Eastern Arctic Kayaks by John Heath & Eugene Arima
University of Alaska Press; published 2004.
ISBN 1 889963 25 9
Written by John D. Heath and Eugene Arima, Eastern Arctic Kayaks: History, Design, and Techniques “is a comparative study of kayaks that focuses on historical development, design and construction, and techniques” (ix). Part I of the book, by John Heath, is an overview of the Greenland kayak, giving a historical perspective. Chapters by Greg Stamer and Harvey Golden cover paddling techniques and kayaks in European Museums, respectively. The remainder of Part I, with individual chapters written by Hugh Collings, John Brand, H. C. Petersen, and Johannes Rosing, offers examples of historical kayaks, descriptions of kayak sports and exercise, and a narrative of a trip taken at the end of the 19th century. Part II, by Eugene Arima, focuses on kayaks of Eastern Arctic Canada, describing their use, variations, and construction. A section with speculations about the design ancestry of these kayaks includes photographs by Vernon Doucette of prehistoric and other models of kayaks. Well-researched, with many fine photos and line drawings, Eastern Arctic Kayaks belongs in the collection of anyone with an interest in skin-on-frame watercraft and the cultures that developed them