Arctic Crossing: A Journey Through the Northwest Passage and Inuit Culture - Rilegato

Waterman, Jonathan

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0679310908 ISBN 13: 9780679310907

Casa editrice: Random House Canada, 2001

Riassunto

A gripping, real-life adventure of a solo journey by kayak, skis, and dogsled across the top of the world.

In 1997, Jonathan Waterman began a gruelling 2,200-mile trek across the forbidding Northwest Passage and the newly designated province of Nunavut, Canada's 770,000-square-mile, Inuit-governed territory. Based on first-hand experience and extensive research, Arctic Crossing gives us a portrait of a culture fraught with contradictions as the Inuit find themselves engaged in a tug-of-war between tradition and powerful influences from the south.

Alongside unflinching portraits of hunters, politicians, troubled youngsters (and elders), Waterman traces Inuit history from its prehistoric past to its present-day moment. Offering his first-hand observations of Inuit life, language, and beliefs, Waterman also documents the unjust treatment of the Inuit at the hands of "Kabloona" ("bushy-eyebrowed" whites). And he is present as the Inuit stand on the brink of a self-determined future.

At the same time, Waterman reveals the physical risks and psychological dangers of crossing the Arctic alone. Evoking the barren beauty of the landscape and its wildlife, he recalls earlier explorers - and their brilliant and often unsuccessful attempts to navigate the elusive Northwest Passage - who, like him, were enraptured by both The People and their unique perspective from the top of the world.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

“Arctic Crossing, a first-person narrative that chronicles Waterman’s remarkable journey through the Northwest Passage...more than just a pulse-raising adventure book...Waterman has a refreshing tendency to describe his own problems in an oddly detached way...The Arctic may be a barren, unforgiving land, covered half the time in darkness and ice, but in Waterman’s hands it becomes a mysterious, often-abused place that, though harsh, seems like a kind of paradise on earth.” —Explore

“Arctic Crossing is a step above many of the adventure books currently on the market...its lasting value will be in its snapshot of the struggles faced by the Inuit culture in the midst of painful transition.” —Quill & Quire

“Arctic Crossing is a notable hybrid work – at once a first-person account of a 2,200 mile journey, mostly by kayak, through the Northwest Passage, and an eyewitness portrayal, sometimes painfully honest, of the Inuit who inhabit Canada’s northern frontier...Waterman’s ...eye is keen, his gaze unflinching, his empathy palpable...This urgent dispatch from the top of the world should not be ignored.” —The Globe and Mail

“In his fascinating, armchair-gripping new book, Arctic Crossing, Waterman vividly describes the gorgeous landscape that any home-bounder would thrill to see. He writes sympathetically about the Inuit he meets and whom he defends against decades of injustices from whites.” —Sid Adilman, Toronto Star

L'autore:

Jonathan Waterman is a peripatetic photographer and the author of numerous adventure books including In the Shadow of Denali and Kayaking the Vermilion Sea. He lives with his wife in a high aspen grove in the Colorado Rockies.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Random House Canada
• Data di pubblicazione: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0679310908
• ISBN 13: 9780679310907
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 368