A story told to explain the Northern Lights. It is about a tribe called "the People Who Fear the Winter Night", and member of their tride, named Teune, who is a great robe maker. During the winter nights, everyones fire went out because of the Blizzard. Teune puts all her robes on her fire to keep it roaring. It destroys the Blizzard. Later, the Blizzard visits her in her dreams. He tells her that if he makes him a new robe, he will give her tribe a great gift.
So she goes out and starts making him his ice robe. After the leader of the tribe realizes that she is making a robe for the Blizzard he gets angry and threatens her. But before he destroys the robe, and Blizzard takes it. In return, the Blizzard gave them the Northern Lights, so they don't have to spend all that time in the dark.

I bought this book for my son and found it a joy to read myself. Too many books talk down to kids and over simplify the story. This book doesn't do that and communicates the story effectively. The artwork is intricate, filled with jewels of details and rich colors. I wish more books (children's and adult) were crafted with such love and care. I make a rule to only buy books that I would want to read myself for my child. This book is one to keep for the long run.

I read this book to my daughter's second grade class (7 & 8 yr. olds) after a recent New England Blizzard. The beautiful, poetic words and colorful, intricate pictures mezmerized the class. The children asked that I continue to hold up the pictures after I had read each page so they could take in all the details of the drawings. The full page with the drawing of the Robe has only one sentence, but I held up the picture for at least 3 minutes! There is so much detail. The children gasped and cheered at certain points in the story and clapped when the book was finished. We all loved this book.

This is a wonderful book with lots of amazing wolf and landscape pictures. While some people might be disturb by some of the dead animals in the picture, as a animal lover I reckon this book had shown the reality of the nature truthfully, and I really love this book.

This is an excellent book on artic wolves. I enjoyed reading about their lives. If you are not in the mood to read the photos are worth the cost of the book.

Brandenburg's experience shows the wolf as a loving and compassionate family-oriented animal that is as wild at heart as they come. These highly intelligent creatures seemed to stay a step ahead of their distant watchers. This leads to some hilarious encounters and a tear jerking ending. Follow this up with "Brother Wolf."

This book I have never forgotten. I first was introduced to it in the Reader's Digest Condensed Book Section when it first came out. I was so fascinated by the writing style and well-documented information that we went to the library and read the entire book; but that was not the end of it. I figured if my Father could entice me to read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" than he could appreciate my "great read". He did and because he enjoyed it as much as I did,it made the book doubly attractive and memorable to me. The survivalist thrill that is all the rage now has nothing on Ivar Ruud's adventures! Ann and Evan Maxwell did a great job making this a reading experience never to be duplicated.

The book begins with Ivar Rudd setting on a 9 month trapping journey on an Isle in the North Atlantic. This was the days when good wages could still be made from trapping fur bearing animals, especially polar bear. I remember reading until 4:00 am the first day because I was riveted to the story. It is worth the reading to be reminded that life is precious and worth the fight. You'll not be disappointed if you enjoy the outdoors or humanitarian true to life stories. My local library has a book, but it is hard to find.

I loved this book! It was able to hold my attention as I read about one man's survival in the wild arctic. It showed me that humans can survive even the most extreme circumstances. If you can find yourself a copy of this book...you should give it a try! Who knows? You might just like it too!

I highly recommend this book for those who love true adventure stories. This is a rare and unique one. While I would not rate this book a 5-star simply on the basis of the writing, as sometimes I find descriptive language to linger too long, I must give it an overall 5 stars due to its amazing content and intriguing story of a woman who dared to follow her dreams into one of the last wildernesses remaining on Earth. Jean Aspen went where few dare to go, and she did it as a college-aged young woman. The reader is amazed at the matter-of-factness of her descriptions of pushing off of the bank into the mighty Yukon River, alone with a boyfriend and a puppy in an unweildy overladen canoe. Have they packed all the necessities to live a year alone in the Alaskan bush? Will they really be able to find a site and build a cabin before winter? Will they survive despite Aspen's own admission that there odds at making it through the winter are perhaps 50/50? And obviously, though you know they make it somehow, you constantly want to know HOW? What was it like to live through a dark deathly-cold winter on the edge of the Arctic Circle, under the Brooks Range in a cabin built by two with no outside help? What does Alaska's bush really look like? What does it FEEL like to be out there alone? What are they going to eat? How will they stay warm? Don't read ahead! This is truly an adventure few have ever lived to tell about. Descriptions of the sights, sounds and emotions are beautiful.

