Polar Journal AG summer book selection

What would a summer vacation be without a good book? From recent publications to favorites, the editors of Polar Journal AG have put together a selection of books to accompany you on your summer break. Whether you’re on a sandy beach basking in the sun, or in the heart of more icy climes, our selection is for you to devour with your toes outstretched, or to take with you into the air or out to sea.

Do you like polar thrillers ? With this sixth volume, Åsa Larsson’s internationally beloved crime series brings the story of fragile yet fierce heroine Rebecka Martinsson to a spellbinding close in this novel set in the cold lands of Sweden that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Forensic pathologist Lars Pohjanen has only a few weeks to live when he asks Rebecka Martinsson to investigate a murder that has long since passed the statute of limitations. A body found in a freezer at the home of the deceased alcoholic, Henry Pekkari, has been identified as a man who disappeared without a trace in 1962: the father of Swedish Olympic boxing champion Börje Ström. Rebecka wants nothing to do with a fifty-year-old case – she has enough to worry about. But how can she ignore a dying man’s wish?

Rebecka Martinsson, The Sins of our Fathers, Mobius, 2023, 608 pages, ISBN 9780857051745

Published this month by Manchester University Press, this book explores the concept of colonialism in a part of the world with no indigenous population. An original approach that allows us to look at the continent in a different way and discuss colonialism from a different perspective.

Despite lacking an Indigenous population, the continent has been shaped by many of the same political and economic forces that have defined the rest of the world – notwithstanding its unique governance arrangement, the Antarctic Treaty System. The book provides a set of contributions that critically explore different practices, attitudes and logics that suggest that colonialism may have been and may still be present in Antarctica, ranging from religion to material culture to the treatment of animals. The chapters also explore the connection between colonialism and cognate terms like capitalism, socialism, nationalism, and environmentalism.

Peder Roberts and Alejandra Mancilla, Colonialism and Antarctica. Attitudes, Logics, and Practices, Manchester University Press, 2024, ISBN 978-1-5261-7063-7

Is knitting your passion and Scandinavian patterns your dream? If you’re already thinking about the design of your next homemade beanie or lovingly knitted sweater, this book is definitely for you. 

Written by a passionate knitter from Iqaluit, Nunavut, this book is a step-by-step guide to making beautiful woolen objects, and a great introduction to the famous knits of the Far North. To your needles!

Weichien Chan, Arctic Knits, Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2024, 160 pages, ISBN 1787139980

Following on from Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton, author Joanna Grochowicz continues her exploration of the legends that shaped polar exploration. With this new opus, the Australian Mawson is (finally) in the spotlight.

Douglas Mawson is a national hero and Antarctic explorer, famous for one of the most extraordinary feats of endurance in the history of polar exploration. His amazing story is brought vividly to life in compelling narrative non-fiction. Aimed at a young audience, it will also appeal to readers of all ages.

Joanna Grochowicz, Mawson in Antarctica, to the Ends of the Earth, A&U Children’s, 2024, 272 pages, ISBN 9781761180590

Get moving while discovering Arctic animals? That’s what this beautifully illustrated book, written by a Early Childhood Educator and Montessori teacher, is all about (ages 2 and up, but adults can join in too!).

Children will soar with owls, dive with the puffins and spin with the narwhals in a memory-making journey that will leave a smile on their faces and ignite a life-long passion to care for the disappearing beauty of the world around them. 

Marie-Luise Weiss, Let’s Move Like the Animals in the Arctic, 2024, 30 pages, ISBN 9798988012047

Mirjana Binggeli, Polar Journal AG