Editorial Review

Melding superb research and the extraordinary expedition photography of Frank Hurley, Read more

Reviews (147)

An essential book
This is such a good book, because of the way it is written, and also because of the incredible adventure it describes.It is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to Antarctica.Shackleton had been to the Antarctic twice before.The first time he accompanied Robert Falcon Scott in 1901 in an attempt to reach the as yet unclaimed South Pole and claim it for Great Britain.They were unsuccessful and came very close to losing their lives.The significant problems that went with traveling in the Antarctic were that no one lived there (and so no one was there to help if you got into trouble), nothing lived in the interior (no plants or animals to feed on), and the climatic conditions were horrific (snow, ice, wind speeds of up to 200 miles an hour and temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit).Scott proved to be a very difficult man to travel with -arrogant, abusive and not particularly competent, which is not what you are looking for in the leader of such an expedition.The next time he journeyed south, in 1908, Shackleton, as the leader, chose his own men, and made his own mistakes, such as taking a team of ponies that were supposed to pull the sledges.The ponies were very ill-suited to such an environment and were eventually shot and eaten.This expedition was also a failure, but Shackleton had again learned a lot from the experience.By the end of 1912 the South Pole had been conquered by the Norwegian Amundson, and Shackleton's rival, Scott, had perished with all of his men only eleven miles from a supply depot that would have saved their lives.Now the only significant prize left to be achieved in the Antarctic was the traversing of the continent from one side to the other.Thus Shackleton's 1914 expedition was called the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Real adventure
It's a book that takes you to an incredible adventure. Photogrpahs make it even more exciting !

What an Adventure, and Pictures,Too.
I don't know why I keep reading these sagas of sufferring and adventure about polar expeditions,but I do.Of course, Shackleton's Anarctic expedition is one of the best of the bunch.
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Subjects:  1. (1914-1917)    2. 1874-1922    3. Discovery And Exploration (General)    4. Earth Sciences - Geography    5. Endurance (Ship)    6. Expeditions & Discoveries    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition    11. Polar Regions    12. Shackleton, Ernest Henry,    13. Sir,    14. Special Interest - Adventure    15. Travel    16. Biography: general    17. Geographical discovery & exploration    18. Ireland    19. Journeys    20. Shackleton, Ernest Henry    21. Travel / Adventure   

Reviews (4)

Amundsen was funny!
This book was a lot of fun, in a geeky documentary sort of way.
The Norwegian Method
Roald Amundsen's "The South Pole" is a detailed, even exhaustive account of his successful 1910-1912 expedition to the South Pole.Amundsen's expedition was the first to reach the South Pole, after failures by other expeditions.
Preparedness Leads To Success
In the Foreword, Roland Huntford describes Amundsen's narrative as "all that Scott's is not".How right he is!This a very large book, but nonetheless an easy read.Amundsen relates a fascinating tale of fortune, misfortune, hardship, and ultimately - success.The narrative is detailed, but not overly so.In many places, a dose of humor is weaved in.Complete with numerous photos, maps, and scientific data, this book should be considered one of the great narratives of exploration.The great moral lesson of this tale is that preparedness ultimately leads to success.Is it any wonder that Roald Amundsen and his comrades won the race to the South Pole? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1872-1928    2. Amundsen, Roald,    3. Antarctica    4. Discovery and exploration    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Norwegian    11. Polar Regions    12. South Pole    13. Travel    14. Geographical discovery & exploration    15. History / General    16. True stories of endurance & survival    17. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (9)

LOVED IT
This book is amazing!!! The photos are spectacular, and the author is very descriptive -- he makes you feel like you are actually there. Recommend highly.