This is an incredible adventure story written in in a very descriptive manner. It's unbelievable what we can endure if we put our minds to it. This is a MUST READ!

I was at a friends house when I first picked up Arctic Daughter by Jean Aspen. I sat down and started to read the first few pages, two hours later it was time to go home and I was still reading this book. My friends were kind enough to let me borrow the book and I finished it the next day. I returned the book to my friends and went directly to the book store and ordered it. I was told it was out of print and I was very upset. I then spent about two weeks searching to find a copy of Arctic Daughter and I was lucky enough to find a new copy. I gave it to my wife and she also read it in one day. This book takes the reader to a place that many people will never see. The courage and spirit of true adventure in Jean Aspen prevails in this book and it is a shame it is out of print. I would encourage any person who has the dream of "chucking" it all away in order to live a life more simple to pick up a copy of this book. It is the real deal and puts the adventurers' life in a new perspective. A must read!

For those of us who are passionate about saving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this book presents our best arguements -the stories are from the heart and the mind, and address so eloquently the importance of the fight we are waging. For those who are unsure about the current fight over oil exploration and oil drilling this is a must read - the words here explain why there is no such thing as safe oil drilling because it is the human imprinting that will destroy this sanctuary. Buy the book for friends and use it to encourage support for the continued protection of "America's Serengeti."

Discover Magazine, August 2001: "In short (and sometimes quite moving) essays and poems, scientists, native Alaskans, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter warn against drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

San Francisco Chronicle, March 28, 2001: "...half a dozen of America's finest nature writers, our most distinguished ex-president and several members of the Gwich'in tribe are expected to gather on Capitol Hill and deliver "Arctic Refuge: A Circle of Testimony." If it succeeds, it may prove the most important book published all year."

The president and vice-president along with the House of Representatives and a host of unindicted co-conspirators in the oil industry have proposed to explore and drill in a pristine 1.5 million-acre coastal plain in northeast Alaska. It is the calving grounds for the Porcupine River caribou head; a critical onshore polar bear denning area; one of the last available ranges for wolves, numerous fish and other wildlife and, as importantly, home to the Gwich'in Indian tribe which depends on the caribou for food, clothing and spiritual needs. This area has been described as the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge. The book is a collection of essays dealing with the dangers of drilling in ANWR written by some of the best and brightest individuals addressing the issue. There are radicals and prgmatists, advocates and experts, wildlife biologists, Native Americans, environmentalists, and former workers in the Alaskan oil industry. Contributors include Jimmy Carter, Barry Lopez, Rick Bass, WEndell Berry, Bill McKibben, Art Davidson and 25 other thinkers and doers that will make you wonder about not only this proposal but our so-called energy policy in the U.S. Jimmy Carter gives a presidentail perspective on the importance of preserving the Refuge which was created under republican president Eisenhower in 1960. R. Glendon Brunk writes of his experiences working on the north slope and tells of the effects of such oil exploration and drilling on the environment which is chilling and perhaps prophetic for ANWR. Faith Gemmill has a moving essay on the religious importance of the caribou to the Gwich'in Tribe and culture. I will not soon forget Sarah James recounting of British Petroleum's sensitivity to the Gwich'in tribes concerns: "It is inevitable that these Gwich'in people will have to change." Kim Heacox writes of Stephen Ambrose's visit to Alaska and his position that restoration of nature must be the theme of the 21st century. Not exactly a tree-hugging, radical this Ambrose guy. The book is important not only for its defense of ANWR but for the proposition that it is truly time to begin moving toward a sustainable energy policy in the U.S. Issues such as global warming, the need to preserve this tryly magnificent place, and the possibilities for a sustainable energy policy are all included. It is a perfect example of environmental issues being more that political issues. There are cultural, artistic and historic issues and this book will provide the reader with a wide range of ideas and proposals from many who view the world through other than political, or profiteering, lenses. There are no scare tactics or doomsday predictions here. Just an attempt to give a voice to a place that relatively few Americans know or have visited but is worth saving for future generations looking for one of the last best places. This is one of the most important books of the year. Highly recommended. Milkweed Editions is to be commended for making it available at such a reasonable cost and in a most timely manner.

