Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species

Ian Stirling's "Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species" is considered by many to be the seminal reference book on polar bears. Although the product description and the copyright dates rather deceptively do not reflect this, this book published in 2010 is not an entirely new text, but rather is an updated version of Stirling's 1998 book Polar Bears. Some chapters have been expanded and some new chapters have been added in this release. The book features a host of new photographs as well.Stirling, a Canadian research scientist, is regarded as one of the world's foremost polar bear authorities. In this text, he draws on his forty years of research as well as research by others to produce an in-depth examination of polar bears. Subjects covered include, among others, mating, denning, hunting, social interaction, physiology and habitat. Each topic is richly illustrated with photographs which show not only the beauty of these great animals and the environment in which they live, but the complexity of their lives and behaviors. The photographs alone could comprise a book worthy of praise, but Stirling couples these photographs with scientific-based, but comprehensible and engaging text. If I had to recommend only a single book on polar bears, this text would be it. I only wish the book had been released in hardback.Other worthwhile books on polar bears include:Nikita Ovsyanikov's Polar Bears: Living With the White Bear for first hand accounts of polar bears by a researcher living among them on Wrangel Island, Russia (the DVD Polar Bear Alcatraz centers around Ovsyanikov on Wrangel Island);Thorsten Milse's Little Polar Bears Notecards for beautiful photography of polar bear mothers with cubs coming out of the den in Spring;Richard David's Lords of the Arctic: A Journey Among the Polar Bears, an older (1982), but good overview of polar bears;Norbert Rosing's The World of the Polar Bear andHelen Thayer's Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole for her first hand accounts of polar bear encounters during the author's journey by ski to the magnetic North Pole from Resolute, Alaska (her experiences with polar bears on her journey are more arguably edifying than much of the scientific literature summarizing human-polar bear encounters).This is just a starter list - there are a multitude of good books on polar bears, but Stirling's book should be at the top of any list.

I am a Polar Bear fanatic. I love this book because it covers the origins of Polar Bears, gives a lot of information on where the bear population is stable, where it is declining, a lot of interesting facts I did not already know - and best of all, unlike a TV show, if I think there will be something bad or sad happening, I can just skip to the next page! Pictures are great. My bucket list included seeing Polar Bears in the wild while there still bears to be seen.

If you want to learn about polar bears without the technical jargon, this is your book! It’s obvious this preeminent researcher loves the ice bears he’s writing about too.

I got this book to read in preparation for a trip to Svalbard. I wasn't disappointed. It is a thorough background of polar bears, their habits, their history and an educated look at their future. It is well worth reading whether merely curious about the bears and their environment or interested in finding out what native peoples and scientists have learned over the years. You won't want to scan or skip any of it: it is that interesting and well written.

The book if very comprehensive on the evolution and habits of Polar Bears. It came within the expected interval.

Book came in excellent condition. I just returned from a trip to the Arctic lead by the author, Ian Stirling, so it was especially meaningful. Written well with lots of detailed information on these fascinating creatures, their threatened habitat and great photographs.

The 'go to' book for those interested in the biology, ecology, behavior, and future of polar bears. Looked forward to each chapter before I had finished the last. Photography is very illustrative and beautiful, too.

This book really enhanced my understanding of polar bears and the threats to extinction they face. It has helped me better understand the bears' behavior, appreciate even more seriously the increasing cub mortality rate, and among other things, the accelerating speed of the threat to the overall species survival in the wild. Professor Sterling writes the book in plain language for the layman to readily understand. I highly recommend reading the book, it is a fast and compeling read.

This book is everything one might expect. Very insightful information about the iconic polar bear. Hundreds of beautiful full colour photos.

Libro molto bello per gli appassionati di orsi. Oltre a dare molte informazioni su habitat, abitudini, ecc.. ha anche molte foto davvero belle. Lo consiglio

Came sooner than expected and in very good condition. This book is excellent for an overview of the natural history of the polar bear. It is easily read and has an excellent layout and good photos.

Das Buch ist eine aufregende Excursion in die Arctis, man lernt, dass Eisbären keine Knuddeltiere, sondern unabhängige und freie Bewohner einer eher feinlichen Umgebung sind. Ich vermute, dass auch die Videovorstellung in Lufthansamaschienen von demselben Autor ist. Man könnte (oderr solle) ruhig für dieses Vides Reklame machen.

This book is one of the best I've read.