A Fabulous Kingdom: The Exploration of the Arctic - Hardcover

Officer, Charles; Page, Jake

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195123824 ISBN 13: 9780195123821

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Inconstant and forbidding, the arctic lured misguided voyagers into the cold for centuries--pushing them beyond the limits of their knowledge, technology, and stamina. A Fabulous Kingdom: Tales of the Arctic charts these quests and the eventual race for the North Pole in unprecedented detail, chronicling the lives and misconceptions that would eventually throw light on this "magical realm" of sunless winters.
Setting the scene with an explanation of the arctic region's geography, geology, and climate, the authors present the physical and ideological barriers that faced early sailors traveling into the uncharted arctic realm. They then follow the explorers and the evolution of the arctic mission, from the early journeys of Viking Ottar, who rounded the North Cape ca. 870, to northern European expeditions in search of a Northwest or Northeast passage to the riches of sixteenth century Asia. The progressive exploits and findings of Martin Frobisher, John Davis, Henry Hudson, and William Edward Parry fueled the public's fascination with this new world of ice. Yet with the ill-fated voyage of Sir John Franklin, nations abandoned their belief in the arctic as the way to wealth. Henceforth, it would be private funding and personal motives that would lead English, Scandinavian, and American men with a redefined purpose: to reach the North Pole.
With a fascinating account of nineteenth and twentieth century exploration and the longstanding myth of an open polar sea, the authors reconsider the achievements of the conventional arctic pioneers--Frederick Cook, Robert Peary, and Richard Bird. Moreover, they consider the consequences and rewards of human ambition and our perilous desire to conquer the unknown.

About this title

About the Author

Charles Officer received his Ph.D from Columbia University and is a Research Professor in the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. He is the author of several books, including Tales of the Earth: Paroxysms and Perturbations of the Blue Planet (along with Jake Page, OUP).
Jake Page is a freelance science writer, essayist and novelist, who has written for Smithsonian, National Geographic, Reader's Digest, and many other magazines. He is the author of several books, including A Certain Malice.

Reviews

The forbidding Arctic has long been a subject of fascination to explorers, both actual and armchair, and to writers documenting its exploration. Unfortunately, Officer, an engineering professor at Dartmouth, and Page, a science writer (co-authors of Tales of the Earth: Paroxysms and Perturbations of the Blue Planet), don't add much to the subject by way of excitement. They do, however, provide ample, well-researched detail as they examine the Arctic and chronicle the explorations of a number of 19th- and 20th-century expeditions to the region. The opening chapter provides a good starting point with an in-depth look at Arctic weather and its impact on explorers. The sun, for instance, cannot be used to measure time, because its relative elevation to the land doesn't change. Subsequent chapters discuss numerous specific expeditions, including those of Robert Peary, William Edward Parry and Martin Frobisher. The various groups faced similar hurdles on their treacherous journeys and shared an astonishing bravery and resilience in the face of danger, illness and death. But despite deaths by scurvy, chance meetings on the ice and the almost unnatural allure of the Arctic for these explorers, the book becomes tedious. One expedition melds into another, and explicit details regarding the routes and daily routines accumulate in the authors' unimaginative writing. These minutiae will be important to scholars, but the book will be more redundant than enjoyable for the lay reader, despite its extraordinary subject. Illus. and photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The chances of most readers getting anywhere near the North Pole are slim to none. And even though this feat is accomplished on a regular basis by rich adventurers who fly to the top of the world and have their picture taken while standing in the area where all the time zones of the world converge, it is still something of a challenge to battle the elements. That's why this book is of such interest to the average reader. Officer (engineering, Darthmouth) and freelance science writer Page use humor and suspense to tell the story of the various attempts to explore the Arctic and the stories of other men who defied the cold, the winds, and the lonely expanses to explore this inhospitable land. There is a good deal of scientific fact mingled with the human history, as well as some interesting bits of trivia. The authors have done an admirable job in chronicling these fascinating stories without turning the book into a dry tome. This winning fusion of adventure, suspense, and history is recommended for all public libraries. Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc P.L., CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195123824
• ISBN 13: 9780195123821
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240