what it is like to work and wonder way way down under
This is a clearly written, funny, moving and fascinating account of what it was like for the author to work in Antarctica over a number of years.While he has told it like a one-year trip, in fact it is a distillation of 14 years experience.
First Person Text And Beautiful Photographs
The author, Jim Mastro, got to spend one year at the bottom of the world and he wrote first person text and included beautiful photographs in his presentation. Some of the photographs capture the incredible beauty of Antartica and of the beauty of the wildlife. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1953-    2. Antarctica    3. Description and travel    4. General    5. Mastro, Jim,    6. Nature    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Photography    9. Polar Regions    10. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    11. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/General    12. Travel    13. Geographical discovery & exploration    14. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    15. Nature / General    16. Photography & Photographs    17. Travel writing   

Reviews (5)

The Most Useless Journey in the World
"The Lost Men", by Kelly Tyler-Lewis is the sister book to the original saga of Sir Ernest Shcakelton's journey to Antarctica. The original called "The Worst Journey in the World" tells of Shackelton's failed expedition to cross Antarctica. His ship the Endurance was smashed by ice in the Weddell Sea and his men stranded until their eventual rescue by Shackelton himself after a harrowing journey in a 22 foot open boat across the southern ocean.
How the choice and use of dogs may have affected the outcome
The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party is not about Inuit Sled Dogs. It isn't even mostly a story of the largely mixed breed, non-polar spitz, pathetic lot of twenty-four dogs that actually survived the voyage to the Ross Sea side of Antarctica and were expected to relay tons of supplies along a treacherous route to establish a line of life-sustaining depots. There is no doubt, however, that the hindsight of "what ifs" and "what should have been done" regarding the dogs loomed large throughout the pages of this book. The year was 1913 and a war soon to engulf the world was heating up in Europe. Nevertheless, Sir Ernest Shackleton would embark on his audacious plan. He was motivated by the death of his fellow countryman and nearest rival, Robert Falcon Scott, who froze to death while coming in second to Norwegian Roald Amundsen's stunning achievement, the first to reach the South Pole. In his haste and relentless pursuit of glory, Shackleton put together a flawed strategy. As the pages of The Lost Men flew by, I came to understand how Shackleton was no different from so many others of his ilk. While he had some fine qualities, he had a colossal ego and was unwilling to let such details as a looming world war, acquiring suitable transportation, finding qualified men, ensuring an orderly command and securing adequate funds stand in his way once his mind had been seduced by the prospect of his country's adulation. The vicious Antarctic weather, its wind-driven seas and massive ice pack, a blind adherence to British military ritual, and a lack of commitment to collect up the right dogs for the job helped ensure the mission's fate.In a nutshell, the plan was for Shackleton, some of his men and the majority of the ninety-nine dogs, collected in Canada, to sail on the ship Endurance to one side of Antarctica while the Aurora and the balance of the crew and remaining dogs would navigate to the other side. The Ross Sea Party, ten men from the Aurora, would then be responsible for laying depots enabling Shackleton and his men to complete the first crossing of the continent, promoted as The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. And then everyone would triumphantly sail back to Great Britain on the Aurora whereupon Shackleton would be acclaimed as the hero. A fundamental plot of this story details the antagonism between Æneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh who, despite lack of any polar experience, Shackleton made Commander of the shore party, and Ernest Edward Joyce who, although assigned the role of Sledging Equipment and Dogs, enjoyed no decision-making authority regarding the care, training and use of the animals. Indeed it was Mackintosh who insisted on calling all of those shots despite having not one shred of skill or understanding of working sledge dogs, even though Joyce did. The odds were already against the dogs. They were sick, malnourished, parasite riddled, infected by fight wounds, not socialized into cohesive teams, unfamiliar with commands given by unskilled mushers who didn't know their original names. Putting a man like Mackintosh (who was not inclined to listen to the voice of reason and experience, let alone that of a subordinate) in charge of when and how the dogs were to be used, spelled disaster. Duty bound to follow Mackintosh's orders, right or wrong, the Ross Sea Party's success was in doubt. By the end of the first disastrous year, all but six of the dogs were dead, the depot-laying operation was far from complete and the men had no inkling of Shackleton's progress in their direction or if their failure to that pointwould spell doom for their commander-in-chief.Providing adequate communication was another of Shackleton's shortcomings. Between the end of December, 1914, when the Aurora steamed toward Antarctica from Australia, and January, 1917, when the landing party's seven survivors and their three remaining dogs were recovered, neither Shackleton's contingent nor the Ross Sea Party had any idea of the other's outcome. It wasn't until their rescue that the Ross Sea Party, miraculously having fulfilled their leader's orders to lay the all his required depots, learned that Shackleton was never able to set foot on the continent in the first place.Inuit Sled Dog enthusiasts will recognize that had Shackleton insisted on acquisition of more suitable draught dogs, and had given authority to a man competent in their training and use, The Lost Men might have had no reason to be written. Although it surely cannot be said that the right dogs would have all survived and would be singularly responsible for ensuring mission's success without enduring horrific hardship, the story of The Lost Men is a case in point of how not using the far better suited Inuit Dog can and has resulted undue suffering.This is a splendid narrative, beautifully written, replete with minute details, background and history preceding Shackleton's failed expedition. It offers readers comprehensive understanding of what drives men to dangerous places, and the socio-political-economic forces affecting their survival. The reader becomes intimately familiar with the lives of the characters before, during the expedition and, for the `lucky' ones, after their return to civilization. Kelly Tyler-Lewis leaves no stone unturned, including those elements relating to the dogs, in creating a yarn that will leave readers shivering.

