The Last Imaginary Place
A Human History of the Arctic World
Published on 15. May 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-0-226-50089-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Arctic of towering icebergs and midnight sun, of flaming auroras and endless winter nights, has long provoked flights of the imagination. Now, in "The Last Imaginary Place", renowned archaeologist, Robert McGhee lifts the veil to reveal the true Arctic world. Based on thirty years of work with native peoples of the Arctic and travel in the region, McGhee's account dispels notions of the frozen land as an exotic, remote world that exists apart from civilization. Between the frigid reality and lurid fantasy lies McGhee's true interest, the people who throughout human history have called the Arctic home. He paints a vivid portrait of Viking farmers, entrepreneurial Inuit, and Western explorers seduced by the natural wealth and haunting beauty of this land. From lively accounts of fur trading, ivory hunting, and whaling to white-knuckle tales of the first, doomed expeditions, McGhee takes the reader on a whirlwind journey across this disorienting, dreamlike terrain that has fascinated mankind for centuries.
Reviews / Votes
"In prose infused by his position as curator of Arctic archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization - which has taken him to sites in several countries - McGhee demolishes some persistent illusions about the white North.... Evocative." - Times Literary Supplement "[A] compelling account.... [McGhee] believes that the Arctic is not so much a region as a dream - what he sees as a dream of a unique, attractive world.... An archaeologist who has spent thirty years there, the author lets his love for the region shine through on every page." - Booklist "McGhee displays the powerful attractions of the top of the world.... [His] prose... sparkles like frost in the midnight sun." - Financial Times "McGhee has written a sensitive, fascinating, and extremely important book." - Canadian Geographic "What McGhee has accomplished in this enthralling book is both a canvas of our imaginary Arctic... and a history and anthropology of the real thing.... We meet heroism, stupidity, greed, smallpox, and Christianity, not to mention a dead narwhal mistaken for a unicorn." - Harper's"More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
37 halftones, 9 maps
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
412 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-50089-8 (9780226500898)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Robert McGhee is curator of Arctic archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa and the author of numerous books, including Ancient People of the Arctic and The Arctic Voyages of Martin Frobisher.