel, they put her out on the ice and drove off. That is so relevant to our contemporary society and the discussions of social security and the elderly, caring for the disabled, etc. We can't leave the disadvantaged on the ice and drive off but must find some way to care for them.

An extraordinary true story of courage, determination and fortitude. Every chapter not only contains the wow factor but is an illustration of what the human spirit is capable of. Thayer is an accomplished writer who keeps the reader wanting more. An incredible story of a woman and her faithful dog Charlie, as they endure the hardships of polar travel on foot together with no dog teams or snowmobiles or resupply.
Sue White
Edmonton, Canada

Polar Dream is the personal memoir of Helen Thayer, the first woman (and the oldest person at age 50) to travel on foot, unresupplied, to the magnetic North Pole. Her harrowing trek on skis for 27 days, aided only by a dog trained to warn her of approaching bears, is described in vivid, engaging detail, as are her seven encounters with polar bears which she survived through skill, luck and quick thinking. Black-and-white photographs, including ones taken by the author during her trek, enhanced a narrative of profound insights into the beauty and wildness of the arctic. Readers who appreciate true life adventure will enjoy the excitement and wonder of Helen Thayer's Polar Dream.

I first read this book in a German translation and then attended a lecture in New York by Helen Thayer, the author. Because of her amazing world wide adventures from the Polar Regions, to the deserts and the Amazon rain forest I expected someone six-feet tall. Instead I listened as this five-feet-three-inch diminutive dynamo enthralled her audience with her solo walk to the magnetic North Pole at 50 years old and her subsequent adventures including a trek of almost 1,500 miles across the Gobi desert last year at 63 years old.
Polar Dream, the story of her solo walk to the magnetic North Pole with her Inuit dog Charlie is invigorating, with a down to earth humble look at life.
Charlie is loyaly devoted to Helen and saves her life from a polar bear. Polar Dream has been available for ten years. The first edition was excellent and the second edtion is even better with many more photos. I bought 14 books in English, 4 books in German, and one in Dutch for Christmas presents and all recipients are inspired and can't wait for Thayer's next book.
The fast moving, highly descriptive story is sentitive and not afraid to expose vulnerable inner thoughts and feelings.
This is a great book for men and women as proven by my Christmas gift list.
And kudos to wonderful Charlie, Helen's devoted dog-assitant and life saver on the journey.

If you are a fan of Antarctic exploration then this wonderful book should be in your library. Many know the incredible story of the Endurance and the trials those 28 men endured when the ship was locked in the ice and eventually crushed. The beauty of this book is that it documents the story with the remarkable photos of the expedition photographer, Australian Frank Hurley. When you consider the time period of this story (1914-1916) you can only marvel that Hurley produced such amazing images with the equipment that was available at that time. Additionally, the initial introduction to this photo collection is excellent. It presents a good recap of the Endurance expedition with many quotes from crewmembers that have not appeared in previous books.If you are a professional photographer, or even an amateur, the information on Hurley's equipment and the story of his early training will be of special interest. The over 500 photos will hold your interest for hours! I've read almost every book on Endurance and this will rank as one of my favorites.

I was fortunate that I could follow Shakelton on T.V. while reading and viewing these excellent pictures. This book is outstanding and I would urge anyone interested in either Shakelton or photography to get it. I could not help but think that every member of this expedition had story to tell. We have heard only a few. Amazing the limits of human endurance and to think that they had a photographer with them who realized what he was filming, and did so for all of us to see.To Hurley was far ahead of his time, and I am inclined to think that Ansel Adams had probably learned from Mr. Hurley.

This is the most defenitive retelling of Shackleton's adventure in pictures. Frank Hurley was an exceptional photographer who just happened to take pictures of a journey that without them would be simply unbelievable. Any Hurley's picture of the Endurance expedition is a treasure, and in this book are all of them!

Unlike many European adventurers who forced their vision upon the natives, Peter Freuchen adopted their ways. He was quite a remarkable individual. His life jumped from one life changing adventure to another. This book covers his life in the Artic, which was remarkable. Later in his life, he wrote a book which covers this material and other adventures (including Alaska, the Soviet Union) called 'Vagrant Viking'. I highly recommend that book too.

Also unlike many adventurers (such as Ernest Shackleton) Freuchen wrote incredibly well. His insights into different cultures and people and his writing style are exceptional. One passage that stood out in this book had to do with him finding out that he was going to be a father: "My whole life was changed, given impulse and purpose. Before the arrival of children a man is seldom aware of the need for them. Afterward, he can scarcely credit life as holding any interest without them." I highly recommend this book, which will be reprinted in November 2002.

