Iqaluit (July 12/04) - Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut sold out in the Nunavut capital the same day it was launched.

The book -- edited by John Bennett, former editor of the magazine Inuktitut, and UBC anthropology professor Susan Rowley -- draws on the reports of explorers as recorded in letters and ship's logs, and contemporary oral history projects in Nunavut to create a portrait of the five-year-old territory and its people.

The book was launched June 16 with a celebration at the Unikkaarvik Visitors' Centre in Iqaluit.

It's a hefty tome, weighing in at 473 pages and retailing for $49.95, but that hasn't stopped it from flying off the shelves.

Arctic Ventures in Iqaluit sold its entire first shipment of 10 copies on the first day of sales.

The store has had to order cases of the book, and has sold about 150 copies so far.

"It's an exceptional book," said Marilyn Healey, bookstore manager for Arctic Ventures.

"Anyone who has any connection to the North should read it."

The Book Cellar in Yellowknife has sold all of the five copies it had in stock, and has 10 more on the way.