The Making of an Explorer: George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1916 (McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies, 38) (Volume 38) - Hardcover

Jenness, Stuart

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773527982 ISBN 13: 9780773527980

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004

Synopsis

The Making of an Explorer reveals how George Hubert Wilkins' experiences with the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-16 helped a little-known Australian photographer develop into the world-famous polar explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins. Making extensive use of Wilkins' Arctic diary and other sources, both archival and published, Stuart Jenness provides new information about Wilkins, explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the Canadian Arctic Expedition, and the early history of North America's Western Arctic.

Wilkins was originally seconded to Stefansson's Arctic Expedition for a year as its official photographer but circumstances forced him to stay in the Arctic for three years. He spent much of those extra two years in discussion with Stefansson, becoming his life-long friend. The Making of an Explorer describes Wilkins' successful expedition to Banks Island in 1914 in search of Stefansson and his subsequent relationship with Stefansson, his significant role and contribution as second-in-command of Stefansson's polar explorations over the next two years, his remarkable collection of films and photographs of the little-known Copper Eskimos in the Central Arctic, and his large but virtually unknown original collection of birds and mammals from Banks Island for the National Museum of Canada.

About this title

About the Author

Stuart E. Jenness spent his professional career as a geologist and scientific editor with the Geological Survey of Canada and later with the National Research Council of Canada. Since 1985 he has devoted his time to Arctic research and writing. He edited his father's Arctic diary, Arctic Odyssey: The Diary of Diamond Jenness, 1913-1916, and with his wife, Jean, co-authored Geotales: Stories about Earth Scientists.

From the Back Cover

In memory of Bruce G. Trigger

Series editors: John Borrows and Arthur J. Ray

The McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies series publishes books about Indigenous peoples in all parts of the northern world. It includes original scholarship on their histories, archaeology, laws, cultures, governance, and traditions. Works in the series also explore the history and geography of the North, where travel, the natural environment, and the relationship to land continue to shape life in particular and important ways. Its mandate is to advance understanding of the political, legal, and social relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, of the contemporary issues that Indigenous peoples face as a result of environmental and economic change, and of social justice, including the work of reconciliation in Canada. To provide a global perspective, the series welcomes books on regions and communities from across the Arctic and Subarctic circumpolar zones.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0773527982
• ISBN 13: 9780773527980
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432