A celebration of the magnificent and unexpected world of the Arctic.

The Arctic, the mystical lands north of 60 degrees, is a cold and forbidding place that is covered in ice and snow for most of the year. Yet each spring the Arctic becomes a land of unforgettable beauty, when a profusion of life explodes across the entire landscape.

The Arctic is so different from the more temperate regions of Earth that author and photographer Wayne Lynch presents this region as though it were a different planet. In Planet Arctic, the reader can experience this land through the lens of a master photographer who has spent 30 years exploring and photographing this vast region. Lynch fully understands and appreciates Arctic birds, plants and animals in all their mystery. Here is the world of the polar bear, the arctic fox, the seal, the walrus and the musk ox, as well as a vast array of seabirds and exquisite, hardy wildflowers and ancient lichens.

Lynch's enthusiasm is contagious, and the photos, testament to his unerring eye for beauty, will captivate readers. Complex natural history concepts are decoded as Lynch describes the magnificent life-forms that inhabit this distant and frigid yet spectacular world -- one that is under increasing stress from global warming and climate change.

Wildlife photographer and science writer Dr. Wayne Lynch has dedicated almost three decades to learning everything he can about these powerful mammals. In his quest for bears, he has crawled inside the winter dens of black bears and polar bears, held squirming grizzly cubs in his arms, sailed along the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, hiked the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in South America and ridden elephants through the jungles of Nepal and India.

In Bears, Bears, Bears for Kids, his engaging guide to the world's eight bear species, Lynch introduces us to the strange and wonderful natural histories of these magnificent wild animals.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Wayne Lynch has been writing about and photographing the wildlands of the world from the stark beauty of the Arctic and Antarctic to the lush rainforests of the tropics. Today, he is one of Canada's best-known and most widely published nature writers and wildlife photographers. His photo credits include hundreds of magazine covers, thousands of calendar shots, and tens of thousands of images published in over 80 countries. He is also the author/photographer of more than 45 books for children as well as over 20 highly acclaimed natural history books for adults including Windswept: A Passionate View of the Prairie Grasslands; Penguins of the World; Bears: Monarchs of the Northern Wilderness; A is for Arctic: Natural Wonders of a Polar World; Wild Birds Across the Prairies;Planet Arctic: Life at the Top of the World; The Great Northern Kingdom: Life in the Boreal Forest; Owls of the United States and Canada: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior; Penguins: The World's Coolest Birds; Galapagos: A Traveler's Introduction; A Celebration of Prairie Birds; and Bears of the North: A Year Inside Their Worlds.In 2022, he released Wildlife of the Rockies for Kids and Loons: Treasured Symbols of the North. His books have won multiple awards and have been described as "a magical combination of words and images."

Wayne Lynch's profile page

The Arctic is so different from other regions of Earth that natural history author and wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch presents the Arctic as though it is a different planet. From 30 years exploring and photographing this vast region, Lynch shares with the reader his captivating colour photographs while describing the many natural inhabitants of this frozen yet beautiful land.

Above and Beyond (Arctic Journal)

Lynch has been traveling to the top of the world for 30 years, and his new collection of stellar photographs displays his improbable intimacy with what seems to be a forbidding place. For Lynch, the Arctic is a mystical land jeweled by life, from flowering mosses and lichens to exquisite birds and magnificent animals perfectly adapted to cold and ice. Lynch's colorful up-close portraits of red-throated loons, musk oxen, caribous, arctic grizzlies, polar bears, ptarmigans, owls, foxes, ermine, and walruses are breathtaking in their detail and startling in their warmth. Lynch offers a clue to this intensity, admitting that he is patient as a scientist but "stubbornly patient" as a photographer, no easy feat in this frigid realm. Lynch's engaging commentary blends personal anecdotes about his polar adventures with crisp scientific facts, and he barely alludes to the impact of global warming. Instead, Lynch hopes that readers will share his profound appreciation for the wonders and beauty of the living Arctic.

Booklist

Lynch once again stuns us with his work. A widely published wildlife photographer, he has authored 12 natural history books. Focusing on the Arctic, the truly amazing images here capture the beauty of this stark terrain, its animals, and its plants. From the majestic polar bear and almost-ugly walrus to playful fox kits and delicately beautiful mosses, we are treated to images of a landscape few will ever experience. Lynch has spent 30 years exploring and photographing this vast region, and it shows in his understanding of the area. The photos are enhanced by text explaining the natural history associated with each subject, further drawing in the reader. Some will consider this a coffee-table book; others, a light natural history of the Arctic. Both are right. Recommended for readers interested in the Arctic and in beautiful photography, it will be especially valuable in public, school, and university libraries.

