Lost in the Arctic: Explorations on the Edge (Adrenaline Classics) [Paperback]

Lawrence Millman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2002 | Series: Adrenaline Classics

Lawrence Millman writes stylish, often wildly amusing tales of remote places and offbeat characters (from the South Pacific islands of Yap to eccentric author and explorer Hassoldt Davis, a literary man-of-action whose many brushes with death including being paralyzed by an African sorcerer). He specializes in unsolved mysteries (what really happened to the great explorer Henry Hudson after his men mutinied and cast him off in an open boat?) and odd myths. And he is not immune to misadventures of his own, often landing in extremely uncomfortable or dangerous situations in his pursuit of new—and sometimes very, very old—places, cultures, and experiences. From the experience of being marooned on an uncharted island in the Arctic to an encounter with Kodiak bears in Alaska, this collection features 17 new pieces—punctuated by a scattering of Millman’s best work from more than two decades. Readers will meet Icelandic revolutionaries, visit museum exhibits of penis pins, and unearth the remains of frozen explorers—whose fate Millman has so far managed to avoid—and will quickly come to understand why this writer’s work has evoked favorable comparisons with the likes of Redmond O’Hanlon and Bruce Chatwin. “Millman’s a genius.”—Annie Dillard “He is that rare traveler—a person with guts and a sense of humor. He is also a wonderful writer.”—Paul Theroux

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This collection of 30 adventure essays by celebrated Arctic enthusiast Millman features 17 new pieces along with those that have appeared elsewhere: in his previous books (Last Places; Northern Latitudes; An Evening Among Headhunters), magazines (Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, Islands) and as introductions to other works. Brought together in this way, these varied pieces reveal that Millman specializes in unsolved mysteries, odd myths, and extremely dangerous situations, and the stories he recounts are always highly amusing and unpredictable: he encounters Kodiak bears in Alaska, fortune-tellers on Yap, and leeches on Sarawak, to name just a few incidents. In the strongest pieces he pays homage to other explorers and adventurers, such as Henry Hudson, George Street, Harry Radford, Hassoldt Davis, John Cowper Powys, and Maurice Wilson. The fiction pieces interspersed among the travel narratives are somewhat weaker and not as well written as the nonfiction, a genre in which Millman clearly has few equals. Recommended for all public and large academic libraries.
Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Again and again, Millman extends a generous invitation for the reader to experience schadenfreude at his expense." -- Rand Richards Cooper, The New York Times, December 8, 2002

"He has a gonzo intrepidness ... Millman is rightfully beloved by travel writers." -- Sally Gragin, Boston Globe, December 8, 2002

"Millman is a modern-day Rousseau." -- Charles Wilson, The Washington Post Book World, February 9-15, 2003

"Wild, offbeat adventure ... with viscera and wit. For the armchair explorer, this is a ticket to the bizarre and quirky." -- Morning News, December 1, 2002

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press; First Edition edition (September 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560254114
• ISBN-13: 978-1560254119
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hardly the Arctic, August 10, 2007

By 

Robert R. Briggs "robroyb" (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lost in the Arctic: Explorations on the Edge (Adrenaline Classics) (Paperback)

I love reading Millman for his wild and crazy travels and descriptions. I picked up this book, thinking it would be about Arctic travel but it turns out to be a hodge podge of stories all over the world. (The island of Yap is a bit far from the Arctic) Additionally, he includes accounts from his other books, which caused me to skip over rather than re-read them again. Millman, nonetheless, has a way of telling a travel story like no other. How he meets these strange characters and finds these out-of-the-way places is what makes these accounts so engaging. This is not your typical travel book, so beware! But.if you want, funny, weird, off the wall writing, give it a try. I rate it only three stars because he mislead me on the title and also because of the repeat stories.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars arctic journeys and jaunts, March 13, 2004

By 

Robert L. France (cambridge, ma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost in the Arctic: Explorations on the Edge (Adrenaline Classics) (Paperback)

This work, like all those by Millman, combines a keen eye and deft pen for describing the manifold wonders of the landscape at the top of the continent. What makes Millman's work so different and much more interesting than similar efforts by others in this vein, is his irreverant sense of humour and appreciation of the Absurd in much of what he sees and experiences. Simply put, this book is a joy to become immersed in. And it is for this reason that I am grateful that Millman agreed to write one of the front-end blurbs for my recently published book (by Green Frigate Books) entitled Deep Immersion: The Experience of Water.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Short Stories, May 29, 2009

By 

Lawrence E. Emmons Sr. (Massena NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lost in the Arctic: Explorations on the Edge (Adrenaline Classics) (Paperback)

This is a great book of short adventure stories. The stories are just the right length for a busy schedule. Just enough detail to keep it interesting.