Journey Round the Arctic Circle

A journey of discovery across eight countries, combining the beauty of the Arctic circle with the dangers of a forbidding landscape.

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Chris Hill undertook a unique one-man journey that took him through eight Arctic countries over a period of two years. The expedition began in Alaska, USA, and ended one dark polar night in the Russian Arctic. He covered over 65,000 miles using whatever transport was available, from aeroplanes to skidoos. On his travels he met Eskimos (Inuit), Lapps (Saami), North American Native peoples and many Russian ethnic groups - people from all walks of life. He was struck by the tremendous warmth and hospitality of the Arctic peoples and their profound respect for the wilderness, land and sea. He came across all sorts of indigenous animals and travelled across (at times treacherous) terrain in harsh conditions. In writing this book, Chris Hill hopes to encourage a deeper understanding of the environment in which we live. His journey came at a very significant time of deepening concern at the damage being caused to this pristine wilderness by industrialised countries. Both people and ecosystem are under threat. The hole in the ozone layer and all the consequences of global warming are nowhere more obvious than in the Arctic with melting icecaps, 'Arctic haze', acid snow and polluted rivers. The repercussions of the accident at Chernobyl and the Exxon oil spill are still being felt there today. Chris Hill approaches this important subject with a fresh passion that comes from his personal experience. But this is also an adventure book; it will hold the attention of any child from the age of six to sixteen; it is enormously informative and it carries a very important message to the younger generation. It will open up a new world to them through vivid descriptions of a culture so very different from their own. Its peoples, lifestyles, animals and terrain are brought to life in words and through extraordinary colour photographs and amusing illustrations in a style that will fascinate and remain with them long after the book has been set down. With a Foreword by the Rt. Hon. Lord Shackleton KG, FRGS.