What kind of man, at 45 years of age, slogs 60 kilometres through a Canadian January to give a lecture on icebergs?

The Victorian era has endured much hostile press in recent years. Cultural mores have been challenged, essential ideas decried as "social artefacts" and the reputations of heroic idols, nearly universally male, demolished as shams. It's become a novelty to encounter the celebratory resurrection of a forgotten icon. McGoogan relates the life and accomplishments of Scotsman John Rae, who joined a Hudson's Bay Company ship as surgeon, travelled to Canada in 1833 and remained for twelve years - on the first stay. McGoogan has surveyed many of the resources dealing with Arctic exploration, but Rae's own accounts provide the essential framework for this compelling narrative. The book is nearly two stories in one: Rae's ranging explorations along the Canadian Arctic coast, and the mysterious disappearance of the John Franklin expedition. McGoogan keeps this paired account nicely balanced until they merge to determine Rae's future reputation.

John Rae was a departure from the usual explorer of the Victorian age. Instead of heading complex expeditions, he travelled with a small support group. Instead of ships or extensive caravans, he travelled by canoe or small boat, on land using snowshoes. He was extraordinarily hardy, traversing extensive distances, often alone. He adapted many features of Aboriginal life in his travels when "going native" was disdained by most. He kept his associates fed when other British explorers were starving on government rations. He found the route of the elusive Northwest passage and determined the fate of the lost Franklin expedition seeking that route. Later, he turned from Arctic adventures to the survey of a telegraph line site across the Rocky Mountains. Why have we heard so little of him?

According to McGoogan, one individual maintained a steady campaign to reduce Rae's reputation. Jane Franklin, Sir John's quasi-widow [she refused to admit her husband's death for years], irked by the possibility her husband had turned to cannibalism in extremity, actively challenged many of Rae's accomplishments. She fostered Leopold McClintock as the verifier of Sir John's finding of the Northwest Passage. In her zeal, she even managed to secure the aid of no less a figure than Charles Dickens to her cause. McGoogan contends Dickens' virulent racism aided this assault when the novelist asserted the Inuit were consummate liars and the true cannibals. In the event, John Rae stands out as the only explorer of note that failed to achieve knighthood for his achievements.

McGoogan has produced a noteworthy study, done with lively wit and solid research. This book restores John Rae's position as the true finder of the Northwest Passage and as man with few peers. This book can be read by anyone seeking knowledge of the North or as a model of perseverance and sacrifice. Illustrated with photographs and engravings and including a fine bibliography, this is a real treasure to read and possess.

