Perhaps it's something about the title - or that the Smithsonian is the publisher - but the initial impression is that this is going to be the quintessential incomprehensible academic book about one of the most obscure and uninteresting subjects ever brought to light in print. And yet..., the rapidly changing lifestyle of the Saami reindeer herders as told by Hugh Beach is not just a fascinating story about an extraordinary bunch of people living somewhere 'over there', but a story about us. There are not enough words to praise this book too highly - the writing is superbly understated, yet the attention to detail is meticulous. Beach's respect for the people and culture is done perfectly (and evident in the the Book's title) with just the right amount of reflection, perspective and humility to make it easy for the reader to 'walk alongside' him and absorb - as he did - the meaning and significance of all of the things it is to be a semi-nomadic herder in one of the world's harshest environments. And indeed the meaning and significance of being human.

This book stands easy comparison to two others - Robyn Davidson's 'Desert Places' and Sebastian Hope's 'Outcasts of the islands'. And shares with them the common theme of traditional lifestyles coming into conflict with, and adjusting to the 'modern world'. Perhaps this is the theme that most resonates for me. How these people have come to terms with the limitations (and opportunities) of modern technology, economics and governance, a world as radically different to them as the future will be to us. In those circumstances will we do as well to retain our individuality and humanity? This book deserves a much wider audience, highly recommended. ( )