The First Crossing of Greenland (Paperback)

~ Fridtjof Nansen (Author), Hubert Majendie Gepp (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From Norway Six men came out. Four Norwegians. Two were Lapps Together with the Norwegians They landed on our East Coast...They wandered over the Inland Ice Suffering great need Scarcely did they have enough food or change of clothes...At last they came over the ice. - Eskimo folklore

Product Description

Over the history of polar exploration towers one titanic father figure - Fridtjof Nansen. That a little known researcher in neurology from Bergen Museum was able to put together one of the first great journeys of exploration of our time is a tribute to the extraordinary force and magnetism of his personality. That he should show such extraordinary innovation in the use of sledges and skis, such attention to detail in areas such as diet and the make of sleeping bag is equally extraordinary. Although Nansen's success is overshadowed by the epic voyage of the Fram, his journey across Greenland in 1888 (eight attempts before him had failed) remains one of the most astonishing on record. Even the Eskimos were to regard his achievement in awe: '...now you will travel to the unknown world out there, you will possibly forget us among all the people, but we will never forget you.' On his return Nansen became a living legend - a third of the population of Oslo came out to greet him and he was awarded a sinecure for the rest of his life. His Greenland journey and the ensuring lecture tour inspired a surge in exploration across Europe. This, the first modern edition of The First Crossing of Greenland, removes the technical appendices, the historical sections on previous attempts to penetrate the ice field, and the detailed account of the Eskimos. The record of the incredible journey, however, remains intact.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Publishing Group (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841582166
• ISBN-13: 978-1841582160
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,055,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Skiing Across Greenland, December 28, 2007

By	E. S Winskill (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fridthof Nansen in this book did more to bring skiing to the larger world than any other individual. Until his Greenland crossing on skis, few outside of Norway, or Scandinavia at the most, had heard of skiing, although of course it had existed there for centuries. The early chapter of the book on skis and "skilobing" (skiing) is a marvelous account of the sport, and particularly of Sondre Norheim and the Telemarkers who revolutionized it as recreation.
Nansen writes the book in what can only be called a charming tone. He makes the crossing of the icecap seem easy, and indeed, most of the harrowing detail of the expedition relates to the efforts of the party after being dropped off at sea on the east coast of Greenland, through the ice floes with great difficulty, to an eventual landing and a hard climb up to the central ice plateau. There is also considerable detail given about the way of life of the Eskimo and Danish inhabitants of the Greenland west coast, where Nansen and his party overwintered after the crossing.
A classic of "cold exploration" and a lively style and good read after more than a century.