A Fantastic Nonfiction Adventure
Kelly Tyler-Lewis' The Lost Men is the first full account of the Ross Sea Party side of Ernest Shackleton's attempt to cross Antarctica during World War I.The book simultaneously tells a harrowing tale of adventure as well as exemplifying outstanding historical research.Until this book, the men of the Ross Sea Party were truly lost and voiceless.Tyler-Lewis located diaries, photographs, and even film that no other historian could find.The result of her research is an outstanding, clear, and concise work of nonfiction.
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Subjects:  1. (1914-1917)    2. 1874-1922    3. Adventurers & Explorers    4. Antarctica    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Endurance (Ship)    9. Historical - General    10. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition    11. Polar Regions    12. Shackleton, Ernest Henry,    13. Sir,    14. Travel    15. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers   

Editorial Review

Before Everest, there was Annapurna. Maurice Herzog led an expedition of French climbers to the summit of this 26,000-foot Himalayan peak in 1950. At the time of the assault, it was the highest mountain ever climbed, a remarkable feat in itself made all the more remarkable by the fact that it had never previously been charted. Herzog and his team not only had to climb the darn thing, they had to find the route. As riveting as the tale of the ascent remains nearly half a century later, the story of the descent through virtually unsurvivable--think avalanche and frostbite, for starters--conditions is unforgettable. Herzog's masterful account, finally back in print, is a monument of courage and spirit, an epic adventure excitingly told. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Great story, flawed method.
Reading the other reviews of this book, I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favorite, although little known Sean Connery movies, where he plays an Arab pirate.At one point Connery says to his second in command: "It is good.""What is good?", replies the other man."It is good to know where we are going," answers Connery.Alas, Herzog and his men didn't know where they were going, and spent a month wandering around looking.It would have been good to send out an initial recon group to find the mountain before they started out.Or, to paraphrase an english adventurer, "to lose a pack animal is unfortunate; to lose an entire mountain seems downright careless."

An Amazing Story of Incredible Human Endurance
Wow! This is one of those real life adventure stories that has you wondering how much more the people can endure before they collapse and die. These guys climbed one of the world's most difficult mountains with old climbing technology. What they lacked in modern equipment, they made up for with strength and fitness. The more I read about mountaineering, the more I agree that it is 75% mental and 25% physical. Being in the best physical condition possible definitely gives you a better opportunity for success on high ground. If you liked this book, I encourage you to read my book "Rocky Mountain Adventure Collection". Best wishes on your adventures in life!

