The Substance of a Journal during a Residence at the Red River Colony British North America: and Frequent Excursions among the North West American Indians….

West, John. Second Edition. London: L. B. Seele, 1827.
  • 1820-23 British Chaplain Residence at Red River Colony.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
 Preview 

West was “Late Chaplain to the Hon. The Hudson’s Bay Company” visiting various Forts of the HBC, but mainly serving as chaplain and missionary to the natives at the Red River Colony..

Race for the Pole.

Weems, John Edward. Preface by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. New York: Henry Holt, 1960.
  • 1891-1920 Robert Peary and the Search for the North Pole.
  • Arctic Reading: United States
 Preview 

Generally a whitewash of the Peary legend and legacy (mainly about the 1908-09 expedition) written as a homely narrative based according to Weems on thorough documentation. Although there is a decent bibliography one can’t find documentation for any given passage.

Strong Men South.

Menster, William J. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1949.
  • 1946-48 US Operation Highjump, Byrd’s Fourth Expedition to Little America (aboard USS Mount Olympus).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

A charming if a bit sanctimonious account of Operation Highjump by the chaplain of that 1947 expedition aboard USS Mount Olympus.

Sails over Ice.

Bartlett, Bob (Robert A.). New York: Scribner’s, 1934.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
 Preview 

Bartlett’s slightly whimsical account of his cruises aboard his schooner, the Effie M. Morrisey. Although Bartlett was a prodigious reader (see accounts of him on the Karluk), there is little indication of his reading here, perhaps because most of the adventures recounted here took place during summer in the Arctic when he worked with his student sailors.

The Tactless Philosopher: Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798).

Hoare, Michael E. Melbourne, Aus.: Hawthorn Press, 1976.
  • 1772-75 British Naval Expedition–Second Voyage (Captain James Cook aboard the Resolution).
  • “Discovery” of Antarctica.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

A straightforward biography of Forster, the Anglo-German naturalist who replaced Sir Joseph Banks on Cook’s Second Voyage (1772-75), along with his son George.

Battle for the Soul: Métis Children Encounter evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837.

Widder, Keith R. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1999.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
 Preview 

This deals mainly with a US phenomenon of attempted religious colonialism with relevance to Métis in Canada (Mackinaw Mission, 1823-37). It seems a good example of indoctrination requiring a degree of literacy devoid of independent thinking. An Anglo-Métis at Lake Leech in 1833 describes the house he built, with its old straw Hat, a violin with all its appendages; a small shelf upon which are the few books we possess…” etc. (p. 12). Unlike their Chippewa cousins, Métis children at times slept on beds off the ground, listened to their fathers read from books illuminated by candlelight, and danced to fiddle music. Under the same roof, they observed their fathers transact business with their Chippewa relatives and neighbors, who did not utilize amenities such as books and coffee mills…. Boys watched their fathers, some of whom were illiterate, keep records in ledgers of each transaction, often using symbols or pictures to identify each Chippewa customer’s account. Fathers recognized the advantage of written language as a tool to improve the operation of their businesses” (p. 13). Métis boys learned to speak French and/or English from their fathers and Chippewa from their mothers. Métis males could thus communicate with all members of the fur-trade society. Métis boys possessed skills that Chippewa youth did not. (p. 14).

That First Antarctic Winter: The Story of the Southern Cross Expedition of 1898-1900, as Told in the Diaries of Louis Charles Bernacchi

Bernacchi, Louis Charles. Written and Edited by Janet Crawford. Christchurch, NZ: South Latitude Research Limited, 1998.
  • 1898–1900 British Antarctic Expedition (Carsten Borchgrevink on Southern Cross).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

A rather heavily edited version of Bernacchi’s diaries together with passages from To the South Polar Regions, with connecting commentary of tedious nature, until the end. Most interesting are the feuds between Borchgrevink and Bernacchi, which are well-captured in the text. Not much reference to reading, books, etc., nor the supposedly decent library aboard ship. Here are a few references:

Conquering the Arctic Ice.

Mikkelsen, Ejnar. London: William Heinemann, 1909.
  • Arctic Reading: General
 Preview 

First edition, with folding map and illustrated throughout with photographs. Mikkelsen's 1906 Anglo-American expedition proved that there was no land north of Alaska. In addition to the scientific data gathered in the expedition, it was noteworthy in its contribution to understanding the Eskimo people. Mikkelsen was awarded a Patron's Medal from the Royal Geographic Society for exploration in the Arctic and for his work in Eskimo resettlement in Greenland.

