Nature, Mammals, Photography - History, Criticism, & Collections
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Overview
Praise for the second edition:
"Norbert's gift as a photographer is his great curiosity about the natural world. His magic is displayed in photographs that weave light, color and action into a tapestry that tells volumes about life in the Far North."-- National Geographic Magazine
"Highly recommended."-- Library Journal (starred review)
The polar bear is the largest terrestrial carnivore in the world, uniquely adapted to thrive in the harsh environment of the Far North. In The World of the Polar Bear, renowned nature photographer Norbert Rosing follows the polar bear through each season of the year.
This timely third edition has been fully updated and features more than 20 terrific new photographs. With its thorough and engaging text and spectacular photography,
The World of the Polar Bear includes:
- A season-by-season account of the life of the polar bear, including feeding, mating and rearing of cubs
- A new chapter featuring the polar bears of Svalbard, Norway
- An intimate look at the animals that share the polar bear's environment, including seals, arctic foxes, walruses and muskoxen
- A section on such northern sky phenomena as sun dogs and northern lights
- Many anecdotes and insights about the polar bear -- at once a loving parent, a fierce predator and a natural jester
Polar bears are seriously threatened by global warming, and this book continues to explore this critical issue.
The World of the Polar Bear is quite simply the best book ever published on the polar bear.
Synopsis
Written by an acclaimed nature photographer and featuring 175 remarkable color photographs this is a season-by-season account of the life of polar bears, including hunting, mating, rearing cubs, and journeying to and from the ice.
(Fall 2000) - Canadian Camera Magazine
Rosing has produced one of the most outstanding collections of polar bear pictures ... Photographers will appreciate this book.
Editorials
Conservation Magazine
Two decades in the Arctic have provided Norbert Rosing with keen insight into its most celebrated inhabitant, the polar bear. He follows this mighty traveler across valleys, ice flows, and seasons, capturing the beauty and bounty of the Arctic's surprisingly colorful flora and fauna.Halifax Chronicle Herald
Rosing marries his heartstoppingly beautiful photography with personal, informative insights drawn from his more than 25 years exploring the North.— Jodi DeLong
Halifax Star Phoenix
An intimate portrait of an endangered and iconic Canadian animal... [a] gorgeous book.— Bill Robertson
Montreal Gazette
Genuinely awe-inspiring.— Louise Abbott
Outdoor Photographer
[Review of earlier edition:] Follows polar bears as they mate, hunt, rear their cubs and journey across the ice.The Guardian
[Review of earlier edition:] [The World of the Polar Bear] is, by turns, visually provocative, sumptuously beautiful and emotionally suffering.Catholic Observer
[Review of earlier edition:] Polar bears are the star performers here ... Exceptional reading for all ages.Arctic
[Review of earlier edition:] Likely to delight those that seek a glimpse into the life of one of the world's most charismatic species.... beautiful and well presented. ... Rosing is a superb photographer and one who can capture the essence of a polar bear in a diversity of situations.Embassy (Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly)
[Review of earlier edition:] Overflowing with stunning photographs... many touching moments captured.Globe and Mail
[Review of earlier edition:] Rosing's photos are beautifully stark, often moving... Text is lively, anecdotal and informative, and never gets in the way of the amazing photography. A book to cherish.Quill and Quire
[Review of earlier edition:] The captions that accompany the photographs are straightforward and succinct, leaving Rosing's striking images to evoke the cold, unrelenting beauty of Canada's North on their own merit.Booklist
[Review of earlier edition:] Rosing has produced probably the best collection of images of polar bears and their Arctic habitat ever assembled in one place in this stunning new book.Peterborough Examiner
[Review of earlier edition:] Polar bears and their Arctic neighbours.Style at Home
[Review of earlier edition:] [One of "Style at Home"'s Top Ten Coffee Table Books] An intimate portrayal of their existence through the seasons.Canadian Camera
[Review of earlier edition:] Some great shots in this book... [Rosing] shares many tricks and techniques for shooting in this harsh environment... This is a great coffee table book showing spectacular shots of the polar bear at work, rest and play.Winnipeg Free Press
[Review of earlier edition:] Even if you have never been to the west coast of Hudson Bay, this remarkable book will make you feel as though you have been there. ... This is an engaging look at the great white beasts of the North. ... If you get it as a gift for someone you may not be able to part with it.Victoria Times-Colonist
