Twilight of the Ice Bear, plus podcast

Book reviewing is a strange practice. As a fellow writer, you hope that every book sent your way is a masterpiece. As a critic, honesty is your stock in trade. So it's always a treat when you get a chance to review a book by an author whose work you enjoy--and the new book turns out to be great. Such was the case with Richard Ellis's new book, On Thin Ice, all about polar bears and their current imperilment. My review of Ellis's book appeared in the December 13, 2009 issue of the New York Times Book Review, and I've recorded an audio version of the review here: Download WS_30314. (This is my first stab at a podcast, and I hope to put more of my articles and reviews into audio form in the near future.) Although I hadn't met Ellis prior to writing the review--the Times Book Review's conflict of interest rules are pretty strict about that sort of thing--I had the chance to spend a delightful hour with him over lunch last week during his book tour swing through Seattle. He'd had a busy morning, doing Fox News and NPR before going on to an evening reading at Town Hall. With the climate change conference going on in Copenhagen, his expertise on polar bears and global warming was in high demand. As we were leaving, I commented on his hat, which came from Churchill, Manitoba, famous for its polar bear tourism. "I've always wanted to get up there to see the bears," I told him. "Better do it quickly," he told me. "They won't be there long."