Recommended Reading -Remote Coast of East Greenland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Printable version
The items on this list can be purchased (some at discount rates) through Longitude Books. To link directly to the Longitude Books page for this list, please click here
ESSENTIAL READING
Lonely Planet Greenland and the Arctic • Deanna Swaney
GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 336 PAGES
A comprehensive guide to the circumpolar north, covering Greenland and the Alaskan, the Canadian, the Scandinavian and the Russian Arctic. (ARC73, $26.99)
The Arctic, A Guide to Coastal Wildlife • Tony Soper • Dan Powell
FIELD GUIDE • 2005 • PAPER • 144 PAGES
A compact, illustrated guide to coastal marine mammals and seabirds of the circumpolar north featuring handsome watercolor illustrations by Dan Powell and lively text on the natural history of each species by intrepid expedition leader and bird-lover Tony Soper. An essential handbook for the ship-based traveler. With a brief overview of history, short chapters on plants and invertebrates, and glossary of snow and ice. (ARC85, $21.95)
This Cold Heaven, Seven Seasons in Greenland • Gretel Ehrlich
TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2003 • PAPER • 400 PAGES • FAVORITE
No lightweight, Ehrlich wandered, mostly alone, by boat, helicopter, plane, and dogsled over seven seasons in Greenland. This account of her travels in the region reflects her insight, knowledge, and deep appreciation of the people and barren landscapes of the north. A first-rate writer and philosopher, she interweaves the story of her own peregrinations with the story of Greenland-born Knud Rasmussen, the Arctic explorer who established a trading base at Thule with Peter Freuchen; and the result is a profound, exhilarating book. (ARC107, $14.00)
The Greenlanders • Jane Smiley
LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 608 PAGES • FAVORITE
This marvelously researched novel recreates life in the Viking settlements in Greenland, which disappeared 500 years ago. Smiley delves in the medieval colonies, their struggles to survive in the harsh environment, contacts with indigenous people and causes of their disappearance. It includes the tale of the Norse discovery of North America. (ARC08, $15.95)
Greenland Map • ITMB
2004 • MAP
A full-color, folded map of Greenland for travelers at a scale of 1:1,500,000. With shaded coastal relief, towns and sites, index and travel notes. (ARC111, $9.95)
ALSO RECOMMENDED
The Frozen Echo, Greenland and the Exploration of North America, 1000-1500 • Kirsten Seaver • HISTORY • A scholarly account of Norse settlements in Greenland and Canada -- the best analysis of the subject to be published in decades. (ARC76, $27.95)
The Vikings and America • Eric Wahlgren • HISTORY • An insightful account of the Vikings' discovery and exploration of America, based on archaeology and the ancient sagas. With site diagrams and black-and-white photographs throughout. (VIK12, $18.95)
Vikings, The North Atlantic Saga • William Fitzhugh • Elisabeth Ward • HISTORY • An extensively illustrated volume of Viking culture, history and exploration (especially voyages to North America). Published in conjunction with a Smithsonian exhibit, it features essays and 400 color photographs. (VIK11, $34.95)
Arctic Adventure, My Life in the Frozen North • Peter Freuchen • Gretel Ehrlich • EXPLORATION • A marvelous account of life in remote northwest Greenland, originally published in 1935. Freuchen ran a trading post at Thule with Knud Rasmussen. (ARC133, $17.95)
Last Places, A Journey in the North • Lawrence Millman • Paul Theroux • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • Following not so closely in the wake of the Vikings from Scotland to Newfoundland, the author explores the landscapes, culture and history of the North Atlantic, illuminating modern life in the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland with his wry commentary. (ARC54, $13.00)
N by E • Rockwell Kent • Edward Hoagland • EXPLORATION • The classic account of a 1929 sailing voyage from Labrador to Greenland, illustrated with wood-block prints by the author on every other page. (ARC35, $19.95)
Robert E. Perry and the Rush to the North Pole • Fred L. Israel • EXPLORATION • YOUNG ADULTS • A reprint of 27 original articles, with photographs and maps, dating from 1899-1912 as they originally appeared in National Geographic. (ARC66, $22.95)
The First Crossing of Greenland • Fridtjof Nansen • EXPLORATION • Nansen's account of his 1888 Greenland journey by ski and sledge with five companions, the first successful expedition across the Greenland icecap. (ARC132, $19.95)
