Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2261 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
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• Writings, including books and periodicals
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Book Description

Before Sir Ernest Shackleton's exploration of the Antarctic waters in 1914, Captain Roald Amundsen led a courageous team through ice-chocked waters to become the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911. Read the fascinating account of his journey in The South Pole.

"Roald Amundsen planted the Norwegian flag on the South Pole on December 14, 1911: a full month before Robert Falcon Scott arrived onthe same spot. Amundsen's 'The South Pole' is less well-known than his rival's, in part because he is less of a literary stylist, but also, perhaps, because he survived the journey.His book is a riveting first-hand account of a truly professionalexpedition; Amundsen's heroism is understated, but it is heroismnonetheless."
--The Times of London, 23 June 2001

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the South Pole was the most coveted prize in the fiercely nationalistic modern age of exploration. In the spring of 1911 two separate expeditions left their respective camps in Antarctica in a desperate bid to achieve the glory of being first to reach the South Pole: a British party, led by Captain R. F. Scott, and a Norwegian one under Captain Roald Amundsen. The South Pole,—Amundsen's first-hand account of the expedition,— is a fascinating and highly readable history of the tenacity and perseverance of the age.

"The last of the Vikings," Roald Engebreth Gravning Amundsen was a powerfully built man of over six feet in height, born into a family of merchant sea captains in 1872. In 1903 he navigated the Northwest Passage in a 70-foot fishing boat. Soon afterwards he learned that Ernest Shackleton was setting out on an attempt to reach the South Pole. Shackleton abandoned his quest a mere 97 miles short of the Pole, but Amundsen began preparing his own expedition. Although this was the age of the amateur explorer, Amundsen was a professional: he left little to chance, apprenticed with Inuits, and obsessed over every detail.

On October 18, 1911 Amundsen's party set out from the Bay of Whales, on Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf, for their final drive toward the pole. His British counterpart, Robert Falcon Scott, dependent on Siberian ponies rather than on dogs, began his trip three weeks later. While Scott clung fast to the British rule of "No skis, no dogs," Amundsen understood that both were vital to survival. Aided by exceptionally cooperative weather conditions, Amundsen's men passed the point where Shackleton was forced to turn back on December 7, and at approximately 3pm on December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen raised the flag of Norway at the South Pole, one month before Scott's party would arrive.

A polar masterpiece of history and adventure, The South Pole is the stunning first-hand account of one of the greatest success stories in the annals of exploration. Most skillfully Amundsen constructs the expedition's character through its personalitiesthe cast of veteran explorers, scientists, and crewproviding insight not only into Amundsen's philosophy of exploration, but into the classical age of polar explorers.Download Description
World-renowned polar explorer Captain Roald Amundsen's (1872-1928) conversational, candid, and engrossing account of his Norwegian expedition's successful race, first aboard the Fram and then by dogsled, to be the first to reach the South Pole.Setting out from Norway in August, 1910, the Fram arrived in Antarctica in January, 1911.After months of preparation by the members of the expedition operating out of their Bay of Whales base on the Ross Ice Shelf, Amundsen and four of his companions set out for the South Pole on October 20, 1911, with four sledges, each pulled by 13 dogs.On December 14 the five reached their goal, arriving a full month before the rival British expedition led by Captain Robert F. Scott. "I cannot say -though I know it would sound much more effective - that the object of my life was attained. That would be romancing rather too bare-facedly. . . .Of course, there was a festivity in the tent that evening - not that champagne corks were popping and wine flowing - no, we contented ourselves with a little piece of seal meat each, and it tasted well and did us good," Amundsen wrote afterward. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

MasterPiece.
Wonderful. Strong. Beautiful. It is a great book. You end up thinking that the five hundred pages are not enought. Amundsen is the project management himself. It is a pleasure to read such an adventure in a such complete edition, with all maps, photos, cientific info, etc. Highly recommended.

