The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 [Paperback]

Captain Roald Amundsen (Author), Roland Huntford (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2000

Roald Amundsen records his race to be the first man to reach the South Pole. Amundsen's expertise enabled him to succeed where his predecessors, and competitors, did not. His rival Captain Robert F. Scott not only failed to reach the Pole first, but--due to poor preparation and miscalculation--died with the rest of his party on their return trip. The South Pole remains one of the greatest and most important books on polar exploration.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This adventure harks back to the days when men were menAeven in mittens! Captain Amundsen was the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole, on December 14, 1911. His account was originally published as two volumes in 1913 and is here reproduced in a single package for the first time. Amundsen and his team endured frostbite, snow blindness, and other horrors, all of which are well chronicled here. The text is supported by many monochrome photos, maps, and charts. This also includes a new introduction by Amundsen's biographer Roland Huntford.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'Roald Amundsen planted the Norwegian flag on the South Pole on December 14, 1911: a full month before Robert Falcon Scott arrived on the same spot. Amundsen's The South Pole (Hurst) is less well-known than his rivals, 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 professional expedition; Amundsen's heroism is understated, but it is heroism nonetheless.' -Erica Wagner, The Times'Amundsen was the supreme exponent of Polar technique. He towered above his rivals; he brought an intellectual approach to exploration and stood, as he still stands, the antipole to the heroic delusion. [A...] The journey to the South Pole remains his masterpiece, the culmination of the classical age of Polar exploration and, perhaps, the greatest snow journey ever made.' -Roland Huntford, The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; 1st Cooper Square Press Ed edition (November 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815411278
• ISBN-13: 978-0815411277
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > History > Europe > Norway

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The South Pole - The Masters Tale, April 26, 2001

By 

Vincent Mortimer (Christchurch New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 (Paperback)

Recent years have seen a re-examination of the Golden Age of Antarctic Exploration. Roland Huntford in his excellent books "The Last Place on Earth" and "Shackleton" helped to debunk the myth of the glorious failure (Scott the Martyr) as an example to follow.

The greatest tale of this age was surrounded by no great tales of hardship, no honeyed or sanitised versions of the deed. In this book we hear in the words of the greatest exponent of the art of polar travel, the story of that rarest of plans - the perfectly executed coup.

For a coup it was. When Amundsen turned from the North Pole to the South after the question of "the great nail" had been settled by Cook & Peary, his decision was treated in many sectors (most notably an unbalanced and jingoistic British Press) as underhanded and double dealing. Amundens account of the reasoning behind it makes clear that any deceit was necessary to ensure no forestalling of his plans by others - not only Scott. To ensure the future of his extended plan (the drift across the Arctic which was eventually carried out in the "Maud") he knew the Press Barons would need an exclusive and juicy story. The South Pole would give him this currency.

The book is written in an honest and clean style - an extension of the Man and his nature. The hardships faced are almost disguised by the simple tale of their telling. To strike up an unknown glacier and forge his way over virgin ground on the way to the polar plateau and the Pole itself displays fortitude and grit we can only marvel at in todays world. But his description of the task is hidden behind a work-a-day narrative. To truly appreciate the splendour of the achievement is difficult in our modern era.

One cannot help but admire the total outcome of the plan. There are few tales in history and few great men who can truly say they accomplished exactly what they set out to do in the manner in which they planned. Those who can are Masters of their field. Amundsen is such a man - and master.

A feature of this book is the credit given by Amundsen to those who went with him. Where others claimed responsibility for the great deeds of their men, Amundsen retreats to the background and gives the credit to those who did the act. Natural humility is a trait of the Norwegian nature and Amundsen shows this in the writing of the book. There is no playing to the crowd but deeds are allowed to speak for themselves.

To appreciate the tale, read the book and marvel.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with the Indy Publishing edition., January 15, 2007

By 

weebil "weebil" (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Pole, The (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Norwegian Method, February 11, 2006

By 

D. S. Thurlow (Alaska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 (Paperback)

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 the Antarctic 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.