[Review of earlier edition:] Magnificent... will delight young readers as well as adults.The Times, London
[Review of earlier edition:] Covers not only the bears enjoying the snow, but also the walruses and arctic foxes around them.Destinations
[Review of earlier edition:] [An] amazing book.Halifax Chronicle Herald
The World of the Polar Bear focuses on that one marvelous, mystical and endangered animal. In t his revised and updated third edition of his book, Rosing marries his heartstoppingly beautiful photography with personal, informative insights drawn from his more than 25 years exploring the North.Halifax Star Phoenix
An intimate portrait of an endangered and iconic Canadian animal... some truly marvelous views of the land itself in all its seasons... [a] gorgeous book.Montreal Gazette
One of the animal species most threatened by climate change in the north is the polar bear, the subject of a photo book by Norbert Rosing. The World of the Polar Bear is not a new release--it is an updated, soft-covered third edition--but it is more pertinent than ever. Rosing's documentary images of polar bears and the foxes, seals, walruses and birds that share their northern habitat are genuinely awe-inspiring; they reflect the photographer's patience, passion and desire to convince the public of the need to address the environmental crisis.Halifax Daily News
[Review of earlier edition:] Hauntingly beautiful images of the Arctic.Style at Home
The North is an enigmatic place to most Canadians, even foreign, with its vast, treeless spaces and unforgiving climate. It is also a significant place when it comes to global climate change -- it is the polar regions of the planet that are experiencing the biggest rises in temperature and changes to the landscape, threatening the very survival of the polar bear. Photographer Norbert Rosing has spent almost 20 years visiting the western shores of Hudson Bay and chronicling the lives of its animal inhabitants, not just the bears but also the foxes, hares, muskoxen, walruses and other creatures that share the land. This collection of photographs is an intimate portrayal of their existence through the seasons, from springtime mating to a winter on the Arctic ice, accompanied by explanations of how the bears survive and thrive in one of the harshest climates on Earth.North American Bear Foundation
[Review of earlier edition:] Crammed full of outstanding images... Norbert Rosing's work is nothing short of spectacular. Of all the photo essays I have seen on the white bears, this is by far the very best.Kitchener-Waterloo Record
[Review of earlier edition:] Polar bears have been one of [Norbert Rosing's] primary fascinations and this book follows them through the seasons.Wildlife Activist
[Review of earlier edition:] Stunning photographs... Words cannot adequately describe the beauty of the photographs in this book. It is truly a remarkable presentation of a region of the earth that most of us will never get to see firsthand.The Midwest Book Review: Bookwatch
[Review of earlier edition:] Rosing's gorgeous full-page polar bear photos capture the world of the Far North like no other.. Sure to be a popular browsing choice... Highly recommended.Canadian Living
[Review of earlier edition:] Breathtaking... a keeper for budding environmentalists and ardent animal lovers.National Post
[Review of earlier edition:] If you buy just one polar bear book this year, make it this one.Shutterbug
[Review of earlier edition:] Breathtaking images.Canadian Camera Magazine
Rosing has produced one of the most outstanding collections of polar bear pictures ... Photographers will appreciate this book.— (Fall 2000)
Publishers Weekly
On his first visit to Canada, in February 1983, the German author arrived in Churchill, Manitoba, during a blizzard after a 1000-mile journey by train from Winnipeg. Despite the cold his film and camera froze, Rosing was bitten by the Arctic bug and became fascinated by polar bears. Now a prize-winning nature photographer, he has made repeated visits to the Hudson Bay area, sometimes three times a year, continuing to study and photograph Arctic wildlife and habitat. Rosing discusses in lively detail the Arctic summer, tourism in Churchill, the northern lights, the polar bears of Hudson Bay and Arctic foxes. He introduces a man who breeds Canadian Eskimo dogs and tells a remarkable story of a polar bear who played with a sled dog. In the final chapters, Rosing offers advice on photographing bears.. He gives a superb introduction to both wildlife and phenomena of the Far North. The text is accompanied by dozens of dazzling color photographs. Nov.VOYA
