Competition

Notable recent photography books on the Arctic include the following titles, all of which portray a pristine region that, though threatened, is still untouched by humanity. This region is an imaginary place, an Earthly Eden devoid of people. None of these books present the Arctic as the very real ancestral homeland of indigenous peoples who still retain a remarkable intimacy to the land and its animals, and whose subsistence-based lifestyles and deep spiritual roots are a last link to humanity’s common hunting and gathering heritage.

In 2014 Princeton Architectural Press published Melting Away: A Ten-Year Journey Through Our Endangered Polar Regions by Camille Seaman. The book is a collection of Seaman's photographs of icebergs and glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic. There are no photographs of wildlife or people.

In 2012 Warner Bros. and IMAX® Filmed Entertainment presented a MacGillivray Freeman Film called To The Arctic. Narrated by Oscar winner Meryl Streep, the film takes audiences into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home. The music in the film is performed by Paul McCartney. The film was an enormous box office success. A companion book To The Arctic, photographed by Florian Schulz, was published by Mountaineers Books. Neither the book nor the film make any mention of the Inuit.

In 2009 The National Geographic Society published Polar Obsession by Paul Nicklen. The book is a collection of Arctic and Antarctic photographs Nicklen took on assignments for the magazine. There are no photographs of the Inuit in Polar Obsession. The book was a huge success, and since publication Nicklen has become one of the world's most famous photographers, appearing in television commercials for American Express and boasting 2.1 million followers on Instagram.

In 2007 Abrams published Vanishing World - The Endangered Arctic By Fredrik Granath with photographs by Mireilla de la Lez. This book also focuses on the wildlife and mentions climate change but does not include the Inuit.

In 2000 Sierra Club Books published Seasons of the Arctic, by Paul Nicklen. This is Nicklen's first book and can be said to have launched his career as a National Geographic photographer. The book is a collection of Nicklen's early photographs of Arctic landscapes and wildlife but does not include any photographs of people.

In 1997 Images of Nature, the private imprint of wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen - quite likely the most financially successful photographer in history with annual revenues in excess of $10 million - published Polar Dance - Born of the North Wind, with text by the renowned Canadian photographer and author Fred Bruemmer. The book is a collection of Mangelsen's arctic wildlife photographs and includes no photographs of people. This book is still available for purchase through Mangelsen's website and his eight signature art galleries.