Mountaineering Classic
A marvellous book. Remarkably written, griping, and inspiring. A must for all mountaineers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1919-    2. Annapurna    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. General    5. Herzog, Maurice,    6. Mountain Climbing    7. Mountaineering    8. Nepal    9. Sports & Recreation    10. Travel    11. Herzog, Maurice    12. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    13. Travel / Polar Regions   

Reviews (4)

gorgeous illustrations, info. you won't find anywhere else
This has got to be the single best guide to Antarctica's unusual wildlife. Everything is covered here, from Gentoo Penguins to Crab-Eater Seals (which don't actually eat crabs). Beautiful illustrations make it easy to identify birds & other animals while your out on the ice. If you're going to the White Continent, you'll want to stash this little book in your daypack. This book was useful when my husband & I visited the Antarctic peninsula, which we chronicle in our DVD "T&T's Real Travels in Antarctica" (also available on amazon.com).

A handbook essential for any Antarctica-bound traveler
The price tag may seem steep for the fourth edition of this 144-page paperback - but where else are you going to find details on the wildlife of Antarctica, tailored as a take-along tote for the Antarctica-bound traveler? Color drawings by Dafila Scott accompany nature history descriptions of each creature and discussions of identification specific to Antarctica, from contending with visibility factors to seasonal identification features. Antarctica: A Guide To The Wildlife is a unique and strongly recommended "take-along" handbook essential for any Antarctica-bound traveler.
Great, portable guide
I bought this book in preparation for a trip 'South' in December 1999/January 2000 and it was an extremely useful guide to wildlife in general but especially good for penguin information. The drawings by an ancestor of Robert F. Scott's are lifelike, and engaging art as well.The brief summaries of natural and exploration history are accessible and informative. If you are looking for a portable guide to peninsular wildlife get the book--you won't regret it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia & Oceania - General    2. Polar Regions    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel - General    6. Travel Guides    7. Wildlife    8. Wildlife Conservation    9. Antarctica    10. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    11. Travel / Polar Regions   

Reviews (4)

Future trip to Antarctica
My friend and I are off on an adventure to Antarctica in February and this book offered by Lonely Planet and authored by Jeff Rubin has been very informative and helpful in many aspects. I purchase all my travel books printed by Lonely Planet.

great backgrounder
If you're one of the few actually going to Antarctica, this book will give you an excellent background on the White Continent. It's not necessarily the best for planning a trip -- you'll get more up-to-date cruise ship info. online. But Lonely Planet will tell you all about the different possible landing spots, which can help you choose which tour to take. There's also good details about the most common embarkation points for Antarctica cruises. This book was handy when my husband & I planned our trip to the peninsula, which we chronicle in our DVD "T&T's Real Travels in Antarctica" (also available on amazon.com).

A truly great achievement up to LP standards, and even more
This book from Lonely Planet is, as always, the ultimate choice of guidebook for travelers.It provides excellent and up-to-date information which any type of traveler will find invaluable.Despite the fact that Antarctica is probably the least visited of the many regions of the world covered by LP, the authors have managed to put together an outstanding agglomeration of data and advice, well edited and excellently written.But... furthermore, on top of being an excellent travel book, this LP guide is also (like many other LP guides, but even more outstandingly) a great book about Antarctica's reality: the place itself, the peculiar or unique characters of this wonderful land, etc.Truly wonderful material is provided in this book, ensuring excellent reading for the armchair traveler, or the Antarctica beginner alike.Its many chapters and additional text boxes about a variety of topics, contain and provide extremely rich information on matters from history to politics, from geography to biology.All in all, a masterpiece. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Polar Regions    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Antarctica    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (4)

Several trips in one book
Roff Smith writes in this book about more than one trip to Antarctica, and in each trip he moves around from base to base to explore the place.For this reason, the book feels a bit disjointed, but it is a great portrait of the place and the people who live and work there today and the support systems that help them from the outside.Smith is often funny, as well as awestruck.That seems to be the effect the place has on people.

