Title
Ice bear : the cultural history of an Arctic icon / Michael Engelhard.
ISBN
9780295999234 (electronic book)
0295999233 (electronic book)
9780295999227
0295999225
Published
Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2017]
Copyright
©2017
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (xiii, 288 pages) : illustrations
Call Number
QL737.C27 E537 2017eb
Dewey Decimal Classification
599.786
Summary
"Prime Arctic predator and nomad of the sea ice and tundra, the polar bear endures as a source of wonder, terror, and fascination. Humans have seen it as spirit guide and fanged enemy, as trade good and moral metaphor, as food source and symbol of ecological crisis. Eight thousand years of artifacts attest to its charisma, and to the fraught relationships between our two species. In the White Bear, we acknowledge the magic of wildness: it is both genuinely itself and a screen for our imagination. Ice Bear traces and illuminates this intertwined history. From Inuit shamans to Jean Harlow lounging on a bearskin rug, from the cubs trained to pull sleds toward the North Pole to cuddly superstar Knut, it all comes to life in these pages. With meticulous research and more than 160 illustrations, the author brings into focus this powerful and elusive animal. Doing so, he delves into the stories we tell about Nature-and about ourselves-hoping for a future in which such tales still matter"--Publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Description based on print version record.
Polar bear-human time line
Map: Territories of northern peoples and polar bear range
A beast for the ages
The life and death of a superstar
The bear as early commodity
Object of scientific curiosity
From white terror to trophy of modernity
Zoo bear and circus bear
Honored guest and ten-legged menace
A taste of the wild
The transformative bear
Helper and protector
Lover, super-male, mate
Archetype, role model, eco ambassador
Another seaside attraction.