I joined Robert Swan on his Last 300 Expedition to the South Pole last year so I'm completely biased, but do check out his Antartica 2041 book. Swan is the first person to walk to both poles. A recent find is Antartica A Biography by David Day. It's a pretty complete history of human exploration on the continent.
I'll chime in with a work of fiction inspired by an real near-polar tragedy: The Terror, by Dan Simmons. It's draws on the journey of the Erebus and Terror, two ships led by Captain John Franklin to find the Northwest Passage. It combines elements of survival fiction with horror elements, the latter being a genre I generally have zero interest in, and I was initially skeptical. But by a couple hundred pages in I was absolutely spellbound. It's also written in such a way that the events of the book line up very well with the (very scant) actual evidence of what happened to the lost Franklin expedition. I read it last winter and it thoroughly captivated me, to the point that I was up at 3:00 am researching flights to Nunavut and going on January camping trips so I could get a taste of the experience those doomed men endured.
I went on to read a couple non-fiction books detailing subsequent searches for the lost ships and crews, up until the present day. AMC made a limited- series adaptation book, which appears well made, but I haven't watched it, not wanting to spoil my impressions of the text. Anyway, I can't recommend it heartily enough.
Thanks! I listened to "The Terror" as an audiobook on a very long flight. It was really well done. I couldn't quite get past the horror element of it, but the overall mood and ambiance of the Arctic were captured really well.
If anyone is interested in a more literary exploration of the arctic, I can recommend the Idea of North by Peter Davidson. A very readable account of the concept of the North in literature and culture -- from the Viking sagas to Danish fairy tales to a Mongol expedition into Siberia. In my experience, it goes quite well with a little Ardbeg 10.
For those wanting a single-volume overview of the entire topic, one good title is "Safe Return Doubtful: The Heroic Age of Polar Exploration" by John Maxtone-Graham. I've also just picked up a copy of "Polar Exploration: The Heroic Exploits of the World's Greatest Polar Explorers", which was produced by the Royal Geographical Society and looks to be really well-done.
Am reading The Lost Men by Kelly Tyler-Lewis which is about the other half of Shackletons antarctic crossing. They had to lay the food depots on the Ross Sea side. A very good and interesting book about the lesser know side of Shackletons expedition.
Another great book is An Unsung Hero by Michael Smith which is about Tom Crean who was on the Discovery, Terra Nova and Endurance expeditions and was one of the crew who sailed from Elephant Island to South Georgia, an amazing character.
Would love to see book reviews and reading ideas as a regular thing as always like a good armchair adventure read!
I joined Robert Swan on his Last 300 Expedition to the South Pole last year so I'm completely biased, but do check out his Antartica 2041 book. Swan is the first person to walk to both poles. A recent find is Antartica A Biography by David Day. It's a pretty complete history of human exploration on the continent.
Rob, you really are fortunate to have been where many of us can only dream of going, and you did it properly! Book sounds good too! Thanks.
I'll chime in with a work of fiction inspired by an real near-polar tragedy: The Terror, by Dan Simmons. It's draws on the journey of the Erebus and Terror, two ships led by Captain John Franklin to find the Northwest Passage. It combines elements of survival fiction with horror elements, the latter being a genre I generally have zero interest in, and I was initially skeptical. But by a couple hundred pages in I was absolutely spellbound. It's also written in such a way that the events of the book line up very well with the (very scant) actual evidence of what happened to the lost Franklin expedition. I read it last winter and it thoroughly captivated me, to the point that I was up at 3:00 am researching flights to Nunavut and going on January camping trips so I could get a taste of the experience those doomed men endured.
I went on to read a couple non-fiction books detailing subsequent searches for the lost ships and crews, up until the present day. AMC made a limited- series adaptation book, which appears well made, but I haven't watched it, not wanting to spoil my impressions of the text. Anyway, I can't recommend it heartily enough.
Thanks! I listened to "The Terror" as an audiobook on a very long flight. It was really well done. I couldn't quite get past the horror element of it, but the overall mood and ambiance of the Arctic were captured really well.
If anyone is interested in a more literary exploration of the arctic, I can recommend the Idea of North by Peter Davidson. A very readable account of the concept of the North in literature and culture -- from the Viking sagas to Danish fairy tales to a Mongol expedition into Siberia. In my experience, it goes quite well with a little Ardbeg 10.
Mmm, nice smoky Scotch and a good book. Thanks!
For those wanting a single-volume overview of the entire topic, one good title is "Safe Return Doubtful: The Heroic Age of Polar Exploration" by John Maxtone-Graham. I've also just picked up a copy of "Polar Exploration: The Heroic Exploits of the World's Greatest Polar Explorers", which was produced by the Royal Geographical Society and looks to be really well-done.
Both sound like good winter reads. Thanks, Matt!
Am reading The Lost Men by Kelly Tyler-Lewis which is about the other half of Shackletons antarctic crossing. They had to lay the food depots on the Ross Sea side. A very good and interesting book about the lesser know side of Shackletons expedition.
Another great book is An Unsung Hero by Michael Smith which is about Tom Crean who was on the Discovery, Terra Nova and Endurance expeditions and was one of the crew who sailed from Elephant Island to South Georgia, an amazing character.
Would love to see book reviews and reading ideas as a regular thing as always like a good armchair adventure read!
Those books sound terrific, Philip. I'll be sure to seek them out! Thanks!
I've wanted to view that film too, but Amazon (nor anyone else that I can find) is offering it here in the US.