Great book
I've been looking for a book on Antarctica as I will soon be going there in a research support capacity. I was anxious to get an account of "what it is really like" being down there.Smith's accounts of dealing with the US program were especially interesting to me.His writing is humerous, insightful and thoroughly enjoyable to read.After reading this book, I think I have a decent sense of what to expect (his description of the pre-trip paperwork has already proven to be dead-on).
Needs Pictures!
I've been fascinated with Antarctica since hearing Vaughan Williams' Sympony No. 7 "Antarctica."This is the first book about the area that I've read. I found it fascinating right from page one. The author wastes no time getting to the ship and the voyage, and does a tremendous job describing the landscape.
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Subjects:  1. Description And Travel    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. General    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Polar Regions    7. Special Interest - Adventure    8. Travel - General    9. Travel / Adventure   

Reviews (10)

An amazing memoir
I can count on one hand the number of books that have truly and wholly transported me to another time and place. The Last Gentleman Adventurer easily joins the work of Jack London and Herman Melville in this regard, with the happy and astonishing distinction of being a true account rather than fiction. The author, Edward Maurice writes with a rare kind of insight, humane and honest. His adventures are at once breathtaking and sobering. My only regret is that this was his only book.

The Dawn of His Life but the Twilight of an Era
Edward Beauclerk Maurice, in his waning years, looked back on his first job, a job so distant in time and space that it might as well have been hundreds of years ago:In the 1930s, Maurice was recruited as a teenager to run one of the last fur-trading outposts in Arctic Canada operated by the Hudson Bay Company.Dropped off in a tiny Inuit village with a year's worth of trading supplies, he is meant by the Company to be both purveyor and parent to the local people.Of course, as an unexperienced teenager he had no skills for either role, and it is only through the benevolence of the villagers that he is able to cope.
Coming of Age in the Arctic
"The Last Gentleman Adventurer" is a delightful, even beautiful account by Edward Maurice of his time as a young clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company in the Canadian Arctic of the 1930's.Maurice was working literally at the intersection of the Inuit and European worlds.We are most fortunate as readers that the author was unjaded, exceptionally observant, and open to the possibilities of life in that time and place.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Canada    9. Canada, Northern    10. Customs & Traditions    11. Description and travel    12. Discovery And Exploration (General)    13. Explorers    14. Frontier and pioneer life    15. Inuit    16. Maurice, Edward Beauclerk    17. Personal Memoirs    18. Polar Regions    19. Social life and customs    20. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers   

Reviews (13)

Inspirational and Honest
I read this book when we were in the process of finding a boat to cruise on with our 2 toddlers. I found this book to be very enlightening on the crusing lifestyle. I found it humerously written in parts when the Martins made a plan for every obstacle they faced. I laughed, I cried and I laughed and cried at the same time. I've read a lot of books catered to women out cruising and as a woman and mother I found this book to be the most interesting as it really delved into family life on board. It is the only cruising book my husband wanted to hear about - in fact I'd read to him at night and we enjoyed it together. Jaja has a positive attitude that is infectious. You find yourself almost connected to the Martin family. Other books leave you feeling depressed your not out there yet but this book leaves you feeling inspired. A very happy read and I've recommended it to a lot of people. My only regret is I loaned it to my father-in-law and, now that I'm out cruising, I'd love to read it again but I can't get it back from him!
A big dose of adventure with afew drops of sanctimony.
We all love adventure books:the power and challenge of wild, the beauty of nature, the personal tests of hardship, and the strength of the human spirit.All of this and more can be found in the Marin's saga.It makes for great reading.But pervading all of this adventure and beauty is a philosophy.For some, it appears, this philosophy is enlightening, uplifting and "enriching", speaking to our desires to be free from the pathos of our modern world.For me, this philosophy of rejection by the Martins comes across a little heavy-handed, with inverted narcissism (hey, look at us, look how simple and humbly we can live), a touch of hypocrisy (ooh, let's keep our children out those American schools in North Carolina, but wow, wouldn't it be culturally uplifting to enroll them in an Icelandic and a Norwegian school), and an air of superiority.OK, OK, I'm being overly critical.We all at times seek a simpler life and I too envy the Martin's freedom, spirit and sense of adventure and this really is an enjoyable book.But hey, let's not take ourselves too seriously here.I give Into the Light 4 stars: 4 or 5 for the great adventure, and 2 or 3 for the overdose of "Martinism".

