BookReviews03.indd 210 Book reviews in using Phoca hispida rather than Pusa hispida for the ringed seal and Phoca groenlandica rather than Pagophilus groenlandicus for the harp seal, but this can be a matter of personal preference; there is in fact no “offi cial” world list of scientif- ic names. There is very little to criticize and much to laud in the production and editing of the book. I could fi nd only one typographical error (Ridg- way’s name is spelled wrong in the list of recom- mended readings). The binding is fi ne, and the photographic illustrations and other graphics are superb. A quick-identifi cation sheet and forms for reporting sightings are provided in a pocket at the back. This guide should provide good and long service in the fi eld and may result in collection and collation of sightings potentially useful to the scientifi c understanding of these fascinating animals. It is highly recommended for accurate information on the marine mammals one is likely to encounter in and around the far-northern arctic territories of Norway. Review of Marine mammals of Svalbard, by K. M. Kovacs, I. Gjertz & C. Lydersen Olle Melander The Swedish Tourist Authority, Box 860, SE–101 37 Stockholm, Sweden. Every year, tourists converge on Svalbard hoping to catch sight of the big marine mammals. But most tourists are not zoologists. For a tempo- rary visitor, it is no easy task to recognize marine mammals. Of course polar bears and walruses are easy to distinguish—and they also top the visitor’s wish list—but tourists also want to see seals and especially whales. These animals seldom “pose” the way polar bears and walruses sometimes do. They may give you no more than a brief glimpse and then leave you wondering: What was that? How big is a seal? What does it eat? As of last summer, tourists and tour guides have a new way of fi nding answers to their ques- tions about Svalbard’s fauna: Kovacs et al. Marine Mammals of Svalbard. But there are already sev- eral fi eld guides and a substantial body of scien- tifi c literature. Does this book add anything new? This is an appealing book in terms of design, size, text and content. It is just the right size to take along with you, and just the right thickness to invite reading. The book itself is too big to shove into your pocket, but just inside the back cover you will fi nd an identifi cation sheet with drawings of the animals. At least you can always carry the ID sheet with you. Passengers on cruise ships will not fi nd the book’s size any problem. It can be kept close at hand in case you want to read up on ani- mals that have been observed. The authors are knowledgeable. The descrip- tions of the animals are clear and comprehensi- ble. The language is precise and formulated with scientifi c caution. Known facts are described with care; if uncertainties remain, this is stated. The book is clearly organized and its structure easy to grasp. Information is presented consistently under the same headings for each individual species. This makes it easy to fi nd one’s way around in the book. It contains more photographs and drawings than other, similar books. The photographs are not all of top quality, but here perhaps the publisher is more to blame than the authors. Even though the book is entitled Marine Mammals of Sval- bard, it contains general information and glimps- es of other parts of these animals’ ranges. Thus it can be of use even to people who are not visiting Svalbard specifi cally. As the book states in several places, informa- tion concerning the range, population, etc. of the marine mammals is uncertain. The authors, whose research fi eld is the mammals of Svalbard, give modest population estimates. Is this an expression of scientifi c conservatism? How uncertain are the estimates? More knowledge is needed, and in the preface, the authors hope readers visiting Svalbard will be inspired to report the animals they see by sending in the sighting sheet tucked into a sleeve at the end of the book. Though the aim is admira- ble, the authors bungle the job a bit by not giving clear reasons for the data collection. In addition, the sighting sheet is enormous, providing over 50 lines on which to report observations. What tour- ist has the stamina —or the luck—to make that many observations? One is reluctant to report a few scattered observations, which is all one usual- ly gets on a short tourist outing. A postcard-sized reporting sheet, with the address pre-printed, and with a brief explanation of what the data will be used for, would inspire much more participation. In addition, many tourists visit Svalbard more than once, though a few years may pass between visits. For them, it would be good if more than 211Book reviews 2004: Polar Research 23(2), 209–213 one sighting card were provided. Voluntary census takers also want to know where the data they have collected end up. A free-text search for “Marine Mammals” or “Svalbard” on the Nor- wegian Polar Institute website gives no hits. This doesn’t detract from the book in any way, but people would be more eager to send in observa- tions if they could trace their contributions in the ongoing data compilation. The book is good and makes you hungry for more. It is also refreshing that the book keeps to the point, but what is the purpose of the map on page 1? Why not a map showing the ranges of the animals the book is about? Moreover, hunt- ing of marine mammals has dominated Svalbard’s history from the early whaling days to the polar bear hunting of modern times. Hunting in Sval- bard and its devastating effect on these mammals would have been a more interesting topic than general comments about bowhead whales, Stel- ler’s sea cow and sea otters. The sections on seals and whales should both begin with a few gener- al words concerning the relationships between the species and their evolution. The text is packed with interesting information, but a discussion of the future is called for: not just the future of the whales but of all Svalbard’s marine mammals. If the ice at the North Pole melts away, will there still be polar bears in Svalbard? How many polar bears have been killed since they became protected? Tourists ask a lot of questions; the authors would surely be able to provide answers. Hopefully the next edition can provide indica- tions of size for the whales on the identifi cation sheet. Are they all rendered at the same scale? Greater consistency in presenting the whales’ weight and size in text would make reading easier. For instance, it would be interesting to know where the fi gure 200 tonnes for the blue whale comes from, and what the average weight is. Could the authors provide a few more references? As the number of tourists grows, it would be worthwhile listing the names of the whales in even more lan- guages. The book is so good no nature-loving tourist going to Svalbard should be without it. For people like myself, who guide tourists in experiencing Svalbard’s fauna, the book is a gold mine, with its logical structure and clear text. It is afforda- ble, easy to take along, and answers the questions. And when the sighting reports start coming in, it will hopefully lead to better knowledge about the marine mammals of Svalbard. Review of Negotiating the Arctic: The Construction of an International Region, by E. C. H. Keskitalo (2004). New York and London: Routledge. 282 pp. ISBN 0-415-94712-X. Oran R. Young Bren School of Environmental Science and Manage- ment. University of California (Santa Barbara), 4518 Bren Hall, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131, USA. Since the waning of the cold war during the late 1980s, the Arctic has emerged as a lively arena for initiatives designed to promote international coop- eration. These initiatives take a variety of forms. Some, like the Arctic Environmental Protec- tion Strategy (AEPS) and its successor the Arctic Council (AC), involve intergovernmental agree- ments. Others, such as the Northern Forum (NF), are collaborative efforts on the part of subnation- al units of government (e.g. counties, provinces, states). Still others, like the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the University of the Arctic (UArctic), and the Inuit Circumpolar Con- ference (ICC), feature efforts on the part of non- governmental bodies to infl uence the course of transnational relations. How can we explain this development? And what are the prospects for a broadening and deep- ening of Arctic cooperation during the foreseeable future? This intriguing, albeit sometimes diffi cult and frustrating, book seeks to answer these ques- tions by focusing on the idea of region-building, deploying the methods of social constructivism, and making liberal use of discourse analysis. The result is an analysis that has the salutary effect of making us stop to think about the underpinnings of cooperation in the Arctic, even though it may have little impact on the actual course of events in this dynamic region. Is there an Arctic discourse? What methods are appropriate for answering this question? Kes- kitalo’s central argument is that such a discourse has emerged during the last 20-30 years and that it refl ects in large measure the views and perspec- tives of Canada and, to a lesser degree, those of the ICC (treated as a partner of Canada with regard to circumpolar issues). 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