The Ice Finders, How a Poet, a Professor and a Politician Discovered the Ice Age • Edmund Blair Bolles • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • A wonderfully eccentric history of 19th-century science, focusing on three personalities and their ideas about the role of ice in Earth's history. Each contributed to the Victorian debate among scientists, explorers and the man on the street about the nature of the polar regions. (ARC78, $13.00)
The Sagas of Icelanders • Jane Smiley • Robert Kellog • EXPLORATION • Nine sagas and six tales composed between 1000 and 1500, including an account of Leif Eriksson's voyage to North America, all newly translated. With an introduction by Jane Smiley. (ICL13, $21.00)
To the Arctic, The Story of Northern Exploration from Earliest Times • Jeanette Mirsky • EXPLORATION • A classic and wide-ranging narrative of Arctic exploration from the Dutch in Spitsbergen to the Russian Great Northern Expedition, the search for Franklin and the quest for the North Pole. (ARC31, $17.00)
Two Against the Ice • Ejnar Mikkelsen • Lawrence Millman • EXPLORATION • A chronicle of Mikkelson's quest to recover the lost diaries of a 1908 expedition to Northeast Greenland, a classic originally published in 1955. (ARC137, $14.95)
Ultima Thule, Explorers and Natives in the Polar North • Andre Malaurie • EXPLORATION • In this oversize, handsomely illustrated history of European exploration of Greenland and the Arctic, Malaurie draws together explorers' logs, Inuit accounts, photographs, engravings, and period drawings. (ARC123, $75.00)
Vinland Sagas, Norse Discovery of America • Magnus Magnusson • EXPLORATION • These Icelandic sagas, as edited by the great Magnus Magnusson, tell the compelling story of the Norse discovery of America five centuries before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. (VIK03, $12.00)
Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer • Chauncey Loomis • Andrea Barrett • EXPLORATION • The tale of 19th-century Arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his untimely death somewhere in Greenland. (ARC63, $19.00)
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo • Henry Rink • ANTHOLOGY • A facsimile edition of a collection of Greenlandic tales with a sketch of "their habits, religion, language and other peculiarities" by the explorer and Danish governor of Southern Greenland, originally published in 1875. With woodcuts and engravings. (ARC184, $12.95)
No One Thinks of Greenland • John Griesemer • LITERATURE • The Allies secret WWII army base in Greenland serves as inspiration for this tale of mysterious goings-on during the Korean War. (ARC149, $14.00)
Salamina • Rockwell Kent • LITERATURE • A warm account of adventures in Greenland circa 1931, featuring portraits of the people encountered (including the title heroine) and pen-and-ink illustrations by the sailor, adventurer and illustrator. (ARC143, $19.95)
Smilla's Sense of Snow • Peter Hoeg • LITERATURE • Set in Denmark and Greenland and aboard a secret ship, this page-turner includes an excellent portrait of modern day Copenhagen in its first half. (DMK03, $15.00)
The Thrall's Tale • Judith Lindbergh • LITERATURE • Set in Greenland during Viking times, this historical novel follows the fate of three women at the beginning of the Christian era. (ARC174, $25.95)
A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic • E.C. Pielou • NATURAL HISTORY • A broad introduction to Arctic climate, geography, plants, birds, mammals and insects. It's a highly recommended, enthusiastic guide to natural history throughout the North. (ARC03, $20.00)
Arctic Dreams, Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape • Barry Lopez • NATURAL HISTORY • FAVORITE • One of the best books we've read on any destination, this celebrated meditation on the Arctic draws on Lopez's travels throughout the North, including Baffin Island, Siberia and Greenland. (ARC11, $15.00)
Polar Bears • Ian Stirling • Dan Guravich • NATURAL HISTORY • A tribute to the polar bear by a pre-eminent researcher and intrepid photographer with both outstanding color photography and solid information on natural history and Inuit lore. (ARC58, $29.95)
Riddle of the Ice, A Scientific Adventure into the Arctic • Myron Arms • SCIENCE • An account of a 1991 scientific expedition to study climate change, including sailing voyage from Newfoundland across the Davis Strait to Greenland aboard a 50-foot sloop. (ARC93, $12.95)