Reviews (1)

Living in Antarctica
If you want to know what it is like to live and work in Antarctica this is the book for you. Alia Sorensen is a gifted writer who spent a year at the United States McMurdo Staion, describing in fascinating detail about life in that remote community. The differences in the summer and winter routine are most interesting. Even though she did not go as a scientist or historian she weaves the science and history of Antarctica into the tales of daily life. And if you are interested in employment at one of the three United States stations in Antarctica, Sorensen gives some insight into getting a job and keeping it.All in all it is an enjoyable read for those of us who will never get to McMurdo...and those who want to go. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antarctica    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. McMurdo Station    6. McMurdo Station (Antarctica)    7. Military    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Polar Regions    10. Social life and customs    11. Sorensen, Alia    12. Travel    13. Travelers    14. Biography: general    15. Military life & institutions    16. Travel & holiday guides   

Subjects:  1. 1786-1847    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Franklin, John,    5. Juvenile literature    6. Northwest Passage    7. Polar Regions    8. Sir,    9. Voyages and travels   

Subjects:  1. Arctic regions    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Description and travel    5. General    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. North Pole    9. Science & Nature - Earth Sciences - Geography    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Adventure & Adventurers   

Reviews (2)

Coffee table book with great pictures but nothing else
This book gathers some magnificent pictures of the trip and its preparation. In particular, there are multiple images of bergs and growlers that are breathtaking. Retracing an historic odyssey
Leif Eriksson was a great explorer, traveling from Greenland to North America long before the time of Christopher Columbus. Eriksson and his Viking crew were the first known Europeans to set foot upon the North American Continent. More than a thousand years after Eriksson's time, a group of sailors and friends from Maine had the dream of recreating his voyage. "Viking Voyage" tells the story of that dreams realization. Using designs from Denmark and Greenland, an authentic Viking boat was built. The sailors from Maine were joined in their quest by crew members from Greenland and Denmark. The new Vikings set off on two voyages in 1997 and 1998, following the path of Eriksson from so long ago. They had to overcome many difficulties, and at one point faced the prospect of their boat beginning to fall apart in mid ocean. They journeyed through the often treacherous Artic waters between Greenland and Canada. They faced the same cold and misery that the Vikings of old had known. The crew also had moments of great exhilaration, and they began to think and feel in much the same way as the Vikings. Their voyage became not only a recreation of Eriksson's expedition, but an odyssey through time itself. "Viking Voyage" is richly illustrated with beautiful photographs, and it helps us to understand the Viking way of life. There is a special magic within this book: a magic of seeking and reaching for dreams. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (William Hodding)    2. Carter, W. Hodding    3. Europe - Scandinavia    4. Expeditions & Discoveries    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Journeys    10. North Atlantic Ocean    11. Pictorial works    12. Snorri (Ship)    13. Special Interest - Adventure    14. Travel    15. Arctic Ocean    16. Geographical discovery & exploration    17. Leiv Eiriksson    18. North America    19. North Atlantic    20. Photography / Travel    21. Travel writing   

Reviews (10)

Driven and not by pleasure
Englishmen Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud together made four failed attempts on the North Pole. Their major success was an expedition both inwardly expected to fail - the unsupported (carry everything) crossing of Antarctica.
Intelligent, honest and interesting
This is the account of his journey across Antartica - on foot, pulling sleds - with Michael Stroud. In it Ranulph describes, not only his journey, but insights into the human mind. It is supported by extracts from the diaries of both men, as well as extracts from books of previous Antartic explorers. Some people feel the need to push themselves to extremes, others (like me) like to read about them, and this is an intelligently written, honest and interesting book. THERE ARE NO POLAR BEARS IN ANTARTICA!
I have not read the book, but the booklist review says he was in danger of being eaten by polar bears.I sure hope he did not write that in the book! There are no bears in the southern hemisphere, bears evolved in the northern hemisphere.Somebody better check their review! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (1992-1993)    2. Antarctica    3. British    4. Discovery and exploration    5. General    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Pentland South Pole Expedition    8. Polar Regions    9. Travel    10. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (1)

