Who doesn’t like reading about the Arctic? On the eve of the release of my book, Unchained Man: The Arctic Life and Times of Captain Robert Abram Bartlett, I thought I’d provide some recommendations on great Arctic books. So here goes (in no particular order):

Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. Lopez is an easy-to-read philosopher and compelling writer as I discussed in a previous blog entry.

Inuit Women: Their Powerful Spirit in a Century of Change by Janet Mancini Billson and Kyra Mancini. I used this book in an Inuit Studies course I recently taught and students gave it good reviews. It focuses on one community — Pangnirtung, Nunavut — but it’s also wide-ranging in its discussions of Inuit history and culture.

The Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet by Sheila Watt-Cloutier. Born in Kuujjuak, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Sheila is a former International Chair for the Inuit Circumpolar Council, the international political organization of the Inuit. She’s a powerful speaker, as I learned in Iqaluit in 2011.

The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk. Bob Bartlett is the main character here and I’ll post more about Jennifer Niven’s work next week.

And, last but certainly not least, I recommend Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic, also by Jennifer Niven.

There are many more Arctic books well worth a read so I’ll return to this topic in future blog entries. Happy reading!