Masters of the Artic Ice

National Geographic (National Geographic // $19.98)

Follow a team of National Geographic scientists as they set up camp on the largest expanse of ice on the planet. Hop on a snowmobile at a moment’s notice to track down ring seals, narwhals and polar bears. Watch the climate change before your eyes as the Arctic Ocean—which is largely frozen—melts and fissures, and marine mammals, accustomed to cold conditions, struggle to adapt. In this 52-minute documentary, the cinematography takes a gritty, in-the-trenches approach. Hand-held cameras follow the scientists across the icy moonscape of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, while critter cams provide a rare glimpse into the private lives of animals that survive at the top of the world and on the edge of change.

—Jennifer Winger  

A Natural History of Quiet Waters

Curtis J. Badger (University of Virginia // $22.95)

For centuries, pop culture has given swamps a bad name—in literature and cinema, these wetlands have been associated with death and destruction. In A Natural History of Quiet Waters, Curtis J. Badger argues that swamps are not so nefarious. In fact, a swamp is a fascinating hybrid of two habitats—nothing more than water in a wood, after all. From the Great Dismal Swamp to the Pocomoke River, the author explores the swamps, bogs, marshes and wet meadows of the mid-Atlantic coast to illuminate the ecological—and even the aesthetic—value of these soggy landscapes. But beyond the biology is one man’s love for this very different and endangered ecosystem and his quest to acquire his own small slice of swamp.

—J.W.
 

The Unnatural History of the Sea

Callum Roberts (Island Press // $28.00)

Eighteen-foot-long sturgeons in the Chesapeake and 10-foot-long crocodiles in the Caymans were once considered ordinary—today, they would be extraordinary. In The Unnatural History of the Sea, marine scientist Callum Roberts traces the commercialization of Earth’s richest resource. Firsthand accounts of early seafarers speak to an ocean of plenty, but recent data suggests a conservation crisis: With unregulated fishing taking place around the globe and less than 1 percent of Earth’s waters under protection (compared with 12 percent of its land), fish are being plucked from the sea before they can fully develop or reproduce. But Roberts’ narrative does not dwell on what has been lost. Instead, he illustrates how, with a worldwide commitment to marine reserves and resource management, a healthy ocean ecosystem can be regained. 

—David Connell

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