Poles Apart
Parallel Visions of the Arctic and Antarctic
$39.95, £23.95 paperback
978-0-520-20902-2
Available Now
184 pages,
October 1995, Available worldwide
Categories: Art; Natural History; Photography; Geography
October 1995, Available worldwide
Categories: Art; Natural History; Photography; Geography
"Rowell represents an endangered species rarer than many of the animals and birds he photographs so brilliantly—the true adventurer."—Marvin Weinstein, Chicago Sun-Times
"A cross between Sir Edmund Hillary and Ansel Adams, Rowell has become a cult figure to climbers and photographers alike."—Margot Dougherty, People Weekly
"[Rowell] has a delightful time traveling from pole to pole with his camera, and delights us as well. . . . I boldly allege that no one but Rowell has reached so many difficult places, assigned so magical a role to his camera, and put so much of it all so well into words."—David R. Brower, Los Angeles Times
"A book that combines hyperborean vividness with a savvy text."—Washington Post Book World
"[Poles Apart is] a dazzling geography lesson."—Amy Gamerman, Wall Street Journal
"The photographs are beautiful in themselves, sometimes surprising, sometimes amazing, and always informative. Mr. Rowell's text is gracefully written and poignantly sympathetic to the creatures and the country that he records."—Atlantic Monthly
"The most likely mental image of the polar regions, which make up about 15 percent of the planet's land area, is of frigid, undifferentiated wastelands. Award-winning wildlife photographer Galen Rowell dispels this common notion in a series of thoughtful photographs and informative word pictures."—Mary Warner Martin, Christian Science Monitor
"Well written, beautifully photographed, and handsomely produced, Poles Apart is for those looking for diversion as well as those interested in geography and ecology. It is unusual to find such a successful, compelling combination of entertainment and education."—Bloomsbury Review
"A cross between Sir Edmund Hillary and Ansel Adams, Rowell has become a cult figure to climbers and photographers alike."—Margot Dougherty, People Weekly
"[Rowell] has a delightful time traveling from pole to pole with his camera, and delights us as well. . . . I boldly allege that no one but Rowell has reached so many difficult places, assigned so magical a role to his camera, and put so much of it all so well into words."—David R. Brower, Los Angeles Times
"A book that combines hyperborean vividness with a savvy text."—Washington Post Book World
"[Poles Apart is] a dazzling geography lesson."—Amy Gamerman, Wall Street Journal
"The photographs are beautiful in themselves, sometimes surprising, sometimes amazing, and always informative. Mr. Rowell's text is gracefully written and poignantly sympathetic to the creatures and the country that he records."—Atlantic Monthly
"The most likely mental image of the polar regions, which make up about 15 percent of the planet's land area, is of frigid, undifferentiated wastelands. Award-winning wildlife photographer Galen Rowell dispels this common notion in a series of thoughtful photographs and informative word pictures."—Mary Warner Martin, Christian Science Monitor
"Well written, beautifully photographed, and handsomely produced, Poles Apart is for those looking for diversion as well as those interested in geography and ecology. It is unusual to find such a successful, compelling combination of entertainment and education."—Bloomsbury Review
"Galen Rowell has a wonderful combination of qualities—eye, energy, intelligence, sensitivity, courage both physical and moral, and above all, heart. Very seldom have I experienced so clearly defined the connection between the artist and what he sees, feels, and does with the work itself."—Robert Redford
The harsh beauty of the polar regions has long fascinated explorers and armchair adventurers alike. The forbidding terrain and exotic life-forms appeal to our sense of wonder, and while we may think of them as similar, the Arctic and Antarctic are as unlike as Kansas and Kenya. In Poles Apart, Galen Rowell takes us on an exhilarating visual journey to the top and the bottom of the world, using his camera to reveal the fascinating differences in these polar opposites.
In Part I, Rowell's side-by-side photographs highlight the contrasts between North and South. The photo essays of Part II continue the comparisons, developing such themes as Arctic and Antarctic science, polar bears and penguins, and visits to the North and South Poles. Part III provides detailed information on the story behind each photograph as well as technical data of interest to photographers.
Galen Rowell is known for choosing subjects that, while beautiful, are unfamiliar to much of his audience. Yet his books enjoy wide appeal because he accurately focuses—in images and words—on the essential spirit that sets his subjects apart from the rest of the world. So it is with the distant lands and seas of the polar regions, which hold valuable lessons for all of us concerning evolution, geology, history, human endeavor, and the impact of human greed. No other vast areas of the earth remain as pristine, and for Rowell, the Arctic and Antarctic have become metaphors for those intangible elements that define the earth's wild places. In a world fast becoming a theme park of artificial experience, his book is an invitation to understand and appreciate what is real.
In Part I, Rowell's side-by-side photographs highlight the contrasts between North and South. The photo essays of Part II continue the comparisons, developing such themes as Arctic and Antarctic science, polar bears and penguins, and visits to the North and South Poles. Part III provides detailed information on the story behind each photograph as well as technical data of interest to photographers.
Galen Rowell is known for choosing subjects that, while beautiful, are unfamiliar to much of his audience. Yet his books enjoy wide appeal because he accurately focuses—in images and words—on the essential spirit that sets his subjects apart from the rest of the world. So it is with the distant lands and seas of the polar regions, which hold valuable lessons for all of us concerning evolution, geology, history, human endeavor, and the impact of human greed. No other vast areas of the earth remain as pristine, and for Rowell, the Arctic and Antarctic have become metaphors for those intangible elements that define the earth's wild places. In a world fast becoming a theme park of artificial experience, his book is an invitation to understand and appreciate what is real.
Polar Opposites:
The Arctic, home of the polar bear, takes its name from the Greek arktos, meaning bear. The Antarctic, anti-arktos, is a realm devoid of bears, a place where penguins breed in the open, unthreatened by land predators.
The North Pole sits in the middle of an ocean surrounded by land, while the South Pole is 9,300 feet above sea level in the middle of a continent surrounded by oceans.
Boreal forest can be found in the Arctic's Brooks Range; Antarctica has no trees and its Dry Valleys are the most lifeless regions on earth.
Humans have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years; in the Antarctic, every human is a visitor.
The Arctic, home of the polar bear, takes its name from the Greek arktos, meaning bear. The Antarctic, anti-arktos, is a realm devoid of bears, a place where penguins breed in the open, unthreatened by land predators.
The North Pole sits in the middle of an ocean surrounded by land, while the South Pole is 9,300 feet above sea level in the middle of a continent surrounded by oceans.
Boreal forest can be found in the Arctic's Brooks Range; Antarctica has no trees and its Dry Valleys are the most lifeless regions on earth.
Humans have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years; in the Antarctic, every human is a visitor.
Winner, Commonwealth Club of California silver medal for nonfiction