I have truly enjoyed this book, even more so, due to being the granddaughter of the Great Peter Fruechen. Have had several comments from different people to his books written. I am quite happy to hear of it's continuance of exceeding responds. Nicole Tuluganerk from Nunavut

My grand father introduced me to this book and Jim Corbett's writing. Any one who ever longed to travel should read Freuchen and Corbett. Honestly written, with detail, wisdom, and the appreciation of irony that makes life in hardship enjoyable. I read it every fall when cold weather sets in. I agree with the previous reviewer. If you only read one book this year, make it Arctic Adventure.

It is amazing how this book gives you a personal feel for the animals and their environment. The wildlife is perfectly comfortable and nature performs for Kennan Ward. He has the connection and a gift for capturing nature in its most potent moments. This book is a work of love and pristine beauty! If this land is allowed to be exploited for oil, this could be the last record of this incredible wilderness.

Kennan Ward's book contains stunning photographs of the land, plants, and animals of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Ward writes from his personal experiences as a photographer and naturalist. Kennan published this book to help keep this pristine wilderness area a place of incredible beauty and wildlife diversity. His book makes a strong visual argument for the case of preserving this wildlife area from oil drilling. He does this by showing photographs of the significant environmental impact of oil companies in Alaska. I hope this book will not be a reminder of what the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was like, but instead, what it will continue to be for future generations of people and wildlife that come to this "last wilderness." I would highly recommend this book to any person who would like to learn more about the wildlife and environmental issues pertaining to the Refuge.

Beautiful photo essay on the Alaska Wilderness with a hopeful bequest to future generations of animals and all who love America's wild places.

This is (IMHO) one of the finest books ever written about arctic exploration (and I've read dozens). Berton is a superb writer, an unmatched storyteller, and a gifted chronicler of much-too-neglected aspect of recent history. The men and women of arctic exploration come alive under the author's perceptive pen, and before you know it you caught up in the world of Parry, Ross, Franklin, Back, Simpson, Amundsen, Cook, Peary, and host of lesser-known but intriguing characters. If you have a heart for history and the people that influenced it, you won't be able to put this book down! An added bonus is the respect with which the author treats the arctic native peoples, without whose help and support every kabloona (white man) who ever set foot into the arctic would have died tragically. I've read this book three times, and am looking forward to my fourth journey into the world of "The Arctic Grail."

If you like to read about the incredible world of Arctic exploration, this is a book you must read! Pierre Berton covers almost 100 years of man's effort to discover the Northwest Passage and the North Pole. Although it is a long read (over 600 pages) the author's wonderful storytelling style keeps you eagerly turning page after page. Each account seems to have been well researched and the facts are there for the reader to absorb. It is amazing to read how poorly the British were prepared for Arctic travel, how they refused to learn from the native people, yet how much they achieved in spite of their attitude. This book has a good message for us all. We can learn from others! Those explorers who did so, were a lot more successful in the long run. The book ends with Peary and Cook's claim to the North Pole. It is quite an account of two men who were more consumed with their image rather than the truth. Who was the greatest of the bunch? You'll have fun picking your winner. I vote for Roald Amundsen! This is a great book!

Years ago I had read an article about the discovery and autopsy of the remains of three seamen from the Franklin expedition. I was so taken by the arctic story recapitulated for that article that when I discovered Ice Blink I read it greedily, becoming a fan of arctic exploration. That find lead me to the current book, The Arctic Grail by Canadian historian Pierre Berton.

In reading Berton's book, one can hardly fail to notice the fact that most of the search for the Northwest Passage, which occupied many adventurous souls for the better part of the 19th Century, was conducted: 1) by Franklin expeditions, 2) in search of survivors of the last Franklin expedition, 3) in search of information as to the fate of the members of the last Franklin expedition, and 4) in search of relics and journals that might come from the last Franklin expedition. It also becomes apparent that almost every venture into that frozen land led to tragedy and often death. It seems that very little was learned either through the experiences of the survivors of the various expeditions or from the lifestyle of the natives of the area. One is amazed that after the disasters that followed each undertaking, yet another venture would be proposed, despite the loss of life and the evident uselessness of the pass itself. Each expedition met with nightmarish experiences, many of the men dying of starvation and exposure, and while the officers might receive promotion in rank and recognition in the history books for their discoveries, the enlisted men who did most of the work got little more than an increase in pay if they lived to get it.

