Here follows a selection of books about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen:
‘The Last Viking‘ unravels the life of the man who stands head and shoulders above all those who raced to map the last corners of the world. In 1900, the four great geographical mysteries (the Northwest Passage, the Northeast Passage, the South Pole, and the North Pole) remained blank spots on the globe. Within twenty years Roald Amundsen would claim all four prizes. Renowned for his determination and technical skills, both feared and beloved by his men, Amundsen is a legend of the heroic age of exploration, which shortly thereafter would be tamed by technology, commerce, and publicity. In his lifetime he was an international celebrity, pursued by women and creditors, but he died in the Arctic on a rescue mission for a rival explorer. Stephen R. Bown has unearthed archival material to give Amundsen’s life the grim immediacy of Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s ‘The Worst Journey in the World’, the exciting detail of ‘The Endurance’, and the suspense of a Jon Krakauer tale. The Last Viking is both a thrilling literary biography and a cracking good story. Buy this book on Bookshop.org
Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer whose team were the first to reach the South Pole – this is his astonishing story, in his own words. Amundsen begins by explaining that he was not born with an urge to explorer the farthest, uncharted regions of the world. At fifteen he received as a gift the memoirs of Sir John Franklin, a famous British explorer, which roused an immediate interest. This was increased further by Amundsen’s compulsory military service, part of which consisted of roaming the rugged, snowy outdoors. Almost immediately after the end of his time in the army, further explorations deep in the Arctic circle beckoned. At twenty-five, Amundsen was accepted into the Belgian Antarctic Expedition – an event he considers very lucky. For it was here that he gained his first experiences of the Antarctic climate, and began to contemplate organizing a team to reach the South Pole. It was an epic journey; Amundsen’s team, equipped with sleds run by dogs and clad in thick furs, famously became the first people ever to set foot on the South Pole. Later in the book, Amundsen explains his efforts to chart the Northwest Passage in the remotest wildernesses of Canada. To this end, he made use of aircraft in the early 1920s. However, owing to the economic turmoil after World War One he found it difficult to finance his expeditions. Nevertheless, his spirit remained undaunted – indeed, the tenacity that got Roald Amundsen so far shines in these pages. Buy this book on Bookshop.org
‘The South Pole‘ is a book by Roald Amundsen and it represents an interesting first-hand account of the Norwegian expedition’s successful attempt to reach the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen spends a great deal of time talking about logistics and placing of depots in preparation for his polar attempt all the way from the preparation leading up to the initial sea voyage, the voyage itself and then the establishing of a camp at the Antarctic. Although they were lucky with the weather, and Amundsen attributed the success of the expedition to “good luck”, it is obvious that the Norwegian expedition was well prepared and ready for the troubles ahead; the equipment, the sledges with well-trained dogs, the supply depots with seal meat at regular intervals along the route, the sunglasses to avoid snow blindness; it was all thought of in advance. Buy this book on Bookshop.org
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