Arctic Dreams: National Book Award Winner

Over the years I've read many great books on Natural History, most of them were very enjoyable, giving me rare insights into the natural world and its inhabitants. But "Arctic Dreams" is in a class all its own. For me, this is one of the best Nature books I've read since "The Sea Around Us". Like Rachel Carson, author Barry Lopez writes with a poetic beauty that reflects his love of nature as he takes the reader on an extended field trip through the the Arctic landscape to study what life is like in this frozen world. The author seems to have a well rounded education in biology as well as the history of Arctic exploration but is, I suspect, a philosopher at heart. Starting with an imaginary hike from the Arctic Circle to the Equator and back again Lopez examines the changing landscape, climate and biosphere leading to some surprising conclusions. A good portion of the book is devoted to the authors observations and thoughts on the behavior and evolution of some iconic Arctic animals like the Musk Ox, Polar Bear and Walrus. The write up on the Musk Ox was fascinating, the first I've ever read. And so was the segment on Narwals leading to an historical link between, of all things, the legendary Unicorn and the Narwal's horn. Most of Lopez's observations were done in the company of other wildlife biologist, explorers and, additionally, some of the local Eskimos that he was living and hunting with. But "Arctic Dreams" is not just about animals and plants! Lopez also delves into our cultural history with thoughts on the early days of Arctic exploration and modern day scientific research and the exploitation of the Arctic by world governments, international industry and multinational shipping. There's an extensive write up on how and when early man came to North America and the peopling of the Arctic by various groups of "Eskimos" and Nordic people. Ice is the signature property of the Arctic and it comes in many forms, each with its own characteristics that can change over time. Modern day shipping has catalogued and named many of them to help them in navigating Arctic waters. The author covers this phenomenon in a fascinating way that surprised me in its complexity. Lopez's descriptive passages make you feel like you're right there with him as he walks the Arctic tundra or observers ice-bergs from the deck of a research vessel. You can almost feel the bitter wind or see snow geese flying overhead. The book is illustrated with several good maps but you may want to keep your tablet or computer handy so you can get a better look at the region's covered. There's so much more to this wonderful, well written book that no review can do it justic, so if you are at all interested in the geography, climate, history and life of the polar region then you might want to give this book a try. I highly recommend it! Last Ranger

"Arctic Dreams" was recommended to me by a friend before I went on an Alaskan adventure a few years ago. This book expanded my vision of nature, and turned me on to the exquisite writing of Barry Lopez, who won the 1986 National Book Award for this classic work on the wild regions of the far north. "Arctic Dreams" is an extraordinary celebration of Arctic life and landscape which takes the reader on a journey to places rarely visited by man. Lopez' narrative does have a dreamlike quality, not only in its descriptions of nature at its most surreal, but in the absolute beauty of the writing itself. He does indeed capture the foreign reality of Arctic life, and death, with the loving care of an artist who places each brushstroke carefully on a canvas, bent on bringing the vision before him to others. Mr. Lopez made a number of extended trips to Siberia, Greenland, and northern Canada, including Baffin Island, to observe the flora and fauna of the region - polar bears, killer whales, caribou, narwhals - as well as the spectacular Arctic landscape. He experienced eerie encounters with the aurora borealis, massive migrating icebergs, solar and lunar light, halos and coronas. And he experienced both the potential for catastrophic danger and the remarkable beauty that the Arctic land and sea offers. "Spring storms can sweep hundreds of thousands of helpless infant harp seals into the sea" - juxtaposed with, "A tiny flower blooms in a field of snow touched by the sun's benevolent light." Through Mr. Lopez' eyes the breathtaking experience of the Arctic landscape and the people who inhabit it become palpably real. I was particularly moved by his intimate and compassionate descriptions of the indigenous people of this region, who so aptly illustrate how mankind is capable of living in harmony with his surroundings. Lopez' prose and his conclusions make the strongest argument possible to work for the ecological health of our planet, for the sake of life itself, and for the health of our imagination and sense of wonder at the magnificent. As mankind grows closer to conquering the earth's last frontiers, the issue of exploitation and encroachment becomes greater. For anyone who advocates preserving the few remaining wild areas on our planet, "Arctic Dreams" is a welcome gift and a source of motivation. It also provides an extraordinary read, and, perhaps, an awakening to those who have shown little interest in earth's most mysterious places. This is a magical book that will enchant and awe the reader. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Bravo, Barry Lopez! JANA

Barry Lopez's extended meditation in print on the Arctic defies easy categorization. Part of the book is the author's fascinating narrative of his own time in the Arctic and his encounters with Eskimos and with the unique wildlife that live and thrive in the Arctic. Another portion of the narrative is a loose-jointed but griping history of European exploration of the Arctic. Not least, the author ponders the meaning of the Arctic for a modern world. The book is a good read. This former Alaska resident found large portions to be a page-turning narrative. It would be hard not to admire the author's open-minded approach to what he experiences. He really does seem to have grasped what enabled the Eskimos to survive and thrive in such a challenging environment. That said, the narrative is now a bit dated. The Alaska natives so valued by the author are voting with their feet to join the modern world. Alaska villages have been de-populating for years as the young folks head for the bright lights and the big towns. The author's characterization of the work force on the North Slope seems unfair and inaccurate based on this reviewer's experiences. At book's end, it is unclear where the author thinks we should be going, and perhaps that uncertainty was intentional. Recommended.