Of the rush to the North Pole, all that can be honestly said is that the notoriety of superhuman effort and of the attainment of nearly impossible goals inspired some pretty disgraceful behavior on behalf of a number of, particularly American, explorers. It becomes obvious that the chicanery of ambitious men looking to make a fortune as celebrities did not start in the last half of the 20th century. Both Cook and Peary seemed driven men whose egos could sustain the possible blight of fraudulent claims disputed by the records but not of public failure. What is sad, particularly in the latter case, is that the actual attainments of the discoverer were pretty amazing as it was. No one since has achieved quite so much under the same conditions. While others have been to the pole successfully, it required air dropped supplies and a flight in or out of the area.

Throughout the entire book one is confronted with a sense of a major lack of real respect for nature by so-called civilized man. It is tempting to see this attitude as a peculiarly 20th (now 21st) century phenomenon, but it seems to have had a good start in the 19th century. The hubris that makes modern man feel that he can tame nature with his various gadgets may just be part and parcel of human nature. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

One of the particularly distressing aspects of the explorers accounts is of the callous treatment of the native population and of the total marginalization of their contributions. It's apparent from Berton's book that the safe return of many explorers was due largely to help from the Eskimos. I think a thorough narrative of Arctic exploration from their point of view-both their own conquest of the area and their take on the European and American explorations-might make very interesting reading indeed!

All in all the book is well written and well researched. It would definitely appeal to anyone with an interest in history, in man against nature, in man in nature, in geography, ethnography, and 19th Century culture. Anyone with a reading level of 6th grade or above should be able to comprehend it, and it might make interesting reading especially for young men.

This is one terrific story. But wait, its not a story as in fiction, this is real. An incredible journey to say the least. For those unfamiliar with the story, it basically is about Helen's solo journey to the magnetic north pole with her friend an companion, Charlie the Inuit Dog.

This isn't one of those I came, I conquered stories. Helen relates her adventure in a down to earth manner letting the reader truly get a sense of the adventure, challenge, fear, hardship, and joy that she experienced. Yet don't think of this as merely a woman against nature. Its also about friendship. The friendship that became of her and her new companion Charlie. Charlie saved Helen's life on several occasions by alerting her of polar bears and in some cases even defending her from them.

This is a great read for all. The story moves quickly as it captivates the reader. I think it would be especially inspiring for anyone though perhaps women might find it even more so as it just goes to show that you can accomplish anything they set their hearts to, with a little help from a friend like Charlie.

When I first read this book in 1994, I knew right away I wanted to use it in my middle school classroom (grades 7 & 8). Helen Thayer is exactly the kind of role model you want to present to children. She embodies all the character traits you want your students to emulate, among them perserverance, positive thinking, and courage. The thrilling story she tells of her encounters with polar bears, breaking ice, and a life-threatening Arctic storm will capture your students' attention immediately and will provide you with endless interdisciplinary activities. It's also a lot fun to watch your students' faces fall when you first tell them they will be reading a story about a 50-year-old woman who circumnavigates the magnetic north pole (oh, goody!), and then listen to their protests when the period ends each day and they want to keep reading! Now THAT'S a good book!

I have had the honor of meeting Helen Thayer and wonderful Charlie. I really felt as though I had taken every step with her....without freezing to death. There have been others who attempted the same journey and did not succeed due to the polar bear scare. I have given this book, as a gift, to almost everyone I know. Could I have gotten past the fear? I don't think so. She allowed me to mentally accompany her and I thank her for that.

This is one of those rare books that will stand larger with time. Waterman's journey through the Arctic Circle becomes a circling through both a culture and through the soloist's heart, a sort of Odyssey by kayak and with shotgun. There is everything to admire about this thoughtful book, the writing, the almost transparent self protrait, the ineffable scholarship, the raw adventure, and - refreshingly in this day of chest-thumping adrenaline junkies - an ethic of self preservation vs. summit-fever risk taking. Ironically, as the author set out upon this solitary epic, his stated intention was to avoid an epic. He judges the sea currents the way he judges bear tracks, with an eye to not only surviving, but thriving. His storytelling is pitch perfect. In presenting the Inuit, he gives us an ancient hunter culture stripped of the noble savage. He sketches the overlay of post-modern Western civilization in the "wastelands" without a preachment, only a fenceline in the middle of nowhere and surly guards on alert against no one. As icebergs metamorphose into animals, and animals shape-shift into driftwood, we grow into an alternate reality, one where trees are like magical trespassers. He shows this immortal land as entirely mortal and vulnerable, nothing new there. But where he finds a long dead Western explorer, it is cautionary, for it is himself - and us - that lie in the barrens without a witness. All in all, Arctic Crossing is a haunting book, beautifully written, utterly authentic, wise, poignant, and warmed throughout by one man's quest for the human condition.

