Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814, or the First American Settlement of the Pacific.

Franchère, Gabriel. Translated and Edited by J. V. Huntington. New York: Redfield, 1854. [See also the Champlain Society Edition of 1969].
  • 1811-1814 US Voyage to Northwest Coast of America and America’s First American Settlement.
  • Arctic Reading: United States
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p. 5-7, in Preface to Second Edition: Without disparagement of Mr. Irving ’s literary fame, I may venture to say that I found in his work inaccuracies, misstatements (unintentional of course), and a want of chronological order, which struck forcibly one so familiar with the events themselves. I thought I could show or rather that my simple narration, of itself, plainly discovered that some of the young men embarked in that expedition (which founded our Pacific empire), did not merit the ridicule and contempt which Captain T horn attempted to

The Voyages of William Baffin, 1612-1622.

Baffin, William. Edited with Notes and an Introduction by Clements R. Markham. London: Hakluyt Society, 1881.
  • 1612-22 British Voyages of William Baffin.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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p. 150: Wherefore I cannot but much admire the worke of the Almightie, when I consider how vaine the best and chiefest hopes of men are in thinges vncertaine ; and to speake of no other then of the hopeful passage to the North-West. How many of the best sort of men haue set their whole endeauoures to prooue a passage that ways? not onely in conference, but also in writing and publishing to the world. Yea, what great summes of money haue been spent about that action, as your worship hath costly experience of. Neither would the vain-glorious Spaniard haue scattered abroad so many false maps and journals, if they had not beene confident of a passage this way; that if it had pleased God a passage had beene found, they might haue eclipsed the worthy prayse of the adventurers and true discouerers. And for my owne part I would hardly haue beleeued the contrary vntill my eyes became witnesse of what I desired not to haue found; still taking occasion of hope on euery likelihood, till such time as we had coasted almost all the circumference of this great bay.

Elephant Island and Beyond: The Life and Diaries of Thomas Orde Lees.

Orde Lees, Thomas. Edited by John Thomson. Bluntisham, Hunts., UK: Bluntisham Books, 2003.
  • 1914-16 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Shackleton on Endurance).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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A selection from the meticulous diaries of Orde Lees, who as chief of supplies and provisions was the least popular member of the Shackleton Endurance expedition, but nonetheless a fair, scrupulous, and fastidious store-master on the journey. Traces his aristocratic background and some of its effect on fellow crew members who could deride his chronic sea-sickness, or even accuse him of cowardice. Apart from his sometimes fawning attitude to Sir Ernest, it is a responsible piece of work.

“The Mirny Diary” 12 February 1958–7 February 1959

Rubin, Morton J. https://www.antarctican.org/s/MJRubin-Mirny_Diary-jspy.pdf.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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This detailed diary was contributed by Morton Rubin's brother Harry. He gives credit to Mr. and Mrs. Martin Sponholz for painstakingly deciphering and transcribing Morton's original hand-written manuscript. It is a fascinating glimpse of winterover life at an IGY Russian station.

In the Lena Delta: A Narrative of the Search for Lieut.-Commander DeLong and His Companions; Followed by an Account of the Greely Relief Expedition, and a Proposed Method of Reaching the North Pole.

Melville, George Wallace. Edited by Melville Philips. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1885.
  • 1879-81 US North Pole Expedition (commanded by George De Long aboard Jeannette).
  • Arctic Reading: United States
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This was the crucial expedition in finding the fate of DeLong and the Jeannette.

Tammarniitt (mistakes): Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939-63.

Tester, Frame James and Peter Kulchyski. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 1994.
  • Arctic Reading: Inuit and other indigenous people
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Examines government involvement in Northern Canada which led to relocation of Inuit from the east coast of Hudson's Bay to the high Arctic, the Henik Lake and Garry Lake famines, the establishment of Whale Cove in response to inland famines in the Keewatin, and the second wave of state expansion in the 1950's.

At the Mountains of Madness,

Lovecraft, H. P. in At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1964.
  • Whalemen's Reading
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First published in 1931, this phantasmagoric combination of science fiction and horror novel is located on the high plateau of Antarctic, reached by airplane, but discovering the world’s highest mountains and remains of an ancient ‘civilization’ come back to life and destructive of the expedition.

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.

Sir John Franklin and the Arctic Regions: With Detailed Notices of the Expeditions in Search of the Missing Vessels under Sir John Franklin. To Which is Added an Account of the American Expedition, under the Patronage of Henry Grinnell… .

Simmonds, Peter Lund. By John C. Lord. Buffalo, NY: Geo. H. Derby, 1852.
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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Simmonds’ book is one of a series of reports on the “Progress of Arctic Discovery” that appeared in England and elsewhere from the first thoughts of the North-West Passage until the McClintock discoveries of 1859. As a group they tend to be largely derivative from similar works in the genre, but consistently provide a measure of hope that Franklin and his men survived, or their graves would be discovered.

Scott of the Antarctic

Pound, Reginald. New York: Coward-McCann, 1967.
  • 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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4th plate following p. 148—men reading on deck of Terra Nova.

She Went a-Whaling: The Journal of Martha Smith Brewer Brown.

Brown, Martha Smith Brewer. Orient, NY: Oysterponds Historical Society, 1993.
  • Whalemen's Reading
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An example of a whaling captain’s wife going to sea with him. Whaling wives were usually known for their New England piety amidst the rough-hewn crews of 19th-century whaling ships. This is the diary of one of them, Martha Brown, who sailed from Orient, New York, aboard the Lucy Ann on August 31, 1847, on an eastward voyage round the world that eventually passed Cape Horn.

Antarctic Adventure: Scott’s Northern Party.

Priestley, Raymond E. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1914. [A new edition, with a New Foreword by Sir Vivian Fuchs, was published in London: C. Hurst & co., 1974.].
  • 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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The northern party under V. L. A. Campbell, was forced to winter in the Antarctic when the Terra Nova failed to pick them up. They survived despite being without winter clothing and they eventually crossed 230 miles of sea ice to Cape Evans. Spence 939. Conrad 186: This is gripping reading. The first edition is unfortunately rare, as many copies were destroyed during a fire. [ABEBOOKS]