Bursey participated in three Byrd-related expeditions in 1928-1930; 1931-41; and 1955-57. He grew up in northern Newfoundland and claims to have read everything he could find on Antarctica while a youth and went on to be an apparently successful dog handler in all three expeditions. His book is a paean to the continent and its sheer magnetism to the smitten, and he expresses its pull chiefly through cliché. If he read more about Antarctica or anything else you won’t find out from this book. He does refer to the fine libraries in the first and third expeditions, but mainly he describes parts of the end of the world where no man has ever tread before, and similar bromides.
Antarctic Night
Bursey, Jack. New York: Rand McNally, 1957.
- 1928-56 Expeditions of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
Preview
Little America: Town at the End of the World
Carter, Paul Allen. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.
- 1928-56 Expeditions of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
Preview
Carter’s is a fairly well-written although wholly derivative account of the various bases known as Little America, including a solid chapter on the first winterover experience.
Rear Admiral Byrd and the Polar expeditions, with an Account of His Life and Achievements….
Foster, Coram. New York: A. L. Burt [1930].
- 1928-56 Expeditions of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
Preview
p. 140 says $1000 was spent on books for Little America.
Explorer: The Life of Richard A. Byrd.
Rose, Lisle A. Columbia, Mo: University of Missouri Press, 2008.
- 1928-56 Expeditions of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd.
- Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
Preview
This is an appreciative but critical biography of a man who, despite notable achievements, comes across as an egomaniacal, depressive, ambitious, narcissistic, vindictive, white supremacist, a sometimes petty man, yet one who could be generous, brave, physically courageous. He is almost a model of the lonely depressive hero.