At 23 million acres, Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve is the largest single unit of public lands in the United States, none of it permanently protected. Rich in oil, gas and coal, it is also home to an astounding diversity of plants and animals, many endangered and threatened; the migratory birds of six continents begin their lives in the Reserve. Debbie S. Miller's On Arctic Ground is a striking plea for the conservation of this irreplaceable natural space.
Although it can be read cover to cover, the best way to enjoy this book is to take its short chapters one by one. Each provides mind-boggling details--like the bar-tailed godwit's nonstop, 7,000-mile migration from western Alaska to New Zealand--and makes the starkly moving point that this incomparable area is highly vulnerable. Breathtaking full-page pictures throughout offer stunning portrayals of the Reserve's strange and spectacular life forms. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pages of julia