Ellis, Richard. On Thin Ice.

Ellis, Richard.    On Thin Ice. 

Vintage see Random      2010  402p  18.95 978-0-307-45464-5    

hs/adult                E-BN  

Ellis presents a history of interactions between humans and polar bears, beginning with the initial

sightings by Europeans in the eleventh century, and moving through to the

present day, when polar bears number only 22,000.     

This book, sweeping in scope, is filled with well-documented information on polar bears and our uneasy

relationship to them, beginning with the gifting of a polar bear in 1056 by the

Bishop of Iceland to the Emperor of Germany, and dwelling on explorers who were

seeking passage to Asia over northeastern Russia in the nineteenth century.  The

reaction of these explorers to the magnificent beasts was to shoot them on sight,

but also to keep logs and journals documenting their behavior and nature.  Ellis

discusses the origins of the polar bear from the Pleistocene era, its social and

family organization, its adaptation to its environment, its relationship to the

native peoples of Alaska and Canada, and the present predicament of its

threatened status.  He includes many footnotes, references, and beautiful full-

color plates.  Written eloquently and rationally, this book should serve as a

passionate plea for humans to reverse their behavior, lest we lose these bears

altogether.             Kennedy, Carol