Sailor"s review of this book
Being a sailor myself I bought this book with great expectation of entertainment in reading about an adventurous sailing journey.I was very disappointed.There was very little data given about the boat, its gear, and sailing tactics.The book was about what they did when they got there.The author would go on and on about people and places in Iceland and Scandanavia that you could not pronounce; yet, I still don't know what brand of Diesel engine the vessel had, its displacement or horse power.Sail plan, displacement, keel type, etc., are still a mystery.No pictures or data charts.Did a vessel really exist?Read more

Subjects:  1. 1962 or 3-    2. Arctic regions    3. Description and travel    4. Martin, Dave,    5. Martin, Jaja    6. Polar Regions    7. Special Interest - Adventure    8. Travel    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (21)

Wonderful, honest narrative about life experiences
I was truly sad to finish this book.Jill is very honest about her adventures and about the frustrating and life changing times she has had in the wilderness.Even if the reader is not an outdoorsperson, he or she will enjoy the vivid descriptions of the arctic communities, the relationship between Jill and husband Doug, the struggles Jill faces in life including her mother's battle with cancer and much more.Thank you Jill for writing such a beautiful book.

Inspiring, Adventurous, Real
I just finished reading this book.I stopped part way through, because it was so good, I didn't want to finish it yet.Now, I'm going to name it as the book of the month when I host my book club next.This book is so fresh, so in-your-marrow real, so insightful, adventurous, and breathtakingly descriptive, it defies easy categorization.Ms. Fredston is a fantastic writer, and after hearing her words for the last 286 pages in my head, I sincerely would consider it a tremendous privilege and honor to meet her in person.She has sent me on a search for the woman in me who is so wise, so calm in the face of crisis, so adaptable, so loving, and so passionate about life and living it.I know I have emerged from this reading with a sincere desire to make my life what it is I desire, instead of waiting for "someday".I am thrilled to have her voice added to the voices of other women, so few, who lead us boldly into our dreams, fears, and wildest adventures.You must read this book, and if you have a daughter in high school or college, give her one as well.

A great read
When a non-fiction book reads like a fiction book, I know I'm in for a great treat.That is, I find myself looking for little breaks during the day when I natch a page or two to read this book, I know that I have a winner.This is also written by a women who has learned a little bit about life in her winter job as a avalanche expert in Alaska, and she brings this understanding to her passion of rowing in the polar regions.It is Jill's descriptions that are a delight to the mind because they are so well written.Although, I have never seen as ice berg or an ice field, I feel that I have some greater appreciation of the beauty and harm (yes,harm) that they are capable of doing in a split second.I remember the words of some great sage, that said that getting there is what travel is all about, versus vacation when you take a jet and lay in a lounger by the pool. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alaska    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Canoeists    5. Canoes and canoeing    6. Essays    7. Polar Regions    8. Sports - General    9. Travel    10. Travelers    11. United States    12. Women    13. Women canoeists   

Editorial Review

Following his "Arctic dreams" that began with a photograph of the haggard crew of the ill-fated ship Read more

Reviews (61)

Adventure in the Arctic
If you like an exciting adventure that you don't want to end and if you enjoy the style of writing that makes you feel you're actually there experiencing what the writer is going through you'll enjoy this book. To gain an understanding of some of the native peoples of the frozen Arctic wilderness and this unique place on earth read this book!