The Zoology of Captain Beechey’s Voyage, Compiled from the Collections and Notes made by Captain Beechey….1825-28.

Beechey, William Frederick. (London: H. G. Bohn, 1839).
  • 1825-28 British Voyage to Pacific Northwest to Meet Captain Franklin at the Bering Straits.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
 Preview 

After three voyages as a subordinate officer Frederick Beechey was appointed commander of HMS Blossom in 1825 and assigned to the Bering Straits to await the arrival of John Franklin on his second overland expedition to the Mackenzie River Delta and on to the Alaska coast. Although Franklin never arrived (they missed each other by only 200 miles), Beechey and his men employed the time in scientific observation, especially of specimens of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, some from the South Seas but many from the Arctic waters of Kamchatka and Alaska.

The First Crossing of Spitzbergen, Being an Account of an Inland Journey of Exploration and Survey… and of an Almost Complete Circumnavigation of the Main Island…. With Contributions by J. W. Gregory, D.Sc. A. Trevor-Battye, and E. J. Garwood.

Conway, Sir William Martin. London: J. M Dent & Co.; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1897.
  • 1896 and 1897 British Exploring Expeditions Crossing Spitzbergen and its Interior (led by Sir William Martin Conway).
  • Arctic Reading: Europe including Scandinavia
 Preview 

p. 36-37, describing some passengers on this tour boat: There was a crow's-nest to be fitted up. All sorts of people came to say good-bye—consuls, agents, dealers, and relatives or acquaintances of passengers. The deck was crowded. Glasses clinked. Every one was in the way of every one else, but the sun shone brightly and all were gay. In the midst of the shindy, Gregory digested geological papers from various journals, cross-questioned any one that came handy about Spitsbergen birds or the Norwegian vocabulary, and went on piling up information generally. “You read always,” said the French gentleman to him. “Yes,” was the merry reply; “you see I am young and have a lot to learn.” Garwood was also busy. He started from England with some work on hand still requiring a preface. With this he had been labouring in the intervals of sea-sickness, negative developing, baggage overhauling, and the rest, at odd moments during the voyage. The hour appointed for sailing came, but the preface lingered. Furiously the author worked on amongst teacups and the debris of food. At last the work was done. A wild rush on shore, and the precious document was consigned to the post and all the printer's devils.

The Mystery of the Erik.

Green, Fitzhugh. New York: Appleton, 1923.
  • Arctic Reading: United States
 Preview 

An engaging juvenile fiction account of a mutiny aboard a Northwest Passage expeditionary ship, with a reasonable plot concerning an insurance claim for a sunken ship. Like many Arctic juvenile tales, this is a very good vehicle for instructing boys in almost all aspects of expeditionary life: sailing, sealing, natives, walrus, magnetism, you name it.

A Walk to the Pole

Mear, Roger. New York: Crown, 1987.
  • 1985-87 ‘Footsteps of Scott’ Expedition (Southern Quest).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

Private British expedition tracing Scott’s trip in 1985, with Roger Mear, Robert Charles Swan, and Graeme Phippen, who walked from Cape Evans to the Pole. Did they have a copy of Cherry-Garrard with them? They quote from it frequently. They spent several days at Scott’s hut at Cape Evans, though they apparently were afraid to sleep in it. Given their views of the Scott expedition that may not be surprising.

The Southwest Pacific since 1900: A Modern History.

Grattan, C. Harley. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1963.
  • Heroic Age 1901-1921.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

This survey of the history of Australia, New Zealand, The Islands, and Antarctica includes a substantial chapter on “The Heroic Age” (p. 561-91), a derivative but very serviceable summary. Unlike some others he ends the Heroic Age with the completion of Shackleton’s Endurance debacle in 1916 rather than with Shackleton’s death on South Georgia in 1922 during the Quest expedition. His summary of the age rings true: “Thus ended the Heroic Age in a wild burst of blazing ambition, disaster, valor, fortitude, squalor, squabbles, and tragedy” (p. 591).

Antarctica. By A. S. Helm and J. H. Miller. The Story of the New Zealand Party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Helm, A. S. Wellington, NZ: R.E. Owen, Government Printer, 1964.
  • 1955-58 TAE: Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Fuchs and Hillary).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

The official account of the New Zealand part of the Fuchs/Hillary expedition, the one based at Scott Base near McMurdo which in addition to its Trans-Antarctic work sponsored some sledge journey surveys of the Darwin Glacier and other areas.