I bought this book to learn more about John Rae himself. In the history of arctic and antarctic travel and exploration, Rae was unequalled in his ability to travel lightly and quickly. He covered unheard of amounts of ground in short time. On snow shoes he was without peer. He shot game as he went. He could stand huge amounts of fatigue. Amundsen might come the closest for swift and efficient movement but he mostly travelled with skis and with dogs. Rae was mostly on foot, or canoe, where he also was without peer. On one long journey he actually gained weight. He was one of the few who understood the eskimo or inuit and spoke favorably of them which earned him the scorn of his peers and the leading snobbery in England. Yet his peers didn't live with the eskimo as Rae had and did. History has proven Rae honest and accurate in his portrayal of the eskimo and of his reports of cannibalism among the Franklin Expedition. Because he refused to recant this tale of cannibalism (The eskimo had told him this and he knew them to be truthful and stood up for them) he was ostrasized and critisized and lost a knighthood. He stuck with the truth and his principles. Further explorations and discoveries have proven him to be correct. This was a man sans pareil when it came to back country traveling and exploring. A man of integrity and honesty. You don't hear much about such heros. Instead, you hear of so called "heros" among the inept and...Scott of the Antarctic. This book will introduce you to Rae and his explorations and discoveries. I also highly recommend "The Last Place on Earth" by Huntford (about race to the South Pole--shows the stupidity of Scott and genius but flaws of Amundsen) and "Arctic Grail" by Berton (Arctic Exploration).

McGoogan has written an excellent biography of John Rae that conveys not only the struggles that the explorer went through to find the ill-fated Franklin expedition, but also the scientific banishment that he suffered when he reported the bizarre circumstances of their deaths.
Rae was a doctor employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The HBC had been set up to exploit the vast fur trade in Canada, and had outposts across the North. Rae, an outdoorsman and naturalist, was commissioned to explore the shores of the vast Arctic waters, searching for the last, elusive connection that would allow sailing ships to navigate from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.
Many explorers had gone before Rae. One expedition, headed by Sir John Franklin, had disappeared without a trace in the 1840s. Several search parties subsequently failed to find the explorer and his crew.
Finally, Rae was asked to search for the party. He set out, not with a large crew and ships, but with a small number of natives and Europeans experienced in traveling in the frozen North. After several years, in which Rae found the last remaining link in the Northwest Passage, he finally uncovered the fate of the Franklin Expedition; the boats had foundered in the ice, and the crew had starved to death while marching south.
Rae also uncovered evidence of cannibalism. In their last efforts to remain alive, the crewmen had consumed their dead companions. Rae, in his report, duly noted this observation.

Unfortunately, this was to be his undoing. Led by Franklin's widow, Lady Jane, Rae was ostracized from the Royal Geographical Society and his epic discovery of the final link in the Northwest Passage disparaged. For over a century, his achievements languished in the footnotes of history.
McGoogan set out to rectify Rae's tarnished image. Using research from Rae's extensive notes, as well as primary sources from a multitude of independent sources, he has carefully constructed a description of Rae's achievements, as well as the denunciations that robbed him of his rightful place in history.
As an homage, the author journeyed to the Arctic and placed a memorial at the final discovered link in the Northwest Passage, now officially recognized as Rae Strait.

I have been a fan of Olly and Suzi's work for several years since their exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London. This book provides a tremendous story to accompany the amazing art and photos. Ideal for adventurers, art enthusiasts, and animal lovers. Highly Recommended!

Simply put, this is an extraordinary book. A friend gave it to me and I do not know whether it is more a art, travel, nature, wilderness adventure, or photography book, because it defies classification, but in any event, it is a serious page-turner. I dont know where to start...the images from all over the coolest and most exotic places on earth, of some of the funkiest and loveliest paintings ever, are captivating. These guys live most children's dreams, they travel around, hang out with rare species of animals (some dangerous, some not), paint them and then get the animals to interact with the art - so they are at one with nature, creating stunning images and at the same time living at one with nature. A perfect gift for kids, visual artists, performance artists, photographers, or people with a sense of adventure or wanderlust.

