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One hundred years have passed since Robert Falcon Scott's beleagured expeditionary team arrived at the South Pole, only to find that they had been beaten by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. The most feted explorer of his generation, Amundsen counted the discovery of the Northwest Passage, in 1905, as well as the North Pole amongst his greatest achievements. In the golden age of polar exploration Amundsen, whose revolutionary approach to technology transcends polar and nautical significance, was a titan among men. However, until now, his story has rarely featured as more than a footnote to Scott's tragic failure. Reviled for defeating Scott but worshipped by his men, Amundsen was pursued by women and creditors throughout his life before disappearing on a rescue mission for the Italian Fascist who had set off in an airship to claim the North Pole for Mussolini. The Last Viking is the life of a visionary and a showman, who brought the era of Shackleton to an end, put the newly independent Norway on the map and was the twentieth century's brightest trailblazing explorer. Against the backdrop of the race to conquer the most inhospitable corners of the earth, The Last Viking stands alongside The Worst Journey in the World for its grim immediacy of heroism and hardship. Bestriding the generation defined by adventure and the unquenchable desire for discovery, it is the mesmerising story of courage, misery, friendship and the ultimate price paid for immortality.… (més)
Bown's biography of the great polar explorer is the perfect antidote to a winter's day. Reading of Amundsen's travails, I guarantee you will automatically feel warm by comparison.
As Bown points out, children in Anglophone countries were educated to admire Scott's tragic failure ahead of the man who actually achieved the goal of reaching the South Pole. Amundsen's achievements were relegated to footnote status, and this book has done a lot to rectify that and give this great man due credit.
Bown's book is no hagiography though, and he is adept at identifying the character flaws and mis-steps that in some ways blighted Amundsen's career and reputation. Despite his global fame, he never reached a point of financial security or domestic harmony, and he burnt most of his bridges with the people and organisations that would have supported him. These outcomes were due to a certain level of naivety outside of his own sphere of expertise, and also a function of his uncompromising attitude towards achieving his goals. Of course this latter characteristic was a key contributor to his success, but it may have also contained the seeds of his downfall.
The book provides detailed accounts of Amundsen's major expeditions, and brings both the hardships and the characters involved to life. Strangely, what should be a dramatic highlight of the book - the final attainment of the South Pole - is dealt with in a perfunctory and downbeat manner that was quite puzzling. On the whole though, this was a gripping story that added greatly to my understanding of a man poorly treated by history. ( )
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And yet even today we hear people ask in surprise: What is the use of these voyages of exploration? What good do they do us? Little brains, I always answer to myself, have only room for thoughts of bread and butter. - Roald Amundsen, The South Pole
In spite of the long time I had spent in the Arctic I was always longing to go back again. Kipling says that the man who hears the East a-calling never hears anything else, but the Arctic and the ice call just as strongly to some people. - Helmer Hanssen, Voyages of a Modern Viking
No man more the exploer is tempted to adopt the doctrine of the ends justifying the means. An explorer soon discovers that the world is full of busybodies righteously ready to save him, as they probably think, from himself. The only way to deal with such people is to agree to their terms and then go ahead as one pleases. There are enough legitimate discouragements in the world without submitting to the artificial ones. - Lincoln Ellsworth, Beyond Horizons
Dedicatòria
Primeres paraules
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On June 16, 1903, the single-masted fishing smack Gjoa was moored to the pier on Christiania Fjord.
