Scott and Amundsen: Duel in the Ice Review

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(More customer reviews)Literary and theater critic Rainer-K. Langner presents Scott and Amundsen: Duel in the Ice, the amazing and tragic tale of the rivalry between the leaders of the first two Antarctic expeditions to successfully reach the South Pole. Norwegian Roald Amundsen prepared meticulously by learning Polar survival skills from the native peoples of the Arctic; British citizen Captain Robert Falcon Scott had a very different perspective, valuing courage, endurance and immediate improvisation as the lynchpin to surmounting obstacles. Yet in January of 1912, when Scott and his four companions reached the South Pole, they discovered that Amundsen had beaten them by 34 days - and worse, Scott's misjudgments, and lack of knowledge had a cumulatively fatal effect, as his team died during the return journey - only 18 kilometers short of the supply depot that could have saved them. Part history, part dual biography, Scott and Amundsen retraces the journeys of both men thoroughly, reconstructing the final days of Scott's ill fate through his recovered diary. An absorbing slice of history that pays tribute to the courage, daring, and willingness to risk life and limb of both expeditions, while simultaneously dissecting the precise reasons why one team returned alive and triumphant, while the other did not. Highly recommended, especially for public library collections.

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On January 17, 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his four companions reached the South Pole. There they found a tent pitched by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and in it a note for Scott, dated the previous month. The tragic drama of the British party's return journey, having been so cruelly beaten to the post in this chilling race to the Pole, only became known after their final camp was found in November 1912. They were just 18 kilometers short of safety. Scott's diary, ending with the wordsI do not think I can write any more , gave a graphic account of their sufferings, including the heroic suicide of Capt. Lawrence Oates. His comment on the Pole itself was unromantic:Great God! This is an awful place. In this double biography, Rainer K. Langner describes a duel in the eternal ice, a duel between planning and romanticism: "The race to the Pole was won in the head, it was in fact the solution of a logistical problem." Everything Amundsen did, he did right: he used dogs and skis, proceeded fast and had stored up enough energy reserves. Scott rejected dogs, his comrades were no expert skiers and he fatefully increased the number of men to go with him to five. Langner'sdescriptions and analysis are compelling reading as if he had been present at the time.

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The Worst Journey in the World (Penguin Classics) Review

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(More customer reviews)Apsley Cherry-Garrard was only 24 when he set out on Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. He was the youngest member of the group and, for my money, the best qualified for the later task of writing the complete story. Why? The Worst Journey in the World is an awe-inspiring adventure, told in such a way that you feel the young man's wide-eyed wonder as your own.
Very few novels have gripped and excited me as this book has, and far fewer nonfiction works. Cherry--as his friends called him--writes with a vigor and attention to detail and drama usually reserved for thrillers. The blizzards, storms at sea, killer whale attacks, sub-zero temperatures, and exhausting struggles with sled dogs, ponies, and yawning crevasses are vividly depicted. By the end of the book, you almost feel as though you've been on the journey with him. The "you are there" phenomenon is something I encounter very seldom in a book. This book actually managed to make me cold.
The Worst Journey in the World is not solely devoted to the adventure and the final tragedy of finding Scott and his men frozen to death. Cherry takes time out to comment on the scientific significance of their work in Antarctica, of the need for exploration regardless of immediate results, and, in conclusion, of why Scott's return from the Pole ended so bitterly. These sections of the work put the adventure into perspective, so that not only do you experience the good and bad times with the expedition, you learn what ideals drove them and what was at stake with every piece of bad luck.
The book isn't perfect, of course. Some of the scientific information Cherry relates is, of course, now outdated. The book starts off rather slowly, and the reader must pick up and remember the names of the other expeditionary members on their own--Cherry does not list or describe the others in detail until somewhere near the middle of the book.
That said, The Worst Journey in the World is still an outstanding nonfiction adventure. Once I started this book I could read nothing else. Anyone with an interest in the Antarctic, history, or exploration in general will find this book fascinating.
Highly recommended.

