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anirams 's review for:
Artic Dreams
by Barry Lopez
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Much of the book is five star worthy but a couple things bothered me. The preface, prologue, and starting into the first chapter we’re so utterly verbose with SAT words that made it seem pretentious and unnatural. Fortunately that fizzled out, but I couldn’t forget it (haha).
The whole of the book is very scientific in nature, and while it maintains objectivity throughout there is still plenty of personal feeling to it that makes it so good and captivating. However, his “justification” of the use of “Eskimo” is off-putting, and the last chapter details centuries of primarily white men’s explorations of the Arctic. There are mentions and nods to indigenous cultures throughout but nothing quite so extensive as the white men trying to get the farthest through this unknown Northwest Passage. Fascinating as it may have been (though a bit dry with lots of names and dates) but without the same in-depth look and admiration for the indigenous people, it felt imbalanced and wanting in that regard.
Overall, still a great read and has definitely invigorated my desire to see some of the things he highlights.
P.S. as a bug lover/naturalist myself, why are the animal-focused chapters all on mammals? 😏
P.P.S this has a great explanation of the northern lights. I appreciated that.
The whole of the book is very scientific in nature, and while it maintains objectivity throughout there is still plenty of personal feeling to it that makes it so good and captivating. However, his “justification” of the use of “Eskimo” is off-putting, and the last chapter details centuries of primarily white men’s explorations of the Arctic. There are mentions and nods to indigenous cultures throughout but nothing quite so extensive as the white men trying to get the farthest through this unknown Northwest Passage. Fascinating as it may have been (though a bit dry with lots of names and dates) but without the same in-depth look and admiration for the indigenous people, it felt imbalanced and wanting in that regard.
Overall, still a great read and has definitely invigorated my desire to see some of the things he highlights.
P.S. as a bug lover/naturalist myself, why are the animal-focused chapters all on mammals? 😏
P.P.S this has a great explanation of the northern lights. I appreciated that.