Antarctic Command

Ronne, Finne. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1961.
  • 1957-58 Operation Deep Freeze I. Ellesworth Station. (Finn Ronne).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Ronne’s self-justifying and self-pitying account of his disastrous command of the IGY expedition at Ellsworth Station in the Weddell Sea in 1956-58, mainly acknowledging the extreme tensions between military and civilian scientists.

Marooned: Being a Narrative of the Sufferings and Adventures of Captain Charles H. Barnard, Embracing an Account of the Seizure of his Vessel at the Falkland Islands, &c., 1812-1816.

Barnard, Charles H., Captain. Edited with an introduction by Bertha S. Dodge. Syracuse University Press, 1986 [1979].
  • 1812-16 Barnard Whaling Voyage (aboard Nanina).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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No doubt a most harrowing tale, marred only by the seeming innocence and trusting self-presentation of Barnard and his providential beliefs. The work includes excerpts from the log of Barzillai Pease (originals in Syracuse University Library), a co-partner in Barnard’s endeavor. Barnard’s ship, Nanina, was taken over by mutineers, he himself was abandoned by other shipmates, rescued by the Isabella which in turn was shipwrecked, abandoned again, and among other perils, his ship eventually was declared war bounty by the British during the War of 1812.

The Last Voyage of the Karluk: Flagship of Vilhjalmar Stefansson’s Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-16.

Bartlett, Bob (Robert A.). As Related by her Captain, Robert A. Bartlett, and here set down by Ralph T. Hale. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1916. [A new edition with Introduction by Edward A. Leslie was published in New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001.].
  • 1913-16 Canadian Arctic Expedition (Led by Stefansson with Captain Bob Bartlett commanding the Karluk).
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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The last voyage was in 1913 which found the ship trapped off Flaxman Island and finally sinking off Wrangell Island.

A Naturalist at the Poles: The Life, Work & Voyages of Dr. W. S. Bruce the Polar Explorer.

Brown, R. H. Rudmose. London: Seeley, Service, 1923. [Five early chapters by W. G. Burn Murdoch].
  • Heroic Age 1901-1921.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Rudmose Brown, as he is often called, participated in only one Antarctic expedition, the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition organized by William Spires Bruce. But his influence in polar studies was extensive through his academic career, his high status in the geographical community, and his exceptional writing ability of which this book is a prime example.

“Arctic Explorers at Work and Play, 1824-1854: Six Rare broadsides recently acquired for the rare book Collection”

Hoag, Elaine. National Library of Canada Bulletin 34 (Jan-Feb 2002) –7 pages from the web.
  • Arctic Reading: General
 Preview 

p. 3, Parry’s Hecla while wintering in the Arctic in December 1824: It was Parry who had recognized that the Arctic expeditions of his predecessors had often been jeopardized, not by the dangers of the journey itself, but by the long inactive winter layover, with its monotonous diet, unvaried company, restricted physical activity, lack of light and warmth, and simple boredom. In response, Parry instituted a highly successful wintering regime that included shipboard theatricals, concerts and masquerades among its many elements. Broadside advertisements were a natural adjunct to these activities.

Forty Years for Labrador.

Grenfell, Wilfred, Sir. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Riverside Press, 1932.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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A revised and mostly rewritten version of his earlier A Labrador Doctor,the autobiography of a medical missionary in Labrador.

A Voyage Round the World with Captain James Cook in H.M.S. Resolution / by Anders Sparrman; Introduction and Notes by Owen Rutter; Wood-engravings by Peter Barker-Mill.

Sparrman, Anders. (London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1944).
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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A Swedish botanist who was taken on board Cook’s second voyage at Cape Town when he had met the Forsters. Sparrman had studied under Linneaus, who had recommended him for a South African botany project. He joined the Resolution reluctantly and suffered/or helped cause the usual hostilities between officers and scientists, what he calls the “contempt of ignorance.”

Journal of a Voyage Around the World: A Year on the Ship Helena(1841-1842).

King, Thomas Worthington. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2003.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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Although not strictly Antarctic bound or a circumnavigation, this voyage did round Cape Horn and reached almost 59 degrees south. King was a recent Harvard graduate when he took this voyage from New York to Canton, and after brief work there he continued on another ship back to New York. He was a fast reader and regular in his comments about reading. What follows is taken verbatim from the journal of his voyage.

Review of J. M. Barrie’s Half-Hours,London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914, and The Voyages of Captain Scott, by Charles Turley, London: Smith Elder, 1914.

London Evening Standard, Nov. 12, 1914.
  • Antarctic Reading: General
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Anonymous review of an early piece of Scott hagiography: The other book is a memorial of one of the most gallant Englishmen who ever went forth on a high adventure and snatched lasting victory out of failure and death…. Mr. Turley has retold, in Captain Scott’s own words as far as possible, the two great stories, putting them into so convenient a form that no boy or man can be repelled by the presence of detail, scientific or otherwise, inessential to the greatness of the tale.

Ice.

Jones, Tristan. Kansas City, KS: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1978.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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Narrative of the author's attempt to sail singlehandedly as close as possible to the North Pole.

Life in a Man-of-War, or Scenes in “Old Ironsides” during her Cruise in the Pacific

Mercier, Henry James. By a Fore-top-man. Philadelphia, PA: Lydia R. Bailey, 1841. [Published anonymously in 1841. Another edition published in New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1927.].
  • Maritime Reading
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p. 3, Preface: CRITICS avaunt! curl not your lips with scorn, Do let my humble Sketches pass scot-free— you will find them but the uncouth "YARNS" Of an unlettered wanderer on the sea.

Typed transcript of Endurance journal, 1914-15 and 1915-16.

Macklin, Alexander Hepburn. SPRI MS 1589. In two volumes, second vol. starting on Oct 15th, 1915.
  • 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Shackleton on Endurance).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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p. 7, Nov 3, 1915 Wedn, after smashup: At the ship I entered Clark’s cabin which is just above water and got some books for him.

A Year in Space: A Lifetime of Discovery.

Kelly, Scott and Margaret Lazarus Dean. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. Review by Jaroslav Kalfar in New York Times Book Review(Dec. 10, 2017) p. 29.
  • Arctic Reading: General
 Preview 

After comparison to Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff as an influence on the author: Another noted inspiration is the book after which Kelly named his own, and which he carries with him on multiple voyages to the International Space Station: “Endurance,” by Alfred Lansing, about Ernest Shackleton’s historic expedition to the South Pole, during which his crew cheated death after their ship became trapped in a polar pack ice, overcoming 850 miles of heavy seas on small lifeboats [not true] … Lansing’s account is a stark reminder that along with the rock-star image of the explorer comes the omnipresent specter of death. …