Fourth World: The Heritage of the Arctic and its Destruction - Hardcover

Hall, Sam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394559428 ISBN 13: 9780394559421

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1987

Synopsis

Looks at how Eskimos have lived in the Arctic, describes the erosion of the Eskimo culture, and suggests ways to develop the Arctic lands responsibly

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

From first European contact to the present time, the Arctic has been exploited. The advent of whalers and traders started the erosion of Eskimo culture, a process accelerated by missionaries. Today, business (oil), military and political interests threaten the equilibrium of a delicate environment and the entire northern hemisphere. British journalist Hall, who has traveled throughout the Arctic for many years, here writes a powerful and moving story of the Far North, its people and an ominous future. Nineteen separate tribes inhabit the Soviet and Scandinavian Arctic, including the Lapps (Sami), who in appearance closely resemble the Eskimos (Inuit) of Greenland, Alaska and Canada. Their traditional hunting culture has been replaced or restricted, and they are second-class citizens in their respective countries. Hall chronicles the transformation from Stone Age to Space Age, comparing the plight of the Eskimos to that of the Lapps. He looks at current development in the Arctic: huge dams in Canada and Scandinavia, expanding cities and heavy industry in Siberia, oil and mineral exploration in North America, bigger and more efficient icebreakers for commercial traffic, military maneuvering. It is too late to stop development, argues Hall, but there is still time to control it. This is an important and timely book. Nature Book Society alternate.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The "Fourth World"the lands, wildlife, and peoples north of the Arctic Circleis threatened by ecological disaster, according to Hall, a British TV journalist. He details how indigenous cultures survived for thousands of years in the harshest conditions only to be undermined or destroyed by the predatory activities of whalers, traders, "southern" governments, and other foreign interlopers. Only recently have indigenes taken their destiny into their own hands, with varying degrees of success. Ecologically sound planning is needed for the region. The Fourth World has important things to say, but is marred somewhat by indifferent writing and poor organization. J.F. Husband, Framingham State Coll. Lib., Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0394559428
• ISBN 13: 9780394559421
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240