“There She Blows:” A Narrative of a Whaling Voyage, in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans.

Ely, Ben-Ezra Stiles. Edited…by Curtis Dahl. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1976).
  • Maritime Reading
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Originally published in 1849, this is Ben Ely's personal account of whaling off Madagascar aboard the bark Emigrant. This modern edition includes a biographical introduction and much additional information by Ely's great-grandson. Facsimile of original title page. ALBION, p. 202.

At Sea with the Scientifics: The Challenger Letters of Joseph Matkin.

Matkin, Joseph. Edited by Philip F. Rehbock. Honolulu, HA: University of Hawaii Press, 1992.
  • 1872-76 Challenger Expedition of Natural History (George Nares and Frank Thompson).
  • Global Circumnavigations and Cape Horn Transits.
  • Maritime Reading
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p. 17, Introduction: Books and newspapers were no doubt available in the ship’s library, which during a portion of the voyage was in the charge of Matkin’s immediate supervisor, the ship’s steward. In addition, a special collection of scientific and travel books was taken aboard explicitly for the expedition (see Appendix E), although these were probably reserved for the use of the scientific staff and may not have been readily available to Matkin. It is also possible that bulletin’s describing the ship’s ports of call were posted for the crew’s edification. Finally, Matkin himself on more than one occasion mentions visiting a library ashore.

Typescript of Orde Lees diary prepared by him for Shackleton.

Orde Lees, Thomas. SPRI MS 1605/5/1.
  • 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Shackleton on Endurance).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Apparently Lees edited his diary, eliminating the first person, as grist for Shackleton’s book on the expedition—refers to himself in third person (Lees is our mess man) and Shackleton as Sir Ernest. Always seems excessively deferential to Shackleton, particularly in this typescript which Lees prepared for Sir Ernest.

Under the Northern Lights, with Illustrations by G. R de Wilde.

MacGahan, Januarius A. (London: Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1876).
  • 1875-76 Private Expedition to Magnetic North Pole and North West Passage (Captain Allen Young aboard Pandora).
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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Narrative of Captain Allen Young's expedition in his yacht Pandora (later the Jeannette), 1875-76, into Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, and into Peel Sound. Also contains an account of Young's sledge trips during M'Clintock's Fox Expedition. The Voyage was privately organized, its object to sail to the magnetic pole by way of Lancaster Sound and from there negotiate the North West Passage. They reached Beechey Island where they found a number of relics left by earlier expeditions but were finally beset by ice in Franklin Strait. There were two other works written on this expedition, both by the commander, one was privately published and contained photographs. (ABEBooks description.)

Lines in the Ice: Exploring the Roof of the World.

Hatfield, Philip J. London: British Library, 2016.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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[What follows here is a review I wrote for the journal Historian, included here not as related to reading by polar explorers, but relevant to current reading about them. As far as I know this review was never published, due to some confusion between the US and UK book review editors of Historian.]

Labrador, The Country and the People.

Grenfell, Wilfred T., et al. New York: Macmillan, 1909.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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p. 175: The best educated people in the country at present are the Eskimo. Almost without exception they can read and write. Many can play musical instruments, share in part singing, and are well able to keep accounts, and know the value of thins. These accomplishments, entirely and solely due to the Moravian missionaries, have largely helped them to hold their own in trade, a faculty for want of which almost every aboriginal race is apt to suffer so severely.

Before the Heroes Came: Antarctica in the 1890s.

Baughman, T. H. Lincoln, NE: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1994.
  • Antarctic Reading: General
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A solid but rather dry account of exploration in Antarctica during the decade before Robert Falcon Scott’s first expedition aboard the Discovery, and centered on Carsten Borchgrevink, his first landing on the Antarctic Continent, and his 1898-1900 Southern Cross expedition. In his concluding chapter, “Lessons not Learned,” Baughman explicitly accuses Clements Markham and Scott of failing to learn the lessons from the previous decade, thus leading to their “heroic” failure. In particular Markham insisted on naval leadership by the wrong people, avoiding scientific expertise, bypassing William Speirs Bruce for Scott, etc.

Shackleton Discovery Diaries. Vol. 1 Dec. 1901-1902.

Shackleton, Ernest. SPRI Ms 1537/3/4/1 and 2.
  • 1901-04 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott aboard Discovery).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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p. 5, Thursday [Dec] 26th: One of the officers of the “Ringarooraa” sent me Swinburne’s “Songs before Sunrise” and two volumes of the Poems and Ballads, but I don’t think there will be much time to read these during the summer; during the long winter far away from the teeming life of the great world one may calmly criticize his rather erotic lines.

Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands.

Péron, François, continued by Louis de Freycinet. Second Edition 1824. Translated from the French by Christine Cornell. Introduction by Anthony J. Brown. [Two volumes, plus Atlas]. (Adelaide, Australia: Friends of the State Library of South Australia, 1824).
  • 1801-03 French Exploring Expedition to South Seas and Terra Australis (Captain Nicolas Baudin aboard Géographe).
  • Global Circumnavigations and Cape Horn Transits.
  • Maritime Reading
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To coin a phrase, this could be called a French semi-circumnavigation, from France and back via the Cape of Good Hope. Originally commanded by Nicolas Baudin who died during the expedition, he was replaced by Louis de Freycinet. Curiously Baudin is never mentioned by name in the book (illustrating Péron’s contempt) and his role was widely regarded by the men as a negative one. These volumes are less an official record of the voyage than Péron’s personal account of his naturalist studies framed by the places which they visited.

At Sea with the Scientifics: The Challenger Letters of Joseph Matkin.

Matkin, Joseph. Edited by Philip F. Rehbock. (Honolulu, HA: University of Hawaii Press, 1992).
  • Maritime Reading
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An unusual contribution to our reader’s list from below decks. Matkin was a seaman, though a fairly well-educated one, on the Challenger, and uncharacteristically for lower deck men kept a journal, the basis of these personal letters about the trip.

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