Alone in Antarctica.

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Aston crossed Antarctica alone and unsupported in 59 days. Her book, hyped as a riveting adventure, is to my mind a rather tepid affair though describing an unusual and impressive accomplishment. She apparently took no books or print with her but jokes about her experience with modern audio practice.

Zebulon: Or, The Moral Claims of Seamen Stated and Enforced.

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A polemical tract about the neglect of the moral condition of seamen in evangelical work. The proposed solutions include development of safe Christian sailor’s homes in all major ports, banking and credit institutions so sailors will save rather than spend their money on drink and prostitutes, and provision of Bibles and literacy training for all.

The History of the British Navy: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time.

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Volume III: p. 48, on Parry’s wintering over in 1818: The reindeer had not long departed when the sun disappeared likewise… it was during this gloomy period that the resources of Parry’s genius showed themselves, in the numerous contrivances with which he beguiled the minds of his followers, and, by providing them with incessant and varied occupation, preserved their health both of mind and body. He set up a theatre, in which plays were acted once a fortnight; those who could read being fully employed in learning their parts, while those less accomplished found work to their mind in preparing the fittings of the theatre, or in cutting up old sails and bunting into petticoats to disguise their messages, as well might be done, under the appearance of Miss in her teens, or Lydia Languish. He skillfully availed himself also of the desire for instruction, which the example of those who could become actors and actresses excited in their comrades, to establish a reading-school; and conducted it so successfully that before the end of the winter there was not a man in either ship who could not read…. And last of all, though in that desolate and solitary region little could arise that could fairly be entitled news, he established a weekly newspaper, of which Captain Sabine became the editor, with the whole body of officers for contributors; and which, though it necessarily partook more of the character of a magazine than of that of a newspaper, fully answered its intended purpose of furnishing employment for the leisure hours of both writers and readers.

Travels through the Interior Parts of North-

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America, in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768. (London: Printed for the Author; And Sold by J. Walter, 1778).

Shores of the Polar Sea: A Narrative of the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6.

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p. 9: While our two ships steamed northward along the west shores of Greenland, the novel charm of constant daylight was felt by every one. We all had our own ideas of what Arctic summer would be like, but ideas drawn from books rarely remain unchanged when brought face to face with reality. Although the passage into perpetual day was of course gradual, yet it was quite rapid enough to upset all regular habits.

The Autobiography of a Seaman.

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This author is one very aristocratic sailor who had his troubles with the Royal Navy and the British government in the early nineteenth century. Suffice it to say that this is not a voice from the forecastle, but of petulant complaints concerning the “injustice and folly” of the government court (p. 493). There is nothing I could find in this book about polar reading, or any reading at all.

Voyages of a Modern Viking

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A very pleasant autobiography of someone who sailed with Amundsen on the Gjoa, the Fram, and the Maud, based on his diaries and presumably translated from Norwegian (though there is no indication).

Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, with a Sketch of Their Habits, Religion, Language and Other Peculiarities….

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Rink’s second volume of Eskimo Tales with his introductory sketch on their culture, based not on ornaments, weapons and other remains: But the time will certainly come when any relics of spiritual life brought down to us from pre- historic mankind, which may still be found in the folk lore of the more isolated and primitive nations, will be valued as highly as those material remains. In this respect the Eskimo may be considered among the most interesting, both as having been almost entirely cut off from other nations and very little influenced by foreign intercourse, and also as representing a kind of link between the aboriginals of the New and the Old World (p. vi). It is a fascinating collection of tales, with brief introductions noting the sources of the stories. Here are a few examples:

To the South Polar Regions: Expedition of 1898-1900.

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Hardly the most scintillating of Antarctic narratives, but fascinating for the way in which Bernacchi ignores the presence of Borchgrevink, referring to him only as the commander (almost never by name), never giving him any role in the expedition. See Janet Crawford’s edition above for a more candid account of the expedition. Bernacchi’s emphasis was always on science and much of this account is a description of what he and his colleagues found, indicating other avenues of exploration. There are many literary allusions and quotations, but little indication of what he read aboard ship or while wintering at Cape Adare.

The North Pole and Bradley Land.

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An exploration of the Cook-Peary controversy, with excerpts below based on his reading experience and that of others.

The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic expedition.

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A succinct and well-illustrated account of the epic voyage, though not without faults (e.g. she doesn’t have Cherry in Scott’s SP journey, there is no index, and citations are wholly inadequate). But she does use Hurley photographs to good effect.

The Great North Pole Fraud.

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An extended case against Peary based on suspicions of fraudulent Peary timings of his polar dash, on previous fabrications, on his probable incitement to the murder of Ross Marvin by the Inuit, all delivered in the guise of pure innocence in search of truth. Fascinating book if overwhelmingly ex parte. Never mentions Cook at all, although a few references imply his name. Crucial to the case is logbooks and observations, or often the lack of them.