Unbridled narcissism in an arctic setting. ?Spiritual?
I could not agree more with every word of Isha Beharim's review. My first impression at the beginning of the book was of the author's extreme self absorbtion, and the impression never left me, and the self absorbtion never left the author either, despite whatever "spiritual" experience he may have had. The book, by the way, never comes within a country mile of anything even remotely spiritual, and I think perhaps the word was used in the sub-title only to improve sales, although, who knows, maybe sadly this sort of stuff passes for spirituality for this guy.
It's more like a 10-star book
because it has all the things great books are supposed to have. It's exciting, honest, moving, educational, thoughtful, humorous, philosophical. You'll be different after you read it.
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Subjects:  1. 20th Century Description And Travel    2. Arctic regions    3. Biography    4. Description and travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Explorers    7. Inuit    8. Polar Regions    9. Sailing - Narratives    10. Simon, Alvah    11. Simon, Diana    12. Social conditions    13. Travel    14. Travel - Foreign    15. United States    16. Travel / Polar Regions    17. Travel writing   

Editorial Review

When Jonathan Waterman set out to cross the Arctic Circle by way of kayak, cross-country skis, and a dogsled, he was less interested in conquering the 2,200 miles between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans than in learning to live as the Inuit had before him (Read more

Reviews (26)

buy this book
Jon Waterman is a writer who belongs between the hardcovers.His explorations and introspection make for compelling reading.

Articulate Adventurer
Who was it who said, "less is more"? That's one truth that stands out in Jonathan Waterman's "Artic Crossing" - a epical solo trip of the Northwest Passage done without fanfare, without oodles of sponsorship dough. I liked the author's cool, understated writing style, the wry observations about his sufferings and about the Inuits. No hyperbole, none of self-inflation that is so common in adventure writing, this book is truly believable. A wonderful read.

excellent book
in Arctic Crossing Jonathan Waterman, Kabloona extraordinaire gives us a a great gift. This guy can write, this guy can listen to the silence, this guy can paddle,hike, take in the wonder and freezing cold andbring it back home to those of usall warm in our living rooms. this guy is amazing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arctic Islands And Antarctica - History    2. Arctic regions    3. Canada - General    4. Description And Travel    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. History    7. History: World    8. Journeys    9. Native American    10. Polar Regions    11. Special Interest - Adventure    12. Travel - Foreign    13. Waterman, Jonathan    14. Canada, Northern    15. History / Native American    16. Nord-Ouest, Passage du    17. Voyages   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (1)

Literally Chilling!
My good friend Antonia Martin just gave me this book for my birthday. Antonia, you are an absolute Treasure!Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Discovery And Exploration (General)    3. Earth Sciences - Geography    4. History - General History    5. Polar Regions    6. Science    7. Sociology    8. ANTARCTICA_DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION    9. History / Polar Regions    10. IMPERIAL TRANS-ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1914-1917    11. SHACKLETON, ERNEST HENRY, SIR, 1874-1922    12. History   

Reviews (6)

Magnificent
This book should get an 11 and be read by every adventurer intheuniverse. It is the inspirational story of Freuchens life adventuring in and around Greenland at the turn of the century.....an amazing life, a remarkable man, a fantastic book. If you plan to read only one book in your life forget about Dosteovsky, Proust, and Shakespeare, and read this. I liked it

One of the great adventurers and story tellers.
Unlike many European adventurers who forced their vision upon the natives, Peter Freuchen adopted their ways.He was quite a remarkable individual.His life jumped from one life changing adventure to another.This book covers his life in the Artic, which was remarkable.Later in his life, he wrote a book which covers this material and other adventures (including Alaska, the Soviet Union) called 'Vagrant Viking'. I highly recommend that book too. Arctic Adventures
I have truly enjoyed this book, even more so, due to being the granddaughter of the Great Peter Fruechen. Have had several comments from different people to his books written. I am quite happy to hear of it's continuance of exceeding responds. Nicole Tuluganerk from Nunavut ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Polar Regions    3. Special Interest - Adventure    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Travel / Adventure   

Editorial Review

In the summer of 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set off aboard theRead more

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Reviews (361)