"a literary journey . . . with life-affirming energy"
From a review by Kathryn Eastburn that appeared in the Colorado Springs Independent: "Throughout The Last Wild Edge, Zwinger carefully balances personal, political and cosmic concerns, utilizing language thatstraddles the confines of science and poetry.This is a dense but elegantbook, rich with physical detail and swarming with universal themes thatcan't be contained on the page.The nature of exploration itself emergesas a theme, along with a firm, earthbound appreciation of the wild coast ofNorth America.Zwinger skillfully mixes her extensive knowledge of thenatural world with a palpable hunger for new experience.The result is aliterary journey that pulsates with life-affirming energy, carrying thereader both to the edge of the continent and to the inner depths of the author's curious, passionate soul." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arctic regions    2. Canada    3. Description and travel    4. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    5. Nature    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Northwest, Pacific    8. Travel - General    9. United States - West - Pacific (General)    10. Yukon Territory    11. Zwinger, Susan,    12. Journeys    13. Zwinger, Susan   

Reviews (7)

A Journey into Forever and Beyond
Artic Aurora, Holt's latest and greatest literary work, guides us through Canada's Northwest Territories and the Yukon. For certain he describes where to find good food, good fishing and interesting places to visit, but this is no travelogue of where to go, what to do or how to catch fish. Instead, as he journeys through this wild, untamed and unfenced area of immense size in his 1983 Suburban, he discovers raw visceral power flows through the land in the Far North. A place where one can gaze out over the beautiful, intrepid landscape and see forever and beyond. Overhead, the aurora borealis dances and flickers with palpable energy. Immense rivers surge over countless waterfalls as they carve and gouge their way towards the ocean. An unseen power sizzles through the land.
Running Full Bore in Canada's Far North
Arctic Aurora is a delight. Holt careens around the hidden Canadian northwest in a joyous rage, remarking on the land, the fishing, and the people, good and bad. From ice roads, to mosquitoes, to arctic grayling, and the native Dene, this book gives the reader a true taste of the Canadian north. There have been a number of books written about the arctic these days, but damn few good ones...and Arctic Aurora truly is.

He Does It Again
Holt does it again. Artic Aurora shows us the intensity of the country and the love that Holt has for it. Reading the book made me, a man from the city sprawl of Delaware, want to go up and see the country for myself before it is touched by the outside world. Perfectly detailed, I couldn't put the book down. I felt that the added pictures that only hinted at the beauty of the land helped in imagining what it's like up there. I write this in that John Holt did what he does so well, give us a deep and honest look into the last of the untamed country. It's a must read for those trying to find the last great wilderness. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Canada - Territories & Nunavut    3. Fishing - Flyfishing    4. Fishing - General    5. Natural history    6. Northwest Territories    7. Outdoor life    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Travel    10. Yukon Territory    11. Sports & Recreation / Fishing   

Reviews (7)

Dramatic story reminds us of unfinished business
In combat it's said no plan survives contact with the enemy.
Wonderful book for history buffs!
In the days after World War II Admiral Robert E. Byrd, was able to convince the United State Government that the frozen continent of Antarctica was of important and possible strategic value to the country. Amazing Story!
We forget (or may never have fully realized) how far technology and our knowledge of the world has progressed in the past half century.This is a great story of the bravery, spirit, and ultimate sacrifices of some members of our parents' generation.The crew who crashed in Antarctica in 1947 were there, not for the commercial endorsements or riches, but like Sir Edmund Hillary at Everest, because it was there.Their lack of knowledge of what they were getting into was amazing in today's context but that some survived at all was ultimately inspiring.This is a good story well written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aircraft accidents    2. Antarctica    3. History    4. History (General)    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. Safety    9. Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc    10. United States - 20th Century    11. Naval forces & warfare    12. Travel writing    13. True stories of endurance & survival    14. c 1945 to c 1960   

Subjects:  1. Antarctic Ocean    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. General    4. Nature    5. Oceanography    6. Oceanography (General)    7. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Arctic peoples    2. Arctic regions    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Description    5. Description and travel    6. General    7. History - General History    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Native peoples    11. People & Places - Polar Regions    12. Polar Regions    13. Science & Nature - Earth Sciences - Geography    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / People & Places / Polar Regions    15. Life Sciences | Ecology | Natural History   

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. American    3. Arctic regions    4. Children's 9-12 - Travel - Foreign    5. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    6. Children: Grades 3-4    7. Diaries    8. Discovery and exploration    9. Explorers    10. Juvenile Fiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Polar Regions    13. Steger, Will   

Editorial Review

From the time of the ancient Greeks until the 19th century, European explorers imagined that beyond the ring of ice that encircled the Arctic lay a warm, calm sea that would take them to the Orient. Instead of this easy Northwest Passage, notes Peter Stark, those explorers found what the Inuit and Eskimo inhabitants of the region knew they would: "ice, ice, and more ice."Read more

Reviews (4)

Impacted my life - truly inspiring
Though I read it several years ago, the impact of this book is still with me. It helps me appreciate the life I have, and inspires me to push harder. The human tales in this book, many culled from actual diary or journal entries, are more gripping than perhaps any fiction I've ever read. If you feel you need a sense of perspective, this is one healthy dose. Reading it was a great way to transport myself from my day to day troubles and experience, again often firsthand, a completely different life situation. Highly recommended.

