Village of the Ghost Bears

By Stan Jones (Soho Press, $24)

The blurb: Inupiat Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active must figure out what connects a dead hunter on a remote lake with a year-old fatal plane crash in the Brooks Range and a fire that killed eight people in the Arctic village of Chukchi, including the town's police chief.

Excerpt: "Active signed the paperwork for the charter, then set off for the house Grace Palmer had inherited from her murdered father. It was a relief to be able to forget about No-Way for a while. If the Anchorage crime lab was as backed up as usual, it would be at least a couple of weeks before they heard anything. And by then, someone from one of the villages up the Isignaq River might have reported a friend or relative missing. With a little luck, Active would be able to scratch the dead hunter off the Trooper to-do list with almost no work."

The Eskimo Way of Life

By Charles Cloutier (Charles Cloutier, $9.95)

The blurb: A collection of stories and photos about Nanivak Island, Alaska. Also included are stories from Eward Shavings Sr. a teacher, master guide, hunter and elder.

Excerpt: "Leaving Prattville, Alabama in February, with 50 degree temperatures and blue skies, and then arriving in Mekoryuk, Alaska, with below zero wind-chill and overcast skies was a strange feeling. For four days I never saw the sun, or even a hint as to where the sun was located. Although it was daylight, I saw only white snow, white ice and white clouds. The blending of the horizon with the sky was at times tricky and deceitful. I did learn that a dark white sky means you are looking over the Bering Sea, and if you are squinting through bright white landscape you are usually lost!"