Farthest North (Modern Library Exploration) [Abridged] [Paperback]

Fridjtof Nansen (Author), Roland Huntford (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library Exploration | Publication Date: August 17, 1999

Diaries of Nansen's lunatic three-year long expedition to the North Pole, which made him the John Krakauer of his age. In 1893 Fridtjof Nansen set sail for the North Pole in the Fram, a ship specially designed to be frozen into the polar ice cap, withstand its crushing pressures, and so drift North. Experts said that such a mission was tantamount to suicide. This is the stirring first-person account of this historic voyage. Nansen tells of his expedition's struggle against snowdrifts, ice floes, polar bears, scurvy, gnawing hunger, and the seemingly endless polar night that transformed the Fram into a "cold prison of loneliness." Setting out in the end on a harrowing fifteen-month sledge journey to reach his destination by foot, he was required them to share a sleeping bag of rotting reindeer fur and to feed the weaker sled dogs to the stronger ones. Given up for dead, he traveled 146 miles farther north than anyone else in the past four hundred years.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Modern Library has unearthed a classic. The long out-of-print Farthest North, one of the first titles in the library's Exploration series, recounts Dr. Fridtjof Nansen's epic 1893 pursuit of the North Pole. Like Jon Krakauer, the series' editor, Nansen was the chronicler of one his age's most sensational adventures. But he was also much more: statesman and explorer, scientist and sex symbol, Nansen's singular character and remarkable spirit demand attention and respect. It's hard to fathom how a story with such an alluring hero was forgotten in the first place.

The good doctor entered the limelight after his landmark first crossing of Greenland in 1888. Shortly after, he concocted a brilliant (or lunatic, depending on whom you asked) scheme to conquer the pole. He and a small crew would freeze a specially designed boat in the ice and drift with the Arctic current, which he believed would carry him from the coast of Siberia northwest to the pole. In mid-voyage, he realized that the current would not carry him far enough. Undaunted, he and a companion set out across the ice with a dogsled. Nansen was left for dead, but when he stumbled upon another exploration team more than a year later--having reached farther north than anyone before him--he returned to Norway an international sensation.

This book, the chronicle of that journey, was hurriedly written to capitalize on that sensation. Penned in only two months, it lacks literary polish, but Nansen's eye for detail and indomitable spirit shine through. Because he wrote while still thawing from his adventures, his story has an exciting immediacy, one that the passing of a century has done little to diminish. As a historical document, as an epic adventure, and as a revival of a worthy hero long forgotten, Farthest North is a tale well worth remembering. --Andrew Nieland

Review

"Nansen was the Chuck Yeager of polar exploration."
—The New York Times Book Review

In 1893 Fridtjof Nansen set sail for the North Pole in the Fram, a ship specially designed to be frozen into the polar ice cap, withstand its crush-ing pressures, and travel north with the sea's drift. Experts said that such a ship couldn't be built and that the mission was tantamount to suicide. Farthest North, first published in 1897 to great popular appeal, is the stirring first-person account of the Fram and her historic voyage. Nansen tells of his expedition's struggle against snowdrifts, ice floes, polar bears, scurvy, gnawing hunger, and the seemingly endless polar night that transformed the Fram into a "cold prison of loneliness." Once it became clear that the Fram could drift no farther, Nansen and crew member Hjalmar Johansen set out on a harrowing fifteen-month sledge journey to reach their destination by foot, which required them to share a sleeping bag of rotting reindeer fur and to feed the weaker sled dogs to the stronger ones. In the end, they traveled 146 miles farther north than any Westerner had gone before, representing the greatest single gain in polar exploration in four centuries. Farthest North is an unforgettable story that marks the beginning of the modern age of exploration and is a must-read for the armchair adventurer.

Born in Norway in 1861, Fridtjof Nansen was a renowned explorer, author, artist, athlete, oceanographer, and statesman. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He died, a national hero, in 1930.

Jon Krakauer is the author of Into Thin Air, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Into the Wild. His work has appeared in many magazines, including Outside, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. He chose the books in the Modern Library Exploration series for their literary merit and historical significance—-and because he found them such a pleasure to read.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; Abridged edition (August 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375754725
• ISBN-13: 978-0375754722
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Travel > Polar Regions > Arctic
  • #24 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Polar Regions

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nansen's Farthest North is a must read, January 8, 2000

By 

Thomas G. Chasteen "Red Head" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Farthest North (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

This review is in reference to the original two volume set of Nansen's "Farthest North" published in 1897. The Modern Library abridged edition is drawn from that set.