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The Worst Journey in the World recounts Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Apsley Cherry-Garrard—the youngest member of Scott's team and one of three men to make and survive the notorious Winter Journey—draws on his firsthand experiences as well as the diaries of his compatriots to create a stirring and detailed account of Scott's legendary expedition. Cherry himself would be among the search party that discovered the corpses of Scott and his men, who had long since perished from starvation and brutal cold. It is through Cherry's insightful narrative and keen descriptions that Scott and the other members of the expedition are fully memorialized.

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The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael F. Robinson's "The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture" focuses on the public perception of American Arctic exploration to illuminate developments in the political and cultural history of the United States between 1850 and 1909. He approaches the Arctic as "a faraway stage on which explorers played out dramas that were unfolding very close to home" (p. 3). He unpacks the political and cultural demarcations of American culture and uses the polar explorers as a means of illuminating U.S. society and culture. Most important, Robinson finds that the explorers offered an unequivocal statement of American exceptionalism that all could embrace. In the end, he asserts that Americans used the Arctic as a surrogate for other controversies and dramas played out far from the snow-covered region.
There is much in "The Coldest Crucible" to admire. Robinson makes a succinct, well-structured argument, using Arctic exploration as a stage on which to dramatize what he thinks are the core elements of the American nation in the nineteenth century. Robinson is at his best when he documents the manner in which the Arctic served as a unifying theme in a nation divided by slavery in the 1840s and 1850s. At a critical level stories of the search for Sir John Franklin's lost expedition diverted the public from the more serious issues taking place on the national stage. I immediately thought of the many diversions of minor stories in the media in the 2002-2003 time period rather than focusing on the huge story of the nation's politicos lumbering toward what became the quagmire of Iraq.
But diversions were no less useful in the post-Civil War era, but Robinson tends to interpret Arctic exploration differently in that era. He seems to emphasize its role more as an expression of anxiety about a loss of masculinity present in the rise of urban America. But I find his unifying theme valid there as well, and would suggest that the race of Robert Peary and Frederick Cook to the North Pole was just as attractive a feature of Americanism writ large as the pre-Civil War efforts in the Arctic.
While I quibble with the details of his thesis, Robinson's study is superb. It effectively demonstrates his central contention that the exploration of the Arctic was effectively invoked by observers to further ends on the continental American landscape far removed from the ice. His innovative approach will have to be dealt with in the historiography hereafter, and no one will be able to deny that Robinson has made his case that our culture gave rise to the polar expeditions undertaken by Americans in the nineteenth century. As he demonstrated, the quest for the Arctic for Americans represented a unique synergy between culture and exploration, each one playing off the other.

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In the late 1800s, "Arctic Fever” swept across the nation as dozens of American expeditions sailed north to the Arctic to find a sea route to Asia and, ultimately, to stand at the North Pole. Few of these missions were successful, and many men lost their lives en route. Yet failure did little to dampen the enthusiasm of new explorers or the crowds at home that cheered them on. Arctic exploration, Michael F. Robinson argues, was an activity that unfolded in America as much as it did in the wintry hinterland. Paying particular attention to the perils facing explorers at home, The Coldest Crucible examines their struggles to build support for the expeditions before departure, defend their claims upon their return, and cast themselves as men worthy of the nation’s full attention. In so doing, this book paints a new portrait of polar voyagers, one that removes them from the icy backdrop of the Arctic and sets them within the tempests of American cultural life. With chronological chapters featuring emblematic Arctic explorers—including Elisha Kent Kane, Charles Hall, and Robert Peary—The Coldest Crucible reveals why the North Pole, a region so geographically removed from Americans, became an iconic destination for discovery.