Awesome! This incredible photographic journey through the seasons in the world of the polar bear is an absolutely delightful experience. The text accompanying the photographs is written in the first person and relates experiences in the pursuit of the photographs. The enticing photos will encourage students to read the text that includes explanations of interactions with other wildlife, sky phenomena, and adaptations for survival in this harsh environment. The book begins with Spring in the polar bear's den and the journey to the ice. Summer brings ice breakup, flowers, stampeding walruses, and adorable arctic foxes. Fall heralds the northern migration and waiting for the ice to form. Winter is the most bountiful time of the year for the polar bears, the ravens, and the arctic foxes on the arctic ice. The author concludes, "It is devastating to think that the polar bear's habitat may be endangered by global warming. They deserve much better from us." An afterword by a research scientist explains the bleak future for this magnificent animal. This book is certain to get a lot of attention, whether on display or on the shelf.Library Journal
Photographer Rosing, a frequent contributor to National Geographic magazine, is well known for his work in arctic regions, and with good reason. Eighteen years in the making, this volume is filled with spectacular color photos and informative text. Although the main focus is polar bears, the book might better have been called The World of the Arctic, since it includes photographs of foxes, walruses, snow geese, ravens, muskoxen, and other wildlife; colorful flowers; the amazing Northern Lights; and the phenomenon of sun dogs, or mock suns. Rosing chronicles the ever-changing landscape of the Arctic through the seasons, starting with spring and moving through summer, fall, and winter. In his narrative, he is refreshingly candid about his experiences in the Hudson Bay-James Bay region, sharing amusing anecdotes about his first visits to the Far North as an inexperienced hobbyist unprepared for the severe and rapidly changing weather. This book will delight anyone with an interest in the Arctic or in polar bears, as well as those with an interest in nature or wildlife photography. Highly recommended. [A Discovery Book Club selection; this is a completely new and different work from the book Rosing wrote in 1996 bearing the same title. Ed.] Deborah Emerson, Rochester Regional Lib. Council, Fairport, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.School Library Journal
YAWriting informally in a first-person narrative, Rosing shares his fascination with this frozen world. He presents a great introduction to the flora and fauna of the Arctic, and to the photography techniques used in that area. The discussions on the habits and habitats of the world's largest carnivore are factual, but brief. Interesting and illustrative incidents are used to describe aspects of the polar bear's behavior. Two-thirds of the book consists of outstanding, full-color photographs that impart more details. Information is also given on the northern lights, belugas, geese, fox, dogs, and snowdrifts. Several concluding pages are devoted to photographic particulars: cameras, lenses, seasonal concerns, techniques, and the specific settings used for each shot. Be sure to share this title with all science and photography teachers.Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VAThe Guardian
[The World of the Polar Bear] is, by turns, visually provocative, sumptuously beautiful and emotionally suffering.— Mark Cocker
Catholic Observer
Polar bears are the star performers here ... Exceptional reading for all ages.— Lorraine Lauzon
Arctic
A glimpse into the life of one of the world's most charismatic species.... beautiful and well presented.— Andrew E. Derocher, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta
Globe and Mail
Rosing's photos are beautifully stark, often moving... Text is lively, anecdotal and informative... A book to cherish.— Martin Levin
Outdoor Photographer
Follows polar bears as they mate, hunt, rear their cubs and journey across the ice.— Kim Castleberry
Canadian Camera
Some great shots in this book... [Rosing] shares many tricks and techniques for shooting in this harsh environment.— Elizabeth Logue
Destinations
[An] amazing book.— Laila Maalouf
Victoria Times-Colonist
Magnificent... will delight young readers as well as adults.— Liz Pogue
Peterborough Examiner
Polar bears and their Arctic neighbours.— Ron Berthel
Winnipeg Free Press
If you get it as a gift for someone you may not be able to part with it.— Randy Midzain
Quill and Quire
Captions... are straightforward and succinct, leaving Rosing's striking images to evoke the cold, unrelenting beauty of Canada's North.— Cassandra Drudi
Embassy (Canada's Foreign Policy Newsweekly)
Overflowing with stunning photographs... many touching moments captured.— Huixia Sun
Booklist
Probably the best collection of images of polar bears and their Arctic habitat ever assembled in one place... stunning.— Nancy Bent
Book Details
Published
September 1, 2010
Publisher
Firefly Books, Limited
Pages
216
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781554076314