Paul Souders has been a wildlife and nature photographer for more than 30 years, yet he'd never captured a polar bear on film in its natural Arctic environment. Disinclined to join a tour group where his photographs would be the same as everyone else's, Souders bought a rubber dinghy and a wooden boat called C-Sick and went solo into Hudson Bay. Over the course of several summers, he traversed hazardous waterways in search of an iconic polar bear image.
Arctic Solitaire is Souder's first book and is based on the notes he took while on these expeditions. He holds little back, sharing with readers his distinct lack of knowledge for reading the sea and the weather, as he was caught in one storm after another. Pack ice threatened to crush his boat, strong winds drove him onto submerged rocks and even the bears he came to photograph almost did him serious harm. But amid that desolation, he did capture numerous polar bears and other wildlife on film, all of which he describes in loving and lyrical tones. Interspersed with his personal narrative are reflections on the history of previous arctic explorers as well as commentaries on the native Inuit he encountered in the tiny, isolated villages he visited. Arctic Solitaire is also filled with beautiful color images that mirror the story he tells. This is a great read about a harsh region of the world few get to see on their own. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer