Nansen: The Explorer as Hero Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very dynamically written biography of Fridtjöf Nansen, polar explorer who established the farthest north not to be beaten for a couple of next years. The journey in "Fram", custom built ship, is bizarre enough, indeed. As intended, the ship entered polar ocean close to the Siberian coast of Taimyr Peninsula, where it was locked frozen in the ice for the next three years. The expedition mainly performed some scientific observations, self-imprisoned in the lonely ice of the north. The drift helped the frozen ship move slowly towards the North Pole with no activity on the part of explorers. It failed however to approach the pole itself, so Nansen set for the pole using dogs and sleighs, together with only one human companion, Hjalmar Johanssen. Cut off from the ship and inventory, they tried hard to achieve their goal. Having failed, they decided not to come back to the ship, which itself would be hard to find given the conditions of the environment and the ice drift. They headed for Svalbard instead, hundreds of kilometers away, instead. Meantime, they discovered an unknown archipelago, or at least it seemed so to them. They spent winter there in the ice cave, having hunted enough walruses to make a living. The story is full of adventures, exciting, unexpected, amusing or just otherwise sad, but always engaging. Read for yourself how they ended up. The journey for the farthest north is only part of the book, which is extensively long, covering all Nansen's life, and all of his activities, including the League of Nations leadership, for which later he was awarded a Nobel prize. Very recommended, as it is by no means a typical biography.

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South with Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, 1914-1917 Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are a fan of Antarctic exploration then this wonderful book should be in your library. Many know the incredible story of the Endurance and the trials those 28 men endured when the ship was locked in the ice and eventually crushed. The beauty of this book is that it documents the story with the remarkable photos of the expedition photographer, Australian Frank Hurley. When you consider the time period of this story (1914-1916) you can only marvel that Hurley produced such amazing images with the equipment that was available at that time. Additionally, the initial introduction to this photo collection is excellent. It presents a good recap of the Endurance expedition with many quotes from crewmembers that have not appeared in previous books.If you are a professional photographer, or even an amateur, the information on Hurley's equipment and the story of his early training will be of special interest. The over 500 photos will hold your interest for hours! I've read almost every book on Endurance and this will rank as one of my favorites.

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THE DEFINITIVE AND SPELLBINDING RECORD OF SHACKLETON'S LEGENDARY ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, IMMORTALIZED ON FILM BY PIONEERING PHOTOGRAPHER FRANK HURLEY Sir Ernest Shackleton's trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1917 was one of the great feats of human endurance -- one vividly captured in the powerful and dramatic pictures taken by Frank Hurley, the expedition's official photographer. These images, appearing together here for the first time in print, constitute an amazing body of photojournalism created under the most adverse circumstances imaginable. As this book reveals, however, they are far more than visual reportage; they also are images of great artistry that capture the life-and-death drama that was played out against an arctic landscape of magnificent and terrible beauty. The story told here through Frank Hurley's lens began in the summer of 1914, when Shackleton and his crew set sail from England with the intention of being the first to cross Antarctica from one coast to the other, passing through the South Pole on the way. After five months they reached the freezing Weddell Sea and were within sight of land when the Endurance became trapped in the ice pack. Nine months later, the ship was finally crushed, leaving the crew stranded on drifting ice floes at the end of the earth. What followed is one of the most remarkable survival stories in the history of human exploration. Shackleton's men camped on the ice floes for five months before they escaped in their lifeboats and, after a harrowing five-day voyage, reached Elephant Island, a barren outcrop too remote for any hope of rescue. From there, Shackleton and five other volunteers set out for South Georgia Island and miraculously reached their destination after traversing 850 miles of the fiercest seas on the face of the planet in an open lifeboat. There they raised help, and three months later, after three failed attempts, Shackleton made it back to Elephant Island with a rescue ship. Incredibly, every single one of his men survived. Almost as incredible is the fact that so much of this drama was captured on film by Frank Hurley, and that so many of these pictures survived. South with Endurance is the first book to reproduce a total of nearly 500 extant photographs, including many remarkable color images that have never been published before. It is also the first to reproduce the photos to a standard and size that display Hurley's work as the art that it is. Drawn from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society in London, the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, and the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, the photographs are complemented by excerpts from Hurley's diary, a chapter about the expedition itself, a biographical essay, and commentary about Hurley's photographic techniques.

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Antarctica: The Blue Continent Review

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(More customer reviews)This large format style book has excellent photographs, illustrations, and maps on virtually every page in addition to text and related detailed captions.
It is broken down into four parts - the Antarctic environment, regions, wildlife, and exploration history. Each of these four main parts are broken down further into smaller topics. For instance the wildlife section has several pages detailed to each animal type (whales, seals, penguins, seabirds, etc) and then broken down further into each specific species of them by seperate text section with stats and a map showing that specific animal location around Antarctica. The exploration section similiarly is broken down into smaller timeframes (three timeframes) of discovery and expeditions.
Ovearall a great overview of everything Antarctica. Great book for reading and also for just for browsing through.