The Meaning of Ice
If you are intrigued by the allure that the Arctic has for some people, or are yourself unable to resist subzero weather at the top of the world, then Ring of Ice is a must. Stark has collected a truly diverse range of stories beginning with the comedy of errors endured by Georg Wilhelm Stellar, the German-born scientist aboard Vitus Bering's 1741 Russian expedition to the North American coast, and ending with the luminous prose of modern Artic explorers such as Barry Lopez. A wonderful book!
This is a wonderful book!Peter Stark has selected an extraordinary collection of vignettes from a wide range of original writings about the Arctic and its explorers.I've read many (but certainly not all) of his sources in their entirety, and enjoyed re-reading extracts of those that I have read before as much as I enjoyed reading for the first time those that were new to me.Stark has a fine eye, an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Arctic and a gift for weaving together these many tales into a fine, telling tapestry of Arctic adventure.Terrific! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arctic peoples    2. Arctic regions    3. Description and travel    4. Discovery and exploration    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Polar Regions    7. Social life and customs    8. Special Interest - Adventure    9. Travel    10. Travel - Foreign    11. Arctic Ocean    12. Geographical discovery & exploration    13. Travel / Adventure    14. True stories of endurance & survival   

Subjects:  1. Antarctica    2. Argentina    3. Maps    4. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Essays & Travelogues    3. Expeditions & Discoveries    4. History - General History    5. Polar Regions    6. Travel    7. Horses & ponies    8. Travel writing   

Reviews (1)

a gorgeous book....
While my husband reads a steady and salty diet of historical sailing sagas, I generally feed on fiction.But when he finished AMBASSADOR TO THE PENGUINS, he passed the book over the wicker table that sits between our armchairs and insisted I dig in.Set in 1912-13, the book intimately follows Robert Cushman Murphy who worked as a naturalist for ten months aboard a Yankee whaleship.Under the leadership of the cranky and parsimonious Captain Cleveland, the Daisy sailed for South Georgia Island in the Antarctic waters, successfully gathering blubber and spermaceti from the hapless whales it encountered along the way, unsuccessfully hoping for the valuable ambergris.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1887-    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Antarctica    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Description and travel    9. Maritime History    10. Murphy, Robert Cushman,    11. Naturalists    12. Naturalists, Gardeners, Environmentalists    13. Polar Regions    14. Travel    15. United States    16. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employee Training And Development    5. Entrepreneurship    6. Human Resources & Personnel Management    7. Training    8. Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management    9. Industrial or vocational training    10. Management decision making    11. Personnel & human resources management   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Travel   

Subjects:  1. Antarctica    2. Children's 9-12 - Travel - General    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 People & Places    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Discovery and exploration    6. Exploration    7. History - Exploration & Discovery    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Myers, Walter Dean    11. People & Places - Polar Regions    12. Polar Regions    13. Juvenile Nonfiction / General   

Reviews (1)

brilliant prose and accurate portrait of the north country
I thought that this book excellent.pruitt's tale is a story of the north country that exposes the bevahoirs, violent or not of its residents.pruitt explores the interelatedness of all thing and the ecological balence that the north country assumes. pruittt examines the predator and prey relationships and provides the reader with an understanding from all view points.pruit tells this tale in a way that envoke the almost nostalgic pure reactions for such a place.pruitt is not telling a book about a magic forest adventure though, everything is the truth, the author is a professor of zoology.the combination of effective prose and scientific fact make an interesting read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animal ecology    2. Animals    3. Arctic regions    4. Ecology    5. General    6. Nature / Field Guide Books    7. Nature/Ecology    8. North America    9. Taiga animals    10. Taiga ecology   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Baffin Island    3. Biography    4. Canada - General    5. Discovery And Exploration (General)    6. Earth Sciences - Geography    7. Europe - Great Britain - General    8. Expeditions & Discoveries    9. Explorers    10. Frobisher, Martin,    11. Gold mines and mining    12. Great Britain    13. Great Britain - History - Tudor And Stuart (1485-1714)    14. History    15. History - General History    16. History: World    17. Nunavut    18. Polar Regions    19. Science    20. Sir,    21. Travel    22. ca. 1535-1594