Nuvuk, the Northernmost: Altered Land, Altered Lives in Barrow, Alaska

For years, tour guide Daniel Lum has brought visitors as well as his children out to the remote corners of Barrow, Alaska, one of the northernmost cities in the world, to witness polar bears and walrus on the dark, sandy beaches. Over time, snapping pictures for tourists and shooting photographs of his own, he has been a first-hand witness to the profound environmental changes taking place as his homeland shifts and disappears before his eyes.  As arguments over climate change rage in more temperate locales, Nuvuk, the Northernmost is a poignant snapshot of life in a town where these changes are impossible to overlook. Lum’s vivid photographs of wildlife, such as whales, polar bears, and birds, offer rare close-ups of animals few ever see. In addition, Lum provides vivid descriptions and pictures of daily life in and around Barrow, offering a compelling insider’s introduction to living on the tip of the world. With Lum as a capable guide, Nuvuk, the Northernmost is a chance to see a rare world before it changes forever.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Author Skin Boat Frame Midnight Sun at Nuvuk Walrus on Floating Pack Ice Playground in Darkness Arctic Fox in Snow Storm Beach Fog Large Male White Bear at Bone Pile Flatfoot at Nuvuk Melting Ocean Stuck in the Lagoon Fox Near Ancient Graves Red Fox Snowy Owl on Gravel Hill Beyond White Bearded Seal-Skin Boat Chilly Honda Arctic Fox Tiptoeing Polar Bear Fight Victor Onshore Stranded Walrus in the Sun Young Boys Butcher Walrus Tradition Iñupiaq Boy PigniQ in Winter Baleen Palm Tree Rollogon Spring Traditional Games Streetjumper Fox Over Polar Bear Rough Bear Iñupiaq Girl in Spring with Skin Boat Northernmost American Flag Inverted Paw Print Meat Rack at Duck-Hunting Camp Bear Force One Content Polar Bear Young and Full Largest Carnivore Hybrid? Success Old Village Site, Graveyard Washing Away Dog Team on Ice Tundra Swans in Spring Stalked Duck Camp in Summer Mother and Daughter Bears at Nuvuk Ivory Gull Arctic Tern at Freshwater Lake  Black Guillemot Pair at Nuvuk Tundra Young Snowy Owl at Camp Summer Lake Black Guillemot Nest Short-billed Dowitchers Long Grey Whale Jaeger Eats Gull Barge at Barrow Prints in Sand No Ice at Nuvuk Boy and a Whale Abandoned Ice Cellar Abandoned Hut Young Bull at Nuvuk Peek-a-boo The Erosion of Nuvuk Red Phalarope Gathering Falcon in White Phase Lady Catches Walrus Kids, Walrus, and New York Bagels King Eider Ducks Bowhead Whale Gulls in a Storm Arctic Terns at Nuvuk Finally Sunset Epilogue: Nuvuk

About the Author :
Daniel James Inulak Lum lives in Barrow, Alaska, and runs tours there with his family, specializing in trips to Nuvuk. He is a descendant of the Inupiat Eskimos and studies the Inupiat language.

Review :
"[Daniel Lum] has been a witness to the profound environmental changes taking place as his homeland shifts and disappears before his eyes. Lum's vivid photographs of whales, polar bears and birds offer rare close-ups of animals few ever see." "An impressive little book that offers an intriguing peak at a place even most Alaskans will never see."