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Illustrated guide to Antarctica's environment, geography, wildlife, and history.Antarctica: The Blue Continent is a superbly illustrated and easy-to-understand book that reveals this polar region's ruthless majesty and natural beauty.The environment is Earth's harshest, coldest, most inhospitable climate. A staggering 98% of the continent is covered with ice averaging 1.4 miles in depth; 90% of the world's ice is found in there.In spite of the cold and ice, Antarctica's shores and waters are home to an amazing variety of vegetation and indigenous wildlife-seals, sea lions, whales, penguins and sea birds-that have evolved in extraordinary ways to adapt to their unforgiving habitat. The book features natural phenomena such as a glacier made of jagged, Jurassic-era rock instead of ice, and entire mountain ranges filled to their peaks with snow.In the chapters on polar exploration, Antarctica profiles Captain Cook, Roald Amundsen, Shackleton, Scott, and others. Readers will experience why this continent has inspired so much effort and heroism in the quest to discover its secrets.This book is a concise version of the authors' 608-page Antarctica and the Arctic.

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South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage Review

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(More customer reviews)It's tough to criticize a book written by the man himself and say that other books are somehow better, despite the fact that these writers did not participate in the journey. But unfortunately, that is the case. If you're a real Shackleton fan, you'll want to read this book only as background after taking on works by Caroline Alexander or Alfred Lansing.
In comparison, 'South' has the following shortcomings:
1. The writing style is impenetrable & stilted. It has not aged well in the 80+ years since it was put down on paper.
2. The misuse of Frank Hurley's photographs is annoying - they're out-of-focus, oddly chosen and misplaced in sequence in the book. See Alexander's book for a revelation of the power and majesty of Hurley's work.
3. You only get Shackleton's point of view here. Lansing and Alexander pull together the journals of many particpants and you get a real flavor of the men that comprise the crew. Here, you get only Sir Ernest, dispensing some kind words about each member, last name only, no background info. The other books tell you quite a bit about flawed characters like McNish and Lees.

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Tom Crean An Illustrated Life: Unsung Hero of the Scott & Shackleton Expeditions Review

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(More customer reviews)Tom Crean was an Irish hero of Antarctic exploration: one of only three men who returned alive from Scott's trek to the South Pole, and who saved one of his fellow survivors. A few years later he made another rescue attempt when with Ernest Shackleton. His adventures are captured in a visual biography that includes many photos from his expeditions and early life, making this a fine recommendation for general-interest libraries specializing in Irish biography as well as true-life stories of exploration and adventure.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

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A pictorial biography of Tom Crean, a great Irish hero of Antarctic exploration.

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The Coldest March: Scott`s Fatal Antarctic Expedition Review

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(More customer reviews)I've always been more interested in Arctic exploration than the Antarctic -- it seems less two-dimensional, and far more colorful in terms of history. But this book really got my attention. Solomon isn't some armchair theorist, she is an Antarctic professional, and an expert on weather conditions there. Taking a close look at what happened to Scott's 1911-12 expedition, and contrasting it with his earlier journey (with Shackleton) plus Shackleton's 1908 attempt, and the rival Amundsen polar bid, she shakes out a lot of rumors, innuendos and plain nonsense about what Scott 'knew' versus what he 'ought to have known.'
Scott has always seemed a stiff-upper-lip bumbler to me, and to some extent he was, but what happened is not as simple as it appears. He made some educated guesses, and he also made some mistakes. Using motor sleds was a waste of time, considering the poor engine technology of the time. He allowed someone else to select some unsuitable Manchurian ponies. He didn't trust dogs, based on prior experiences. He didn't pay enough attention to suitable clothing and sleeping bags. But he did set up a workable logistical system for his polar attempt, that should have worked.
So what went wrong? The factors above, plus too great a level of fatigue for his team. Poor Bowers ended up walking 400 miles in snow, instead of skiing. They didn't know, as we do, what a menace dehydration at high altitudes would be. Scurvy was poorly understood, and they probably suffered marginally from this, too. And finally, they set out for the Pole a month too late, and got caught in an extremely cold spell that made sledding by manhauling almost impossible. Solomon proves every contention with solid data from the expedition's copious records and from modern survey work. In the end, Scott died -- with Wilson and Bowers keeping him company, in all probability -- because he contracted severe frostbite in -40 degree weather. The idea that he was trapped by a '10 day blizzard' just eleven miles short of a supply depot is disproved by Solomon: the katabatic winds don't blow from the south for more than two or three days, it now seems.
This is a well-written, highly documented piece of work, and is not in any sense an attempt to 'whitewash' Scott. Starting late, and hitting some extremely bad weather was all it took to kill him and his four brave companions.

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Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer Review

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(More customer reviews)This book gives a beautifully pared-down account of an extraordinary story and provides remarkably appropriate analogies in our present day. It should inspire many to read more on the subject of Shackleton and the Endurance expedition,particularly Endurance by Alfred Lansing.Whether you are a leader or among the led in any facet of your life there are lessons to be learned and remembered here. They are laid out in a clear and concise format and illustrated by the ongoing saga of Shackleton and the amazing group of men he brought through an unbelievably harrowing adventure. The book reminds us of the power of good, of compassion, perseverance, and honesty. It is well worthwhile reading for anyone interested in a marvelous story and how it relates to all of us in the here and now.