Citacions
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I tried to work up a little poetry—the ever-restless spirit of man, the mysterious, awe-inspiring wilderness of ice—but it was no good; I suppose it was too early in the morning. (start of chapter 1)
Snow and wind are forgotten, and one could not be happier in a royal palace... These excursions are wonderful, and I hope to have frequent opportunities for more. (start of chapter 2)
I have many bright and pleasant memories of those days, of men who encouraged me and gave me all the support they could. I have also other memories—of those who thought they...had a right to criticise and condemn whatever others undertook or proposed to undertake. (start of chapter 3)
The voyage of the Gjoa was far more like a holiday trip of comrades than the prelude to a serious struggle lasting years. (start of chapter 4)
They waved long to us—probably a farewell for life; and if some traveller, many years later, pays this place a visit, the numerous tent-rings will remind him of the many happy days the Gjoa expedition spent here with their friends the Netsilik Eskimos. (start of chapter 5)
You cannot pick up a bag and start for the North Pole as you would go to Philadelphia. . . . It will take all of two years to get ready. . . . [T]he food has to be especially carefully prepared, otherwise the men get scurvy, and it is no use to be an explorer unless you live to come back. (Start of chapter 6)
Only one challenge remains in the Polar Regions that can be guaranteed to awaken the public's interest, and that is to reach the South Pole. I knew that if I could do this, the funds for my planned expedition would be assured. (start of chapter 7)
If one is tired and slack, it may easily happen that one puts off for tomorrow what ought to be done today; especially when it is bitter and cold . . . and that plays a not unimportant role on a long journey. (start of chapter 8)
Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck, we call it. Defeat is definitely due for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions—bad luck, we call it. (start of chapter 9)
Good morning, my dear Lindstrøm. Have you any coffee for us? (start of chapter 10)
The secret to my success has been due to self-control and willpower. Control yourselves, be your own masters, and at the same time develop determination. If you undertake anything, determine to accomplish your purpose and let no obstacle no matter what turn you back. (start of chapter 11)
A glorious moon made the whole landscape glisten with a vivid whiteness. In several places we could see polar bears moving about on the ice. Added to the moonlight was a brilliant display of the aurora. (start to chapter 12)
I had never had any opportunity to acquaint myself with business methods. I had always had to rely upon others for the management of any business details. Thus far my trust in others in these matters had never caused me any trouble. (start of chapter 13)
I haven't done so much. All else has been training for this, the big thing. . . . If we leave the planes we shall build a snow house every night. . . . Yes, we might be gone a year or two. Who knows? Time is nothing. (start of chapter 14)
It was only a year ago that the German airship flew over to this country. It is going to be the great means of transportation in the north. There will be regular routes over the North Pole. It may take a few years, but it is bound to come. (start of chapter 15)
Think of what it will mean, to fly in comparative comfort and security above treacherous ice which has threatened other explorers at every step. Never before have I entered an expedition with so few misgivings. (start of chapter 16)
My work is fulfilled. All the big problems are solved. The work that remains in Polar exploration is a matter of detail. Let others handle it. (start of chapter 18)
Darreres paraules
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When she arrived in Oslo on July 2, he was missing and presumed dead.
One hundred years have passed since Robert Falcon Scott's beleagured expeditionary team arrived at the South Pole, only to find that they had been beaten by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. The most feted explorer of his generation, Amundsen counted the discovery of the Northwest Passage, in 1905, as well as the North Pole amongst his greatest achievements. In the golden age of polar exploration Amundsen, whose revolutionary approach to technology transcends polar and nautical significance, was a titan among men. However, until now, his story has rarely featured as more than a footnote to Scott's tragic failure. Reviled for defeating Scott but worshipped by his men, Amundsen was pursued by women and creditors throughout his life before disappearing on a rescue mission for the Italian Fascist who had set off in an airship to claim the North Pole for Mussolini. The Last Viking is the life of a visionary and a showman, who brought the era of Shackleton to an end, put the newly independent Norway on the map and was the twentieth century's brightest trailblazing explorer. Against the backdrop of the race to conquer the most inhospitable corners of the earth, The Last Viking stands alongside The Worst Journey in the World for its grim immediacy of heroism and hardship. Bestriding the generation defined by adventure and the unquenchable desire for discovery, it is the mesmerising story of courage, misery, friendship and the ultimate price paid for immortality.
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