For some time now i have had an idea about what it is Olly and Suzi are trying to do- a sense of their oneness with the natural world but until recently- until the publication of this book and being able to read their first hand accounts of their travels i haddn't been able to articulate exactly what is was about their site specific art that makes it so unique - untill now.
historical context- i have used that term alot in my reviews over the years, an artistic importance- contextulised by time and place. but the notion of a place in history has even greater relevance to olly and suzi's interactions and a more literal relevance to this new way of seeing the natural world. the work they make is in some ways a traditional response to a longstanding problem- a problem of how do contemporary artists represent the animal in a way that is new and alive -so as to eek out the truth about the wild and endangered places- the places where the wild things are.
this problem is simply solved by Olly and Suzi's direct experience out their on the tundra infront of a predator,a landscape and pack -a million miles from the cossited universe of the urban studio and all its negative trappings(working removed and second hand creating works that are devoid of spirit-dead and decaying in a tank of fermaldahide). the work in these pages exudes life. it is alive, bristeling and dangerous- a true confrontation of a mortality certain notible artists working in Britian today would do well to take note of and would be even luckier to emulate.

Olly and Suzi are an important artist- ironically due to a mutual resignation of the self. their collaborative art works and photographic revelations are devoid of brash ego and have taken on a new identity- a third person- a result of two minds that is more alive, more spontaneous and more process driven than the work of a sole artist. they are important in a historical context because their subjects matter is. the creatures and habitats are, to quote olly and suzi- "here now , but may not be for much longer" and because of this stark fact contemporary art needs to take notice of this most noble and deserving subject matter.
olly and suzi's subjects are quite litterally caught in time - a fragile historical momment in raw materials and on paper and film and because they show such a respect a reverance for their subject matter, a love that shines through the pages of this wonderful book i encourage anyone familliar of otherwise with the work of these two artists, to buy it, read it and enjoy it for what it is-a beautiful inspiring body of work dedicated to documenting a changing world through the eyes of two artists working as one- a new way of seeing indeed.

I have read it, and has some neat stories about flying in the bush. Which is where my wife and I plan to make it some day.
Good reading!

I had the pleasure of attaining a lifetime dream of learning to fly an airplane. I didn't immediately appreciate my good fortune to be led step-by-step through the process by my instructor, Jim Anderson. As I played the unintentional role of test pilot, stretching the limits of the plane, my instructor kept a very cool head, showed tremendous patience and provided life saving tips to enable me to become a pretty good private pilot. I always wondered how Jim could maintain such a relaxed presence with every new danger I provided. I had heard bits and pieces of his flying past - from naval aviator during WWII to pioneer in the Arctic. I have thouroughly enjoyed filling in the blanks by reading this book. Jim is every bit the hero that the book portrays. And more than that, he has the highest level of honesty and integrity (tested in aviation and elsewhere) of any person I have encountered. I recommend this book without reservation.

Having been a pilot in Alaska for 25 years and having been lucky enough to be taught to fly by James "Andy" Anderson it was hard for me to put this book down until I was through. Once you realize how unassuming Andy is you really appreciate the experiences he has been fortunate enough to have had in a very unique place and time. His unbelievable skill has been finely tuned by many years of daily flying only a few can appreciate. I highly reccommend it to pilots and non-pilots alike. He is truly a ledgend on the Koyukuk River and Brooks Range area of Alaska.

Most of all, this is a book about history and not about the men engaged in it. This book clearly covers the early history of Artic exploration, of the historic events of men and ships discovering and reaching the Artic. The detail is great and complete.

I ding this book one star because it leaves off the human element where more of the interest and drama lay. Artic exploration is full or great tales, of Scott and Shackelton and the like, the human dimension and cost of exploring the artic. This book concentrates on the historic events, not the people. Therefore, at times, the book is a bit dense and uninteresting to all but the most ardent arm-chair polar explorers. For instance, this book discussing Captain Gray's sails in the southern ocean, but didn't go into his interactions that made him the legend that he is today.

This is indeed a good book, well researched and full of detail. However, unless you're really interested, all of the detail can be a bit overwhealming and the historic accounts become dry unless you're really into the subject matter.