Disappointed with the Indy Publishing edition.
Don't waste your money on the Indy Publishing edition of this book.No pictures, no maps, no dust jacket.It is no fun to read a full paragraph description by the author of an incident that was recorded with a photograph that is not in the book.A better investment would be the paper back edition.

Amundsen was funny!
This book was a lot of fun, in a geeky documentary sort of way.

Amundsen had a dry sense of humor, kind of like Tolkien.You know, polite and proper but every once in a while you can picture an arched eyebrow.Like Gandalf cracking a subtle joke.If you are not paying attention, you will miss it... but if you *are* paying attention, it'll make you chuckle.

I laughed out loud several times when reading this book, which is something I never did when reading other Antarctica books.

So if you are worried about this book being "dry" and "boring", well, did you like Lord of the Rings?If so, Amundsen's writing might "click" with you too.

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.

Amundsen was relentlessly methodical and practical in planning and executing the expedition.He identified a practical method of travel for the long haul to the South Pole from the Antarctic coast: dog sleds and skiis.He and his crew experimented and tested all their equipment and supplies in theAntarctic while patiently waiting for the right weather to travel.In striking contrast to his British competitor, Robert Falcon Scott, Amundsen correctly estimated the amount of food that would be consumed by physically active men operating for weeks in sub-zero temperatures.Amundsen's preparation is so complete that the actual expedition sometimes has all the drama of a weekend fishing trip.Amundsen was apparently a modest man, and it falls to Roland Huntford in an introduction to draw the obvious comparison with the catastrophic failure of the Scott expedition.

Amundsen's account provides all the detail necessary for anyone who might wish to duplicate his feat.Unfortunately, his writing style is very dry and even dedicated students of polar exploration may find finishing this book a long haul.

This book is highly recommended to students of the history of polar travel.

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

Book Description
Two men! One dream! Which one will become the first to reach the South Pole and bring the honor and glory home to their country? Trek along the route of discovery and adventure, deep into Antarctic wastelands. Relive the harrowing trials of Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott in a story of soaring triumph and bleak tragedy. Young readers will follow this race to greatness all the way to the ends of the Earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An extraordinary book
Rarely have I read and re-read a book with as much interest as this one. The pictures in the book was thought lost until re-discovered in a loft in Oslo in 1986. It provides an unusual insight into early polar explorationfrom both a pictoral and literary perspective

An Excellent Record of Exploration History
As opposed to all the badly written adventure fiction books of today, thisis an excellent photographic record of Amundsen's adventures.It's atribute to the man who was among the first to winter in the Antarctic, wasthe first to reach the South Pole, was the first to fly over the arcticocean and the North Pole, and was killed while attempting to rescue anotherexpedition that had crashed in the Arctic.A photographic tribute to atruely great man. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Opportunity Lost.
A good read but.....was it. Factual?Accurate? Balanced?

Wouldn't you expect those basic three elements in a story told? I know I do but maybe I'm too fussy or just naïve.
Otherwise what is the point? Was it purely to destroy a mans reputation sensationally in order to sell the book! - the cynic in me thinks probably yes, for whatever reason only Roland Hunford knows.

I've no doubt a lot of research went into Hunterfords book but what a waste, after having read all the available books on this particular subject matter including Ranulph Fiennnes book, the options expressed by Huntford and the presentation of so called `facts' seem at times downright fictional.

If you want the sensational Tabloid version of the Scott story get this book, if you want the three elements mentioned above at least read Ranulph Fiennes book.

Cherry-Garrard: "Scott used to say that the worst part of an expedition was over when the preparation was finished"
... So, how did Scott prepare throughout the long winter preceding the polar expedition? By staging amateur theatrics, to keep the men from getting bored, or worse.

If you can't quite get around to reading this long book then take note of Huntford's statement in the Foreward: Amundsen wanted to be the first man to reach the South Pole. Scott wanted to be a hero. Each got his wish.