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Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an absolutely amazing and true accounting of the 1914 Antarctic expedition gone to hell. It is clear that the author did an incredible amount of research, and though this book doesn't read like a novel, its presentation is much more powerful this way, giving a panoramic view of the whole terrible and desperate situation of these men.
I don't have any experience even comparable to what these men went through, the closest I've ever come is rowing down the coast of Maine in the summer in a 30 foot pulling boat, and I'll tell you, this guy gets every detail.
Anyway, an absolutely incredible look at human endurance, at what a person will go through if he must. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.
One note...make sure the version you buy or get at the library has expedition photographer Hurley's photographs in it. Some paperback editions don't, and you're really missing part of the experience without them.

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This is an atonishing story of survival by Shackleton and all twenty seven of his men for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctic seas. This edition has been augmented with maps and illustrations.

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Scott and Amundsen: The Race to the South Pole Review

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(More customer reviews)Scott and Amundsen is a study of two very different styles of leadership; that of Captain Robert F. Scott, RN of Great Britain and that of Roald Amundsen of Norway. It is a book well worth reading and is better than many contemporary leadership books. It is a study of men as well as countries. The Norwegians were able to maintain an oceanographic research vessel. The British had to make do with a converted sealing ship.
Scotts style was that of a traditional Naval officer in a service that had great traditions but had become stagnant as it entered the 20th Century. Scott gave an order and expected a cherry aye, aye sir, regardless of the difficulty in it's execution. He was also a man who was looking over his shoulder at the runners behind him. In his first expedition to Antarctica, he had managed to alienate one of his co-members and turned him into a fierce rival, Ernest Shackelton. It was this rivalry that drove Scott. Scott is also a perfect example of the concept of responding to new developements with "not invented here". Scott had several years between his two expeditions to plan, acquire proper material and train his expedition. The only original thinking was in the use of motor transport but then he fatally damaged this component when he jetisoned the principal technical officer that had worked on the motor sledges from the outset. Everything else was a rehash of his first expedition or that of Shackelton's. The use of horses in a desert environment, as the Antarctic is, was a tremendous failure that ultimately lead to the death of Scott and his party.
Amundsen on the other hand was a keen student of the exploration craft. He was constantly working to refine his equipment. He was not afraid to adapt the ways of the natives he met on his expeditions, as well as take suggestions and examples from other explorers, such as Frederick Cook. Amundsen never asked his men to do something he would not do himself. He set the example. Of course he made errors along the way but he recognized them, and even if he didn't admit to them directly, he learned from them. He was single minded and remained faithful to his mission. He did not allow himself to be distracted by sentiment and worry. He flet that the prize of being first at the South Pole was the only thing that mattered. He was a trail blazer. The scientists could come after him.
The two expeditions have been contrasted as a ful-blown assault and a raid. Amundsen's daring raid was a success and mounted as it was in the face of the challenge from Scott.
This book by Huntford is not to be missed. It is a first class effort by an author who understands both the British and Norwegian mindsets. I would urge that this book be required reading for all future military officers.

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"Scott and Amundsen" is a controversial double biography of the first and second to reach the South pole. This book has been described as the 'case against Scott' and it does not hold back on criticism of him. Plus looks at evidence that Scott's failure was not just because of his personality but examines problems that existed out of his control. The unusual cold weather was just one issue. Huntford also elevates Amundsen to his place amongst the greatest of explorers and finding in Scott 'a suitable hero for a nation in decline'. "Scott and Amundsen" follows success of "Endurance" and "Shackelton's Way" - also published by CSA WORD audiobooks to acclaim, and read by Tim Pigott-Smith.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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To the End of the Earth: Our Epic Journey to the North Pole and the Legend of Peary and Henson Review

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(More customer reviews)WEll as books go this was so so. The writing about Perry was interesting but basically you have a couple of guys who get rich people to pay them for travelling around doing things that had importance a hundred years ago Also I love the lecture on Global warming. OK so they just laid down a carbon footprint the size of 250,000 people - two airplane trips to Baffin and seperate plane flights into restock them 4 or so times - hmm lets see they burnt up enough hydrocarbons for 100 lifetimes but they are going to tell us about global wamring - done like true liberals - its OK for me to use fuel but you shouldnt. Yea Right !
....and then we have "Sir Wally" Come on folks are we serious ??? Do people actually go around calling themselves 'sir' wally or Lord Wally. Then we have the RGS Royal Geographic Service - now this society may have made sense a hundred years ago but today?? !! NOt when you can fly into any place you want on the earth in less than a day - so instead we will handicap ourselves Lets see I will be the first person to walk across antarctica backwards with a mirror - yea thats a great idea!
... fumbling around looking to repeat 100 year old challenges - well hey if someone is dumb enough to pay you to do it go ahead!!

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