The subject-matter may seem a narrow historical theme but the great joy of this book is how well it relates to wider concerns and themes. It is superbly written (as well as being an excellent example of a well-produced book, with apposite text illustrations, maps and a good index). The passage on pp 59 to 61 of the ecology of the Southern Ocean gives a succinct and witty account of the food-chain and ends with a paragraph in celebration of the whales that have survived (just) the whalers which followed in the wake of the great discoverers. There are accounts to appeal to island-lovers of the earliest contacts with the wonderful remote islands of the Southern Ocean. Readers of The Times (London) will find good historial material here about Kerguelen (Desolation) Island to which one of the paper's best columnists (Matthew Parris) has just set off. No surprise to me that the author, Alan Gurney lives on a lovely and historic Scottish island, Islay. Read his book with a fine malt whisky from Islay close to hand. You can then regularly toast the many fine descriptive passages (both his own and in quotations from his sources, which he uses with great skill) and his narrative skill in telling an exciting story.

My brother, a 20th Century racing sailor extradordinaire, gave me this book while I was home from the sea for a week last Christmas. I have nothing but praise for Mr. Gurney's engaging and effortless prose and thoroughly enjoyed every moment in the frigid southern seas as my ship sailed over the Atlantic. There is something very appropriate in reading this book while ghosting along of an evening under topsails aboard a square rigged ship. Those hard and corageous men (perhaps foolish and motivated more by profit upon the hapless seal) cause a modern throw-back to admire their skill and endurance. Even more, lying comfortable & safe tucked into a climate controled cabin aboard a 350 foot square-rigged ship, I found the romance in Gurney's writing intoxicating. Here is an insight into our own seafaring history, of men long forgot who paved the way for the demystification of our small world.

An engrossing and satisfying read that everyone should devour.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard appears to have been an almost stereotypic member of the British landed gentry of the Edwardian era-affable, proud, wealthy and somewhat aimless-until he talked his way onto Robert Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition. After two years suffering in Antarctica, Cherry returned to his estate in broken health facing an essentially undistinguished future managing his wealth.

But he did not disappear, as you might expect-instead he turned out the memoir "The Worst Journey in the World," often acclaimed as the greatest adventure memoir of all time.

Ironically, Cherry's life might at first have seemed an almost featureless existence, punctuated two remarkable events-a life-threatening adventure and a best-selling book. But author Sara Wheeler does a remarkable job bringing her subject to life both as a sympathetic individual and as a kind of symbol of his era. The quality of her scholarship is really excellent - she has left no paper relating to Cherry unturned, and documents her sources in an unobtrusive but comprehensive set of notes after the text, leaving the powerful narrative flow of the main text uninterrupted.

It's a very exciting book; I would have offered 5 stars but the narrative does frankly slow down a lot after "Worst Journey" gets published; and in any case I think time might be equally well spent on Cherry's own book.

Sara Wheeler in Cherry (A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard) has provided a wonderful service to those avid, hungry readers of Antarctic adventures. The author has filled in the life of one of the important personalities from the herioc age of arctic exploration in such a way as to deepen the understanding of the men how took this challenge, particularly both before and after the adventure of their lives. Cherry, of course, wrote the classic and indispensible, The Worst Journey in the World, the finest book written by an actual explorer himselfself. He is the perfect subject and his life makes for an exciting and interesting read. Sara Wheeler has written a wonderful book that touches on many important events in the life of the early twentienth century and the passing (sadly for Cherry) of the Victorian Age. It is an enjoyable book that equals or surpasses many of the books in the past couple of decades looking solely at the Antartic adventure. Read it. Enjoy it.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard's "Worst Journey in the World" remains a polar classic, still in print 80 years after it first appeared. If you're like me, you can't help but wonder what happened to "Cherry" after it was published. Wheeler's biography not only tells you, it also tells you of his life before he went south with Captain Scott.

Cherry was a complex man who struggled with his personal demons for most of his life. Wheeler presents his story with compassion and objectivity, and my only objection is that she is not nearly hard enough on Captain Scott. Scott and his companions did not die because of Cherry's failure to rescue them; they died because of Scott's bungling.

If you're interested in the history of Antarctic exploration, "Cherry" is a must-read. However, be prepared for the fact that some of it is a bit less than cheerful.