Svalbard Life

Svalbard Life takes readers on a unique journey to Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, constituting the northernmost part of Norway and one of the last regions of genuine wilderness in Europe. Arctic and marine biologist Paul Wassmann and Arctic photographer Rudi Caeyers exemplify and illustrate life, change, and resilience in the archipelago by unifying informative text with lavish imagery in a way that is comprehensible and stimulating. For many readers, this book will change their perception of life in the High North. Nature, communities, people, and art in Svalbard, past and present, are made accessible through short, condensed, informative texts interspersed with photographs, which both fuel the intellect and appeal to the imaginative mind. Designed to be dipped into at random, the book does not follow a straight line, but meanders, and constantly looks for diversity, ideas, and enjoyment. Towards the end of the book, the focus shifts towards the overarching issue of climate change in the Arctic Ocean. Finally, and from an Arctic perspective, a set of short essays dealing with generic aspects of living in the Arctic are presented, dealing with communicating evidence, resilience management, and the challenge of a changing climate. Applying a multidisciplinary approach and based upon participating observations, the Arctic is seen, experienced, and communicated by two insiders that not only lived and worked for decades in the High North, but also applied the perspective of their central European upbringing. Svalbard Life provides understanding of and an intuition for life and change in the Arctic.