WHEN THE WHALERS WERE UP NORTH: INUIT MEMORIES FROM THE EASTERN ARCTIC Dorothy Harley Eber Montreal, McGill-Queen's University Press, 1989. 216pp, cloth, $29.95 ISBN 0-7735-0702-7. CIP Grades 10 and up/Ages 15 and up Reviewed by Kay Kerman. Volume 18 Number 1 1990 January Often when we think of the begin­nings of change in the Arctic we attrib­ute it to the contact the Inuit had with the fur traders, followed by the mission­aries. But prior to these groups of people, the Inuit had contact with another, the whalers. Men travelling in vessels from Scotland, England and America were in search of whales, and the Inuit of the eastern Arctic hunted with the whalers and served as crew on their boats. Whalers' journals and other documentation of the events have given us an understanding of what took place. For the first time, we see this story from the perspective of the Inuit. Through the use of interviews and oral history Eber recorded the Inuit's memories of those times. Using inter­preters she captures the stories and experiences of Inuit who were children at the time, or whose parents told them stories of their experiences with the whalers. Beautiful contemporary prints, archival photographs, and images drawn by the informants to illustrate the conversation are found throughout the book. These coincide nicely with the stories. Those reading this book not only will have an understanding of the events, but for a brief moment will appreciate the dependency of the whalers on the Inuit and how the Inuit extended their hospitality to accommo­date the whalers in return. Unfortu­nately, a number of Inuktitut words are used throughout the book and a glos­sary is not provided. This book should be read by anyone with cultural interests, particularly the Inuit culture. It could be used as well for any sort of research on the begin­nings of the dramatic change in the Arctic. Kay Kerman, Ottawa, Ont.