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Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition Review

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(More customer reviews)While not perhaps a "must-have" for aficionados of the field of polar literature, this is nevertheless a very good book and is well suited as a sort of primer to those who have only a casual interest in the subject.
The book provides a brief outline of disappearance the Franklin Expedition on its quest for the Northwest Passage in the early 1800s and the aftermath of the search conducted by various international parties, government and otherwise. It then relates the events of three research expeditions undertaken by the author, a forensic anthropologist who was interested in finding and reviewing various skeletal remains originally discovered decades after the loss of the Franklin party.
Eventually, he concentrates his efforts on exhuming the frozen bodies of three crewmen who had died in the Franklin Expedition's first icebound season, before they had well and truly plunged irrevocably into tragedy. These men had been buried in well-prepared graves on a small island north of Canada's Hudson Bay. Even to this day, the bodies remain fantastically preserved, and the author was able to uncover intriguing evidence that suggests that the expedition did not succumb in a heroic struggle against the large and grand forces of nature, but rather fell to altogether more pedestrian and minute agents.
The exhumation and autopsy processes are well described, and the theory that later develops is explained simply enough for the layman to follow.
Perhaps the biggest strength of this book is the beautifully composed color photos that show the gravesites and the actual bodies. These pictures are truly stirring and invocative.
The maps are also nicely done. However, the book would have benefited from a timeline and from an additional map showing the location of various Franklin party remains and artifacts. It sometimes becomes difficult to recall who was found where and when, since as it turns out, the expedition members covered a lot of ground and some of them split up. With that exception, though, this is an interesting book and a quick but thought-provoking read.

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This new edition of Frozen in Time expands on the history of early British Arctic exploration and places the tragically fated Franklin expedition in the context of other expeditions of the era, including those commanded by George Back and James Clark Ross, which also suffered unaccountable and devastating losses. The authors' research reveals an unexpected — and ironic — cause for the mystery illness that befell the explorers. Never-before-seen photographs from the exhumations, updated research results, additional forensic corroboration, and a new introduction by Margaret Atwood complete this fascinating account.

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In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a worthwhile read if you enjoy harrowing stories of near-death polar adventures. It's amazing that Albanov survived. His book is a combination of excerpts from his detailed diary and elaborations he added after the fact, supplemented by an informational preface from the publisher who recently discovered his almost-forgotten manuscript.
If you have already read "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing, this book isn't quite as good, but it is an interesting contrast. (If you haven't, put Endurance on your must-read list!) The challenges faced were similar, though not quite as extended in Albanov's case.
This story starts in much the same way as the Endurance - a ship trapped in pack ice (though in this case in the Arctic). But this is where the story diverges. The biggest difference that you learn up-front is that only two people survived (compared to the whole crew on the Endurance!)
Albanov is the navigator but does not get along with the captain. As a result, after two winters (!) enduring their relationship and the worsening conditions, he asks for permission to build a kayak and sledge from scrap and set out on his own in search of land. Much to his disappointment, however, half the crew (even many of the weaker ones) ask to accompany him.
Their destination is "Cape Flora" about 120 miles away across pack ice. According to a polar explorer's diary from decades ago, Cape Flora once had a shelter and supplies. But they really don't even know if it still exists and exactly how to get there. And if it is still there - what then? But Albanov is able to focus on the immediate goal and not worry about the what if's.
Interestingly, the crew was not a group of explorers anticipating adventure, but opportunists looking to make money in the walrus-hunting trade. This could have contributed to their low survival rate. Albanov complains about his companions a lot - their laziness, stupidity. But from Albanov's first hand account, the reader can infer that he was a loner. I couldn't help but wonder whether a leader like Shackleton could have brought out the best in the group and had a higher chance of surviving.
Anyway, it is truly amazing that Albanov and one of his companions survive all the crazy challenges they are delt - snowblidness, hunger, cold, scurvy, lack of maps, drifting pack ice, angry walruses, almost drowning, and so on.
This is a short book, and a good page-turner. Although it's not as good as Endurance, it's still a good read.

