2003 Banff Mountain Image Award Winner and 2004 Gold Independent Publisher Book Award in Environment, Ecology, and Nature
The most comprehensive, photographic documentation of the biodiversity and indigenous cultures of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
One hundred and twenty full-color photographs by author and photographer Subhankar Banerjee, winner of the prestigious Alaska Conservation Foundation Daniel Housberg Wilderness Image Award
Essays by Peter Matthiessen and David Allen Sibley, among others
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is America's Serengeti, comprising 19.8 million acres of land in the northeast corner of Alaska and adjoining Ivvavik and Vuntui National Parks in the Yukon Territory in Canada. Photographer Subhankar Banerjee, in collaboration with six essayists, presents a portrayal of a unique landscape made up of equal parts beauty and hazard. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last intact ecosystems on earth, is being impacted by forces that may change its existence forever: global warming and the encroachment of modern society through the potential for oil drilling.
Jimmy Carter, George Schaller, and Bill Meadows narrate the story with essays that delve into the history of the Refuge, the political battles — past and present — and the fragility of the ecosystem. Wildlife biologist Fran Mauer writes of the areas geological and geographical uniqueness while Debbie Miller describes the cultures of the Inupiat Eskimos and the Gwich'in Athabascan Indians. David Allen Sibley explores the prolific bird life and migrations at the refuge with an eye toward the delicately balanced ecology of the region. Peter Matthiessen, reflecting on his journey through the Refuge with Banerjee, passionately defends the need to preserve these lands and the people and the wildlife they shelter.
Visit the photographer's website at www.subhankarbanergee.org