Character assasination of Scott by professional debunker
The best thing about writing a book about a long-dead character is that they can't fight back.Roland Huntford is a professional journalist of the worst kind who literally uses his "intuition" to invent history when the facts inconveniently contradict his view.Huntford's purpose in writing the book was to make money; not to write anything approaching truth.His book is very readable, more's the pity - it's just rubbish.
Rather read Ranulph Fiennes book, "Captain Scott", which tells the story from the viewpoint of someone who knows Antartica and who presents a balanced viewpoint.He also highlights a number of untruths written by Mr. Huntford.

Please read the corrective to Huntford -- by Ranulph Fiennes
"Captain Scott" by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the man described by the Guiness Book of Records as "the world's greatest living explorer".I've just finished this book, which is described as "a valuable corrective to the trend of Scott debunking".Before giving five stars to the Huntford book, you should *really* read this book.For some reason it's not available on Amazon.I bought my copy here in Hong Kong -- its' by Hodder & Staughton and was published in paperback in 2004.
A review says: "... a fascinating read and a powerful argument against the conventional view of Scott as second best."Another: "Stirring... now one is better placed than Fiennes to understand what Scott may have experienced or to appreciate the enormity of his achievement."
Remember -- Huntford *never* went to the Antarctic.Fiennes, on the other hand "...visits the poles as casually as most of us visit the pub."
This is a debunking of the debunker.It should be read as corrective to Huntford's tendentious put-down.
PF
Hong Kong
June 04

Required reading for any polar scholar.
Roland Huntford has written perhaps the best study of polar exploration. The contrast between the two , Amundsen and Scott, is so striking, it is a wonder that Scott is generally rememberedat all.His methods were so slack, his personality so ill-suited to the task at hand, his leadership bordered on being criminally negligent. Scottbecame that strange type of British hero, onewhose incompetence is romanticized intofame( i.e. The Titanic or the Charge of the Light Brigade). Amundsen however, dispays all the qualities necessary for a polar explorer (or any leader). He was smart, adaptable, inventive, and organized. He did have some faults(somewhat unforgiving, vanity), but his results made him the greatest polar explorer of all time.His deedsincluded the Northwest Passage, 1st to winter in the Antarctic, Of course the South Pole, first to complete the Northeast and Northwest Passage, first to fly across the Arctic Ocean.He was a modern Viking, always seekingthe unknown. It is somewhatbaffling that he is not more recognized for his accomplishments. ... Read more

Amazon.com
On December 14, 1911, the classical age of polar exploration ended when Norway's Roald Amundsen conquered the South Pole. His competitor for the prize, Britain's Robert Scott, arrived one month later--but died on the return with four of his men only 11 miles from their next cache of supplies. But it was Scott, ironically, who became the legend, Britain's heroic failure, "a monument to sheer ambition and bull-headed persistence. His achievement was to perpetuate the romantic myth of the explorer as martyr, and ... to glorify suffering and self-sacrifice as ends in themselves." The world promptly forgot about Amundsen.

Biographer Ronald Huntford's attempt to restore Amundsen to glory, first published in 1979 under the title Scott and Amundsen, has been thawed as part of the Modern Library Exploration series, captained by Jon Krakauer (of Into Thin Air fame). The Last Place on Earth is a complex and fascinating account of the race for this last great terrestrial goal, and it's pointedly geared toward demythologizing Scott. Though this was the age of the amateur explorer, Amundsen was a professional: he left little to chance, apprenticed with Eskimos, and obsessed over every detail. While Scott clung fast to the British rule of "No skis, no dogs," Amundsen understood that both were vital to survival, and they clearly won him the Pole.