My favorite book, since I was in high school, has been Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire. I never thought any book I ever read could trump the drama and emotion of that book, but Arctic Dreams is its equal, if not its superior. I do admit I am biased. This book is like a life story of a person I have been in love with for my entire life. I've read a ton of books on the Arctic, and this is one of the best. Each chapter encompasses a different part of the Arctic: to name a few, polar bears, narwhals, muskoxen, migration patterns, ice and light, Pingkok Island...every chapter, every word, every phrase in this book sticks. You cannot read this book without imagining an intensely beautiful place. The book also contains large chunks of Arctic history, of which Lopez seems to be a huge fan. He refers to expeditions, scientists, discoveries, famous explorers and researchers of the North, and also speaks of everyday people, everyday encounters, and thoughts and feelings all people experience at one point or another. The book is written with a combination of frankness and fascination that is difficult to describe. The book's chapters also touch on many different places in the North, from Alaska to Banks Island to Baffin Island to Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Kendall Island, and many more. The book is a story of an enormous part of the world, combining history, philosophy, science, literature, sociology, and a great deal of personal reflection. Maybe only someone completely obsessed with the Arctic could enjoy the book so completely. Maybe not. I've read some other reviews, and people who have read the book simply to learn something new have enjoyed it just as much as avid fans of the Arctic. There are a million things that make Arctic Dreams one of the best books I've ever read in my life. There is currently a copy on Amazon for $5.10. You can't buy anything as good as this for such a small amount. It's impossible. I'll read and re-read this book over and over throughout my life, and find something new every single time..

This autobiographical exploration of the inner and outer weather, the flora and fauna, of the Northern climes is truly haunting as well as seemingly endlessly informative concerning the history and features of this extreme and eerie landscape. Lopez writes, "Occasionally one sees something fleeting in the land, a moment when line, color, and movement intensify and something sacred is revealed, leading one to believe that there is another realm of reality corresponding to the physical one but different." It is this detailed exploration of the purely physical world combined with the liminal world of the shadows it casts on the mindscape that make the book so entrancing as well as edifying, There is quite literally something for everyone to enjoy in this book. One of the most fascinating tangents the author takes, for example, whilst contemplating the terror and wonder of an encounter with icebergs, is the comparison with cathedrals, leading to an analysis of the Luminist school of painting in late Nineteenth Century America, wending back around finally with a brief overview of Western architecture in general, concluding that, "The erection of the cathedrals was the last wild stride European man made before falling back into the confines of his intellect." Controversial? Indeed. But boring or listless? Never. There are so many profound and lyrical passages describing so much about life - and death - in the regions of Ultima Thule, its inhabitants and explorers, past and present, its history and its rigours that I'm tempted to write a review of each chapter here, thus boring the prospective reader to no end. I'll simply conclude with one of the ensorcelling sentences from the book that kept this reader turning page after page to the last syllable of recorded arctic dream:: "The outcry of birds, the bullet-whirr of their passing wings, the splashing of water, is, like the falling light, unending." So are the rewards of losing oneself in this book.

Was not completely captivated but a good read.

Imagine a land where the sun never sets, then plunges into darkness for six months of the year. Imagine cathedrals of ice and aurora borealis. Imagine musk oxen banding together to defend against predators, polar bears that behave like human beings, narwhals that joust in enclosed fyords, and the dreams and struggles of people who have inhabited this landscape for over five thousand years. Barry Lopez doesn't just take you there, he takes you there and back in time, explains the history, mythology, ecology, and physics of a unique place on our planet. He has the lyric intensity of a poet who absorbs the landscape into a state of mind, the penetrating observations of a scientist studying animal behavior, climate change, and geology, and a historian and anthropologist who takes you along on perilous 19th century whaling expeditions, eskimo hunting outings, and oil drilling explorations. In addition, Barry Lopez is a philosopher that seeks to understand what a landscape means. Like a cubist painter, he illuminates the way the land is inhabited from every perspective--by european explorers, eskimos, geologists, biologists, painters, all the animals that live on it. Arctic Dreams is also a treatise about how to perceive the land, what it means to live within a landscape, the human relationship with animals and the earth, and the prospect of continuing to live in an earth that both nurtures us and daunts us.

The writings of Barry Lopes need to be read to be believed. Naturalist, philosopher, archeologist, travel writer wrapped in the soul of a poet would best describe Mr. Lopez. His prose is so descriptively eloquent it transports the reader in place and time. As I read this book It made me think about many facets of human civilization, it informed me about animal species, geology and historic cultures while inspiring me to ruminate on philosophical questions. This book is a great foray into his works. His swan song Horizon is truly epic but a deeper read and if you enjoy Arctic Dreams, I would highly recommend Horizon as well. I will go as far as to say , that reading these books has a very high potential to make you a better person.