A friend of mine recommended this book to me because I have always been interested in the native people of Alaska and Canada. Jonathan Waterman, in "Arctic Crossings", is very sensative to the Inuit story, not only their history, but also the tenuous circumstances of their lives today. Also, I was very touched by the sharing of his tender emotions about being alone on a long voyage. AND, I loved his descriptions of the wild life, especially the bears, throughout the book. Included are extrordinry color photographs of wildlife as well as different passages of the trip. The Banff Book Awards agreed: This book was choosen and the Best Adventure Travel Book of 2001.

I like Jon's writing, it's filled with thought and insight into the place where he is. Wether he's preparing to climb the mountains of Alaska, kayak the gulf of Baja, or traverse the frigid Canadian Arctic, Jon does his homework. I am impressed by the degree of research he puts in prior to embarking on a trip. For it is not just the how of adventuring, the going from point A to B that concerns him, but rather who has been there before, who is there now, what was this place like and how has it changed for better or worse.

In this, his eighth book, he tells us about his 1997 2,200-mile journey across the Arctic, much of it alone. Here are his first-hand observations of the Inuit - their life, language, beliefs, and their reactions to global assimilation. He also reveals the extreme physical risks and psychological dangers as he kayaked and skied the legendary Northwest Passage. This book recently won the 2001 Banff Mountain Book Festival Best Adventure Travel Book Award.

You can't go wrong with any of Jon's books. I look forward to his next work!

This book was a good learning book, but still it showed more miracles and wonder, but there's no doubt it's a learning book. Otherwise, I don't know what else to say about this book, and I'm glad because I don't want to spoil a single surprise.

This book was fun. I like it when Jack and Annie go to the Artic. They have to act liked polarbears to get off some thin ice.I liked this book because it was full of adventure.

It's icicle city when the Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie to the freezing Arctic tundra. Luckily, a seal hunter on a dogsled (led by huskies) lends them warm clothes and takes them back to his igloo (which in Inuit, means house.) They run out to feed the huskies and Jack accidentally takes masks that the seal hunter made. Annie finds some polar bears and they play tag with them. Jack suggests they go back to the igloo, but Annie and the polar bears lead him down a little hill. Then, unluckily the ice starts to crack. A female polar bear (which happens to be the mother of the polar bears that Jack and Annie found) comes to rescue them. Jack reads in the reasearch guide that even though female polar bears can weigh up to 750 lbs., they can slide on very thin ice. So, the female polar bear takes the cubs and slides on the ice. Jack and Annie put on the masks and slide on the ice, too. When they get up the hill, they see a burst of red, green, and purple in the sky (which happens to be the Northern Lights.) But after Jack read that fact, the lights disappeared. The seal hunter finds them and takes them back to the igloo. Then, Jack and Annie think they've solved the riddle. The riddle is: I cover what's real, and hide what's true. But sometimes I bring out the courage in you. What am I? They think it's a mask, and they're right! But before they can go home, they find another riddle. Soon, they solve it.

I read this book to my kids in the 1980s and both loved it. It's nice to change some of the words to keep them interested. We made it into a funny story. Can you guess what we said the spot in the snow was?! I'm now trying to find my copy of the book from the attic, but am glad there are still a few out there in case I can't find mine. I can't wait to read to my grandson who is now 2.
Book about 2 animals, a bear, and another one (don't remember what kind), who see a spot in the snow and try to guess what it might be. It ends up being a wagon.

How many children would have never known what a puffin was, if not for this book? The simple but lovely illustrations are captivating as we look through all that white snow for that little black spot. A favorite of mine as a child, when I worked in a daycare a few years back I went looking for this book to read to the children and found it at the library. They were actually a little young for the book (3& 4 mostly) but I can guarantee those are now children who know what puffins are, and to always look for spots in the snow.

My favorite book from childhood. I have enjoyed it again as an adult reading it to my children. the story is beautifully self contained, the simple repetitive text is positively lyrical and despite the simplicity the story is full of charm and character. Perfect