Amundsen in Huntford's view is the "last great Viking" and Scott his bungling opposite: "stupid ... recklessly incompetent," and irresponsible in the extreme--failings that cost him and his teammates their lives. Yet for all of Scott's real or exaggerated faults, he understood far better than Amundsen the power of a well-crafted sentence. Scott's diaries were recovered and widely published, and if the world insisted on lionizing Scott, it was partly because he told a better story. Huntford's bias aside, it's clear that both Scott and Amundsen were valiant and deeply flawed. "Scott ... had set out to be an heroic example. Amundsen merely wanted to be first at the pole. Both had their prayers answered." --Svenja Soldovieri ... Read more

Customer Reviews (77)

Unbelievably Good
Stellar story that was painstakenly researched.This is the kind of book that inspires one to take a trip to Antarctica - or read everything available about polar exploration.Nansen, Shakleton, Scott and the mighty Amundsen are not just interesting characters - they are Goliaths of exploration who braved the elements with panache and bravery second to none.Excellent read, try to stay warm while doing it.

Scott, Huntford and the Decline of the British Empire
Someone who is not British, when encountering this book or the magnificent television series which was based on it, may not understand the "historical baggage" that weighed on Huntford's attitude towards the two protagonists of the story, Scott and Amundsen.Britain has a long history of having an intelligentsia that is either jingoistic/chauvinistic on the one hand, or self-hating on the other. With the break-up of the British Empire in the post-Second World War period, the self-hating sector grew in size, and Huntford seems to be part of it.The tragic failure of Scott's expedition to the South Pole in 1911/1912 has been viewed through the prisms of this historical baggage to this day.
Huntford points out that Britain started going into relative economicand political decline, as compared particularly to the young upstart Germans and Americans as early as 1870, the time when Scott was born. The incompetence of the British Army in the Boer War made it popular already by the beginning of the 20th century to say that the "British race was decadent" and Scott himself referred to this when canvassing support for his British Antarctic Expedition by saying the effort to explore the Antarctic would prove that this accusation was not true.
The failure of Scott's expedition was then held up by official state organs as a "glorious failure" which would serve as an example of suffering and sacrifice in which to inspire the British people, particularly the young.The start of the First World War just 2 1/2 years later with millions of young men "going over the top" into the face of slaughter by gas, machine guns and artillery made Scott's story even more relevantand potentially inspiring.
Decades later, Scott was still viewed as a great man and explorer who was the victim of "bad luck", as compared to his competitor Amundsen and it was considered vaguely "unfair" for Amundsen to have even have attempted to go for the South Pole at the same time as Scott.I myself recall seeing Scott's diary in the British Museum where it was treated something like a holy relic.
It was this distorted view of Scott that Huntford attempted to correct in writing this book and to give Amundsen the credit he was due and which he was not allowed to enjoy in his lifetime due to Scott getting most of the publicity as a result of his "glorious failure" which attracted more attention due to its dramatic nature.
Theproblem is that Huntford seems to have a lot of anger in him, directed not only at Scott, but at those forces in Britain who, in his view, cynically promoted the idea that Scott should be viewed as a great man and hero who was "unlucky" and "treated unfairly" and viewed Amundsen as something of a pirate.In my opinion, he goes too far and resorts to petty attacks on Scott and his wife.
Having said this, I still think the book is outstanding and his comparison of Scott's and Amundsen's methods and leadership ability are essentially correct, and that Scott really was not fit to lead such an expedition. The fact that some of those critical of Huntford point out that some of Scott's men, such as Edgar Evans and others who came to the Terra Nova expedition after having been with him on the earlier Discovery mission seem to have been very loyal to himdoes not prove that he was a good leader.The British who served under him simply might not have known anything about how polar exploration was really supposed to be conducted.
I really appreciated Huntford's description of the technical matters that Amundsen excelled in such as his choice of skis, food, fuel containers, packing boxes, sledges, clothing and the such point the wayto the different outcomes for the two expeditions.Scott simply did not invest the effort in really trying to understand life in such a harsh environment, and couldnot cope with things like scurvey, the leakage of fuel fromtheir containers, designing packing boxes that could be opened without untying them from their sledges as did Amundsen, even simplifying methods for doing the complicated calculations for determining latitude so closeto the pole, again, as Amundsen did. Amundsen even thought of putting marker flags not just on the supply depots he made, but he also put marker flags several miles on each side of them in case visibility was poor and they were off course.Scott didn't do this and there were numerous panicked rushes wasting much time energy just to find them. These "little things" when added to the big policy issues such as whether to use motor sledges, dogs, ponies or simple, brutal man hauling determined what would be the outcomes of the two groups.Finally, there was the leadership qualities of the men.Scott came out of the Royal Navy which had a harsh system of imposing discipline and he used it on the people on his team, thinking of them as being "officers" or "lower deck"-types. Amundsen, although demanding loyalty from his men, did not lord his position over them and was willing to considertheir views, particuarly in difficult situations.
Of course, Amundsen made mistakes, and I believe Huntford tends to downplay the panicked return fromthe too-early start for the pole in early spring.Hadmen died there, Amundsen would have been considered a goat, but he narrowly got away with it, in spite of Hjalmar Johansen (whom he never wanted to bring along in the first place) exploding and questioning Amundsen's leadership abilities in front of the other men. However, Amundsen was able to neutralize Johansen's threat and he escaped any negative fallout from this potentially fatal mistake.
In the end, Amundsen was a victim of making his immense achievement look too easy, just like NASA did with the Moon landings some 60 years ago.Technical brilliance leading to safe journeys in dangerous environments apparently don't capture the imagination of the public and interest evaporates quickly.Many people prefer drama and close-calls or outright disaster instead. Huntford's book, in spite of its flaws, draws our attention to the real qualities of these men instead of the propaganda.

