Lonely Planet the Arctic (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) (Paperback)

~ Deanna Swaney (Author) "The Inuit (pronounced INN-ooit) are some called Eskimos ('eaters of raw meat' in the Athapaskan language), however this name is now out of flavour..." (more)
Key Phrases: dogsledding tours, territorial park, wilderness huts, North Pole, Arctic Russia, Arctic Alaska (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This unique guide to one of the last wilderness frontiers is the essential companion for both intrepid adventurers and armchair travellers.

• comprehensive coverage of the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden
• special sections written by experts on Arctic issues including indigenous peoples and cultures, research, history, exploration, and literature
• detailed activities chapter covering options from sea-kayaking to dogsledding
• 43 detailed maps
• 32 page, full-colour nature guide

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; illustrated edition edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864426658
• ISBN-13: 978-0864426659
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,082,437 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars overall nicely done, May 18, 2003

By	Benjamin P. Wing "saudade seeker" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i had already picked up the LP guide to the antarctic and i saw this and just couldn't resist. (and this is a guy who *freezes* when it gets below 60 degrees!)

overall, the book seems great, though of course i can't speak from experience. just as an introduction to the arctic it's not bad at all. you get lots of long sections on all sorts of stuff -- the flora and fauna, the history of arctic exploration, the indigenous peoples, past and current arctic research programs, even arctic literature, plus of course all the introductory stuff covering history more generally, geography, climate, "environment and ecology", and national parks. you also get short (usually one-to-four page) insets on a particular subject (alcoholism among the Inuit, Fridtjof Nansen, the Sea Ice, SAD == Seasonal Affective Disorder" [seasonal depression from lack of light], "Arctic Phenomena" == the Northern Lights and other such things). etc. etc.

in general i've had good luck with the lonely planet guides -- they give you detailed info about all the basics (getting there, visas, getting around, potential health problems, religion, basic phrases in the most important languages, etc.) and they seem well-organized and to-the-point when it comes to telling you what are the interesting things to see, as well as making it possible for you to make your own choices based on what *you* find interesting.

be aware that this is a first edition so it may have some bugs in it that will get ironed out in later editions.