Inuksuit: Silent Messengers of the Arctic Book

Inuksuit are ancient and mysterious stone structures found in the circumpolar world, each one different yet all with similarities. They were a means of communication between humans in this huge and hostile landscape.

The photography alone is stunning, the explanatory text awe-inspiring. The complexity of the messages transmitted by these stone constructions is humbling to those of us imagining that our instant, online communication makes us 'evolved'.

The author spent years among the Inuit forging deep friendships, and the reader feels privileged to be granted this glimpse into a unique way of life among people whose essential humanity is never compromised by the harshness of their environment.

The fact that the author's research relied so much on oral history is a timely alert. Peoples who live in close relationship with their physical environment, especially if that environment is challenging, often necessarily have little in the way of written record, and so much of humanity's sheer remarkableness, especially in the way of survival skills, stands to be lost if we are not careful, in the sense of taking care - to ask, note, record and respect.