A Ripping Good Yarn
I saw a program on PBS about Amundsen and the Northwest Passage and decided I wanted to know more so I bought this book.Much has already been said and thus doesn't need repeating.If you hold to the hero status of Scott then you are apt to be severely disappointed.He does NOT fair well in the cold light of history.Amundsen comes across as someone who was at the peak of his game and was just better at this sort of thing.

One of the best books I've read in a LONG time.Well worth the time spent.

Read the notes at the end of the book!
There are simply too many errors in this book to state here.I can only suggest that the reader look at the notes at the end of the book.Huntford derives almost all of his negative comments from two or three people on Scott's expeditions.Why are so few of the comments collected from hundreds of men who loved and supported Scott.I'd hate to have my life judged before the world by the few people I've pissed off out of the many I've known.And just a note in passing---the Markham diary or jornal he keeps referring to?It's not a diary or journal; it is a collection of notes made by a very old Markham years after he encountered Scott on the street (prior to appointing Scott as leader on the first expedition).

Scott certainly made some serious judgement errors and prevaricated occassionally, but Huntford lies on almost every page of his book by omission and deception.

I have no complaints about his description of Amundsen; Amundsen was the better of the two explorers.In fact, Amundson was arguably the greatest of all polar explorers in the heroc age.Some of the best polar explorers appear almost amateurish by comparison.

The Last Place On Earth
For those who like to read history, this is very well researched. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Two Against the Ice",an inspirational work of art
This book is a true masterpiece; an adventure book which is as readable as it is fascinating. Whilst it tells of true-to-life danger on an ill-fated expedition to arctic Greenland its language is both unpretentious andhighly accurate, but it is not remotely dull.When reading this book onefeels a most desperate urge to not only go to Greenland but also to indulgein the sometimes reckless activities of Amundsen and Ellsworth.Unfortunately this is an adventure from a forgotten age, when icebreakerscould not sail to the north pole, helicopters did not patrol the NorthAtlantic and satelite-phones did not provide constant contact with the"real world". The book shows, beautifully, the danger of thisperilous situation without wallowing in the courage of its subjects,Amundsen and Ellsworth. For this reason I believe that it is a fantasticbook to be read and cherished. ... Read more