Ninth Circle: a Memoir of Life and Death in Antarctica, 1960-1962.

Behrendt, John C. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
  • 1958-62 Operation Deep Freeze.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Much more prosaic than his earlier book on Ellsworth Station, and much less evidence of reading than in that book. Most of what follows is from his diaries of the time and not his connective commentary:

The Journal of Rochfort Maguire, 1852-1854: Two Years at Point Barrow, Alaska, aboard HMS Plover in the Search for Sir John Franklin.

Maguire, Rochfort. Edited by John Bockstoce. (London: Hakluyt Society, 1988).
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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During the Franklin Search it appeared that Franklin’s ships might well have made it through the Northwest Passage and might be met at the western end of the Passage at Point Barrow or the Baring Strait. The Plover was given the ultimate but fruitless duty of looking for that possibility.

The Sketch Book.

Irving, Washington. Leipzig: Bernard Tauchnitz, 1843. Authorized Edition. [First published serially in 1819-20.].
  • Arctic Reading: General
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p. 12: This rambling propensity strengthened with my years. Books of voyages and travels became my passion, and in devouring their con-

Ice Pilot: Bob Bartlett.

Sarnoff, Paul. New York: Julian Messner, 1966.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
 Preview 

A juvenile audience intended here, but a good overview and a few things wrong.

Chances for Arctic Survival: Greely’s Expedition Revisited.

Wesławski, Jan Marcin, and Joanna Legeżyńska. Arctic 55 4 (Dec. 2002) 373-379.
  • 1881-84 International Physical Year US Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay (led by Adolphus Greely).
  • Arctic Reading: United States
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The caloric requirements of the expedition survivors could not have been met by their available resources exclusive of cannibalism.

In the Heart of the Arctics.

Senn, Nicholas. Chicago, W. B. Conkey, 1907.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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This rather charming account of a voyage with Peary to Greenland in 1905 aboard Erik. Senn was a Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago, and a veteran medic of the Spanish-American War.

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
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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).

Diary typescript 14th January 1916 to 4th Sept 1916.

[Author?]. SPRI M 1605/1/1. [in SPRI numbering, this comes before the earlier 1914 volume described above.].
  • 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Shackleton on Endurance).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Patience Camp. This diary covers period from Patience Camp to rescue at Elephant Island.

Peter Fidler’s Library: Philosophy and Science in Rupert’s Land.

Lindsay, Debra. Readings in Canadian Library History. Edited by Peter F. McNally. (Toronto: Canadian Library Association, 1986). p. 209-29.
  • Hudson's Bay Company.
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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p. 209: Peter Fidler, Hudson’s Bay Company servant [surveyor] 1788-1822, was one of the first owners and collectors of books in Rupert’s Land. His penchant for books was not an isolated case of individualism gone berserk, but his permanent acquisition of vast numbers of books was a unique occurrence in Rupert’s Land…. Fidler’s library eventually reached five hundred volumes, a massive collection for a man of modest means.

“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
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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.

Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer: An Old-Time Sailor of the Sea

Spears, John R. Stonington, CT: Stonington Historical Society, 1996 [First published 1922].
  • 1820-21 American Sealing Voyage to South Shetlands and Antarctic Peninsula aboard Hero and Express (commanded by George Pendleton with Nathaniel Palmer).
  • “Discovery” of Antarctica.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

This is a thoroughly hagiographic and somewhat jingoistic account of the American sealer and whaler many have considered the discoverer of the Antarctic continent. There is little about any extracurricular reading on Palmer’s voyage, but there is an emphasis on journals and log books, navigational manuals, and hydrographic charts.

The Blizzard. Newspaper of the Discovery

May 1902. SPRI MS 859. Illus.
  • 1901-04 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott aboard Discovery).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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Title page: Never mind The Blizzard I’m all right.

Deadly Winter: The Life of Sir John Franklin.

Beardsley, Martyn. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2002.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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A facile and not very original biography of Franklin, sloppily edited and proofread, but a decent enough overview.