The original book of Shackleton's adventure
When the Endurance steamed south into the splitting ice pack of the Weddel Sea in the summer of 1914, she carried aboard the renowned British explorer Earnest Shackleton.The Endurance was specially designed and massively constructed by one of the world's finest shipyards, staffed with scientists and qualified volunteers and outfitted with meticulously tested equipment. Shackleton himself was an experienced polar veteran who had once come within a day's march of being the first to reach the south pole.But in spite of careful planning, the Endurance was doomed, and this expedition would be Shackleton's last Antarctic voyage.Unexpected cold weather froze the ship solidly into the ice, and 7 months later, the mounting pressure of millions of tons of ice crushed the three-foot wooden hull. The Endurance sank into the black water, and left the 30 exhausted men marooned on the treacherous melting ice flows of the storm-churned antarctic sea.For six months the poorly-equipped castaways wouldstruggle under inconceivable hardship until the drifting ice broke up enough for Shackleton to lead his expedition in three open lifeboats through freezing open water to a lifeless bit of rock called Elephant Island.With 5 companions aboard the remaining battered lifeboat, Shackleton left his crew and stuck out across the open ocean in a desperate attempt to reach a remote whaling station to obtain help.His faithful men would remain behind to weather the winter storms sleeping under the upended wreckage of a lifeboat -- their lives dangling by the frail promise that he wouldsomeday return. Alfred Lancing is an experienced journalist whose detailed research combines with direct and perfectly-paced prose and a handful of the expedition's original photographs.It is a tale ofleadership, unflagging courage, and determination in the face of impossible odds.But maybe the real definition of heroism is to be undaunted by the impossible.After sixteen days covering 900 miles of water in an amazing feat of open boat navigation, Shackleton struck land at South Georgia Island -- and after a three-day sleepless march over the 10,000 foot mountains in the huge island's interior, Shackleton and his remaining companions finally stumbled into a remote whaling outpost.And 450 days after being shipwrecked, after 5 attempts in three different ships, Shackleton managed to return to Elephant island to rescue his 22 remaining crew members in a tugboat borrowed from the Chilean government -- finally delivering all 29 of his men without the loss of a single life --and making Endurance one of the most inspiring stories of human survival every written.
An account of breathtaking courage
The author has clearly been rigorous in piecing together diary extracts and interview notes to put together this account of an adventure, or perhaps ordeal, which required of its survivors a degree of courage, composure and determination that cannot fail to humble yet uplift and inspire the reader.The style of narrative is rather matter-of-fact, rather than dramatic, and its coverage is limited to the expedition itself without dwelling much on the lives of the key players before or after.

An incredible book
Alfred Lansing's book, Endurance, dramatically details the 1914 expedition to the Antarctic led by Sir Ernest Shackleton.Although a non-fiction book, Lansing manages to make it read like a thriller, adventure.He wrote his story using first person accounts, interviews of survivors, journal entries, etc.While sometimes history can be a bit dry, this novel truly makes you feel a part of the adventure and reads very quickly.Ernest Shackleton's leadership abilities ensure not only the survival of the crew, but demonstrate his character as a man.Crew and officers were treated alike and shared in the duties of survival.Order was maintained and his personality and command of the situation enabled the group to survive what could have been a disaster. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1874-1922    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Endurance (Ship)    5. History    6. Polar Regions    7. Shackleton, Ernest Henry,    8. Sir,    9. Unabridged Audio - History    10. Western Europe - General   

Subjects:  1. Antarctica    2. Earth Sciences - Geography    3. Encyclopedias    4. Polar Regions    5. Reference    6. Science    7. Wildlife    8. Antarctica -- Encyclopedias    9. Geographical discovery & exploration    10. Reference / Encyclopedias   

Reviews (1)

Antarctic Wonder
Having spent some time with Joan Myers and seen her other books, I am convinced that this will be an excellent collection of photographs from Antarctica. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1944-    2. Antarctica    3. Description And Travel    4. Discovery And Exploration (General)    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Expeditions & Discoveries    7. History    8. History: World    9. Myers, Joan,    10. Pictorial works    11. Polar Regions    12. Travel    13. Travel - General