Nansen and 12 colleagues left Norway and sailed north in the Arctic Ocean above Siberia in 1893. Their purpose was to become frozen in the ice as it formed farther and farther south in the fall. Based on historical evidence from other attempts at far-north Arctic Ocean exploration, Nansen had decided that the flow of currents and winds in the Arctic Ocean were such that a frozen-in vessel that began above the Siberian Islands would drift northward with the ice across the North Pole over the next year or so. His goal therefore was to be the first to the North Pole. He planned for a expedition of as long as three years.

These Arctic explorers' ship was a specially designed vessel, the Fram. Her construction was such that when trapped in the frozen ice, which had extremely variable depths and especially pressures, the ship would rise up above the swelling pack ice and avoid being crushed. The success of the ship's design was absolutely spectacular. This should be compared to the fate of the Endurance, Shackleton's ship (described in his book "South"), which was trapped in the Antarctic ice and crushed, more that 17 years after Nansen's memoir was published.

Nansen's great success with sled dogs and sled designs published in the original memoir in 1897 adds credence to the relatively recent indictment (see Huntford) of the English Explorer Robert Scott who still disregarded the intense use of sled dogs in his 1910-12 Antarctic effort to reach the South Pole. Scott and four others basically die because of his ignorance/misunderstanding of the value of sled dogs, 15 years after Nansen details his successes with them on this expedition.

Fridtjof Nansen's writing style is clear, interesting, and very engaging. He was obviously a first-rate, experienced explorer (having crossed lower Greenland in 1888) and yet, at the same time, someone who recognized that there is something special going on around him. He documents-via journal entries-his daily observations and feelings about the physical conditions, the people, and even the sled dogs born during the adventure. There are records of supplies, food, ocean depths, temperatures, drift direction and distances, wind speed, ice thickness, bear attacks, a fantastic two-person trek by dog sled, and beautiful and sometimes emotional details of the aurora borealis. The original two volume set includes photographs and drawings made from photographs taken on the trip. Also a fine set of maps clearly showed the route of the expedition. Some of these must be included in the Modern Library's abridged version.

In comparison to the dry, guarded writing styles of Cherry-Garrard's "The Worst Journey in the World" or Shackleton's "South" this book is easier to read even though it too describes many terrifying situations and yet wonderful, hard-won successes. Nansen was just a better writer with more descriptive writing under his belt and possibly better initial plans for the book that would be produced from his experiences.

This book is a must for readers interested in polar exploration. Period.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reprint the original with color prints and engravings, April 17, 2000

By 

John M. Roberts (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Farthest North (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

I will only state briefly, that I have an abiding interest inarctic exploration and I find that this edition, while very useful,does not do justice to the 1897 original in that the many engravings and esp the color prints are missing. One must purchase a used book to get the whole flavor of the original.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Model for Future Space Expeditions, January 20, 2000

By 

Dr. Jack Stuster (Santa Barbara, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farthest North (Modern Library Exploration) (Paperback)

Modern exploration really began with Fridtjof Nansen and his Norwegian Polar Expedition. All who came after him benefited immensely from his experience. The primary characteristic that distinguished Nansen from most other explorers was that he approached all aspects of expedition planning with scientific precision. He started by reading accounts of previous expeditions in order to learn from the experiences of his predecessors. Nansen remarked in his diary that, to his surprise, most of the problems confronting him already had been addressed and, in many instances, solved by previous explorers: wear appropriate clothing, pay special attention to the food, select crew members who can get along, then keep them busy and entertained. In my book, Bold Endeavors: Lessons From Polar and Space Exploration, I suggest the Norwegian Polar Expedition as a model for modern space explorers. Nansen's systematic simulation, testing, and evaluation of every item of equipment and his meticulous attention to every detail and possible contingency set him apart from all previous and most subsequent explorers. But, most important, Nansen recognized that the physical and psychological well-being of his crew could make the difference between success and failure. Accordingly, he provided a well-designed habitat, insightful procedures, and exceptional leadership to a qualified and compatible crew. Roald Amundsen, the most successful of all explorers, wrote that, "The human factor is three quarters of any expedition." Before Amund-sen, Nansen knew that human factors were the critical components of any expedition; in Nansen's words, "It is the man that matters."