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To the ends of the earth: The Transglobe Expedition, the first pole-to-pole circumnavigation of the globe Review

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(More customer reviews)The idea that a group of people could give up years of their lives in the pursuit of something so obviously fanciful as a pole to pole circumnavigation boggles the mind. I started to read this book just to understand what made these people tick; I continued to read because the book is well written and a great adventure tale. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in modern adventure and/or polar exploration.

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Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole Review

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(More customer reviews)Leonard Guttridge has managed to recreate with astonishing accuracy truly one of the most incredible stories of human endurance that I have ever known. I can only wonder why this story has not found its way onto the silver screen. Presenting real-life facts that need no embellishment, Mr. Guttridge paints an enthralling picture of the enormous hardships endured by thirty-three men trapped in the artic in the late 19th century. These men had set sail from San Francisco in the "Jeanette," a small ship by today's standards, in search of the North Pole, where they hoped to find an warm, ice-free polar sea. However, several set-backs caused them to leave later in the year than intially planned, causing the Jeanette and her crew to become caught in the pack ice of the arctic ocean. After spending two winters trapped aboard their tiny prison, suffering through many shipboard ordeals, the Jeanette sank in the treacherous, frigid waters. The crew then for months made their way over ice and open water in horrendous weather. Some perished in the journey and some made it to land in northern Siberia. More died of exposure and starvation, lost in the maze-like delta of the Lena River, while miraculously some made it to civilation and safety. (This knowledge does not spoil the ending of the book, as these facts are made known to the reader early in the tome). The story of these men would be incredible if it happened today, with all of our modern equipment, but is even more so given the relatively primitive means at hand in the 1880s. Not only is this work a great story about some very courageous and determined men, but it is a reflection of the determination and heroism under extreme circumstances embodied in many persons of that era - characteristics that many feel lacking today. Furthermore, this is a poinant reminder of just how strong is man's will to survive.

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True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole Review

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(More customer reviews)More like a snow opera - this is the real-life saga of jealousy and professional hatred between Peary, the supposed discoverer of the North Pole in 1909 and his former colleague, Cook who said he discovered it in 1908.
Bruce Henderson ably lays out all the information at hand, including secondary accounts from supporters of both men. The issue seems to lie more in the personal aspects of both men who had once been colleagues but fell out very quickly in their first expedition together. This seemed to set the stage for increasing animosity culminating in Peary's attack on Cook Personally when Cook claimed to have reached the Pole.
Peary treated the Pole as a personal possession and already resented Cook, even before he made his claim. Henderson questions whether this personal dislike and Cook's propensity to hide away when under attack, has meant that Cook has failed to make the history books as the first to reach the North Pole as he should have.
Certainly this issue appears to have been a contentious one in many circles for a while, although perhaps not publically. While Henderson appears to not take sides on it overtly, I get the sense in this book that he strongly believes that Cook did get short changed.
whatever the outcome this was a ripping good read, and highly enjoyable for one who enjoys Arctic and Antarctic accounts.

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Race to The End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole Review

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(More customer reviews)Just got the book on publication date (4th May, 2010). I coudn't wait to get my eyes on it, being a student of Antarctic's Heroic era.
I was not dissapointed. Great, powerful work. There are many priceless pictures, never before printed or published for the general public. One set of photographs shows the Scott polar party at the south pole. No words can describe the horror of those photographs. Scott appears more defeated and beat than on the classic South Pole shot where Birdie Bower pulled the string.
Two pictures are particularly disturbing. One shows Uncle Bill Wilson in a very odd manner, surely he is not doing what he appears to be doing. Another shows Titus Oates in the process of dissapearing...Another pictures the same Oates, sitting on the cold snow, utterly defeated, beat, lost, suffering beyond imagining and hopeless.
One other picture shows Amundsen, Shackelton and Robert Peary in New-York, posing for posterity around a globe.
Two IMMORTALS GIANTS and a brutal, immoral and remorseless faker.
For the pictures alone, this book is pure gold.
That book is an absolute must for everybody interested in Antarctica exploration.
A treasure.

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