Library Journal

Science writer and wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch has been travelling to the Arctic for more than 30 years, has 50 books to his name and is one of the most-published nature photographers in Canada. It's no surprise, then, that his intimate photographic compilation of Arctic wildlife, Planet Arctic, is as diverse as it is stunning. Lynch captures images of dozens of adorable creatures (and the very grotesque walrus), displaying their most idiosyncratic behaviour -- a beluga rubbing itself on gravel to hasten its moulting process, powerful muskox standing shoulder to shoulder to fight an enemy. Complete with Lynch's authoritative text tidbits about the animals, Planet Arctic is a great pick for any wildlife enthusiast who wants to get up close and personal with the Arctic's furry, feathered and aquatic residents.

Canadian Geographic

Science writer and wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch has been travelling to the Arctic for more than 30 years, has 50 books to his name and is one of the most-published nature photographers in Canada. It's no surprise, then, that his intimate photographic compilation of Arctic wildlife, Planet Arctic, is as diverse as it is stunning. Lynch captures images of dozens of adorable creatures (and the very grotesque walrus), displaying their most idiosyncratic behaviour -- a beluga rubbing itself on gravel to hasten its moulting process, powerful muskox standing shoulder to shoulder to fight an enemy. Complete with Lynch's authoritative text tidbits about the animals, Planet Arctic is a great pick for any wildlife enthusiast who wants to get up close and personal with the Arctic's furry, feathered and aquatic residents.

Canadian Geographic

What set this book apart for me was the personal anecdotes that Lynch used, which clearly highlighted his intense, palpable love and experience with this region, as well as his solid, accessible blending of scientific facts and theories to help explain why so many of these animals merit our awe, attention, and action. I recommend this book for those who wish to learn and see a little more about wildlife of the Arctic, and it would clearly make an excellent gift for friends and family interested in this part of the planet.

ARCTIC

With these dazzlingly hued color photographs, Lynch takes us north to the far reaches of the Arctic and reveals a rich landscape teeming with life. He offers intimate portrayals of arctic creatures--gamboling polar bear cubs, reindeer, loons, hares--capturing the vast splendor of one of the planet's last undisturbed places. Whether revealing an arctic fox on the hunt or the budding of mountain avens, Lynch's nature photos renew our sense of wonder at the majesty of the natural world with vivid, vital images that all but evoke the chill of arctic air.... These photographs and the author's sharp commentary and anecdotes provide an awe-inspiring glimpse into a wild world most of us will likely never know, an endangered world, Lynch warns in the book's final words, whose ultimate fate lies in our hands.

Publishers Weekly

(reviewed with The World of the Polar Bear) For those of us who are armchair travellers, two gorgeous books of photography make an acceptable substitute. Planet Arctic: Life at the Top of the World by renowned wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch, is my favourite of the two, as it captures glimpses of many aspects of this region of the world, from delicate lichens to the caribou that feed on them, from brooding landscapes to portraits of waterfowl and land mammals.

Halifax Chronicle Herald

Wayne Lynch, a regular contributor to the News Photo admits: I'm an Arctic addict. Planet Arctic is not only a reference book but also a very personal book where readers encounter legendary animals such as oxen and caribou, musk, walruses and polar bear as well as birds of the Midnight Sun that Mr. Lynch has his met, and at the same learn about them through the photos taken and personal anecdotes and stories detailing the conditions under which these images were captured.... These images of great beauty, dramatic and touching at once, show that no matter the conditions, life is possible in all forms.

PhotoNEWS Vol 20 No. 3

A collection of striking images with commentary on the natural history of wildlife and birds, as well as stunning hardy plants, mosses, and lichens of the cold desert Arctic. The majestic beauty of the land and sea and the inhabitants of the Arctic captured in fine detail combine to make this a lovely coffee table book.

Green Teacher Magazine

Pods of beluga whales, ice bergs glowing in yellow light or haloed in pink and mauve, and a host of stunning bird photographs: There is too much here to name, but all of it serves to tell us what an amazing and vulnerable place is our Arctic. Look and learn.

Halifax Star Phoenix

For most of the year, the Arctic is a cold and forbidding place that is covered in ice and snow. Yet, each spring, it becomes a land of beauty, filled with diverse wildlife, flora and fauna. For more than 30 years Wayne Lynch has worked in the Arctic as a nature and wildlife photographer, exploring and photographing the distinct animals found in this northern region. He also shares his vast knowledge about the complex Arctic landscape and its natural dynamics through introductory essays and personal anecdotes. A captivating and intelligent book, Planet Arctic: Life at the Top of the World shares with the reader the many wonders of the Canadian North. Wayne Lynch is an award-winning author of 12 natural history books and nearly 40 books for children and young adults. He is also a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America and a Fellow of the internationally recognized Explorers Club.

Photo Life (Quebec)