The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin: A Personal Memoir

Kane, Elisha Kent. New York: Harper, 1854.
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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Kane was surgeon aboard the Advance, under the command of Edwin De Haven. The search did find the three graves at Beechey Island, but DeHaven felt the voyage to be ineffectual. Kane went on to command the second Grinnell expedition in 1853.

A Voyage to the South Sea, Undertaken by Command of His Majesty, for the Purpose of Conveying the Bread-Fruit Tree to the West Indies, in His Majesty’s Ship The Bounty, Commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh….

Bligh, William. London: Printed for George Nicol, 1792.
  • Maritime Reading
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p. 156, in the course of the mutiny: The boatswain and seamen, who were to go in the boat, were allowed to collect twine, canvas, lines, sails, cordage, an eight and twenty gallon cask of water, and Mr. Samuel got 150 lbs. of bread, with a small quantity of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass; but he was forbidden, on pain of death, to touch either map, ephemeris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, time-keeper, or any of my surveys or drawings.

Master Mariner: Capt. James Cook and the Peoples of the Pacific.

Connor, Daniel and Lorraine Miller. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1978.
  • 1768–79 British Naval Expeditions of Captain James Cook.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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p. 51: On all three voyages, Cook carried with him the Earl of Morton’s Hints offered to the consideration of Captain Cook…on what to make note of when encountering new nations. Religion, morals, order, government, distinctions of power, police and tokens for commerce were prominent subjects for inquiry. [Footnote on p. 162 identifies this as: Douglas, James, 14th Earl of Morton. Hints Offered to the Consideration of Captain Cooke, Mr Banke, Doctor Solander and the other Gentlemen who go upon the Expedition on Board the Endeavour. Manuscript. Commonwealth National Library, Canberra, dated Chiswick Wednesday 10th August 1768.]

Children of the Light: The Rise and Fall of New Bedford Whaling and the Death of the Arctic Fleet

Allen, Everett S. Boston: Little, Brown, 1973.
  • Whalemen's Reading
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A somewhat elegiac tale of the decline of whaling and New Bedford, contrasted with descriptions of the life of the Inuit, before and after the coming of the whalers to the Beaufort Sea area. Main focus at the end is on the disastrous season at Pt. Barrow of the whaling fleet which abandoned over 25 ships, but managed to rescue over 1200 whalemen.

A Voyage in the South Seas, in the Years 1812, 1813, and 1814. With Particular Details of the Gallipagos and Washington Islands.

Porter, David. London: Richard Phillips& Co., 1823.
  • 1812-1814 American Naval Cruise to the Pacific commanded by David Porter (aboard frigate Essex).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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A one-volume edition of the following year seems to cover the same voyage as the 1822, but it is hard to discover that through the Hathi indexing. It might be worth comparing them for any changes or omissions.

Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic Word, 1700-1920.

Creighton, Margaret and Lisa Norling, editors. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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A fine collection of essays by some well-known scholars on relations of women to sailors, primarily but not exclusively in the American industry. The work focuses on the role of women in shipping, far beyond their role as figureheads of the “wooden” title. Much of their work was in pants roles, transvestites wearing men’s clothing to assure their work. There is little I found about their reading as pirates, cabin boys, cooks, etc., but most of the essays are fascinating on the gender issues.

The Hedstroms and the Bethel Ship Saga: Methodist Influence on Swedish Religious Life.

Whyman, Henry C. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 1992.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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The Bethel ships were intended as floating chapels for seamen and also immigrants. They were evangelical, teetotal, sabbatarian, and predominantly Swedish Lutheran turned Methodists. The period was 1840s to 1860s at least, and followed a Swedish movement called theläsare, a reading fellowship of like-minded Christians. Both of the NY ships were named John Wesley, and the movement here was led by Olof Hedstrom. There is little here about the use of Bethel ships elsewhere, even at sea, but it is an interesting introduction to the phenomenon.

The Cruise of the Cachalot.

Bullen, Frank (Franklin) Thomas. Foreword by Curtis Dahl. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1947.
  • Whalemen's Reading
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This fictional description of the whaling life, written in the later 19th-century, should rank with Melville but devoid of Melville’s allegorical meanings. It is arguably a work of fiction by a fairly prolific novelist, though that is not certain. Although Cachalot was a maritime pseudonym, the work seems to be an accurate account of the trials and occasional pleasures of whaling. It was published in 1898, probably 25 years after his whaling journeys. Scattered references do show his fairly wide reading, but these likely did not stem from his youthful shipboard reading.

I Am Just Going Outside: Captain Oates—Antarctic Tragedy.

Smith, Michael. Staplehurst, Kent, UK: Spellmount [2002].
  • 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Interesting if not well-written biography of Titus Oates, emphasizing his patrician background, his dyslexia and reading and examination problems, his love for horses, and his distaste for Scott. The Oates family gave no cooperation to the book, presumably because it ends with “A second tragedy”, the story of an illegitimate daughter about whom Oates knew nothing. He clearly didn’t do a lot of reading but he had Napier’s History of the Peninsular War and was an admirer of Napoleon (see p. 102 and 245) and had his portrait at Cape Evans.

The Great Frozen Sea: A Personal Narrative of the Voyage of the “Alert” During the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6.

Markham, Albert Hastings. (London: Dalby Isbister, 1878).
  • 1875-76 British Naval Expedition in Search of North Pole (Captain George Nares aboard Alert and Discovery).
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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Captain Markham was the cousin of Clements Markham and this is his account of the Nares voyage and the ship he commanded. He seems to have a commander’s confidence that all is well and must be well on his ship, and shaping the evidence accordingly. Even an unsuccessful and fatal sledge journey becomes a matter of pride and pleasure (p. 289).

The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet: Honoring 100 Years of Global Partnerships and Security.

Crawford, Michael J. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 2008.
  • 1907-09 US Circumnavigation by the Great White Fleet.
  • Arctic Reading: United States
 Preview 

Wonderfully illustrated volume, with the sixteen white battleships with gold trimmed bows, shown in formation. Not much about conditions aboard ship or amusements for the crew. Here is an example of the patriotic intent of the trip: