Artic explorers

B

BlueSpud

Registered User
Messages
879
John Franklin: Artic explorer - Northwest Passage

I am looking for a good book on the expedition described below. Well told, as distinct from overburdened with detail, on the lines of Michael Smith's "An Unsung Hero" about Tom Crean. Any recomendations?

Bluespud.


FRANKLIN, JOHN
Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was an English explorer and Admiral who proved the existence of a Northwest Passage (a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through Canada). In 1845, Franklin sailed from England with an expedition of 128 men to Canada in search of Northwest Passage. The ship became trapped in ice, and the desperate, freezing and starving survivors resorted to cannibalism. A small contingent of the expedition (without Franklin) may have reached Simpson Strait, the final part of the Northwest Passage. Scottish explorer John Rae determined that Franklin and his expedition had died of starvation and exposure in the Arctic; Eskimos at Pelly Bay told Rae of Franklin's fate. Lead poisoning from poorly-canned food may have also hastened their death.
 
fobs said:
My brother in law is facinated by shackelton and has got most of the books wriiten about him and finds them facinating. Worth checking out anyway!
Look at this link to see if you would be interested

http://www.south-pole.com/p0000097.htm
Click to expand...

Most of the interest in this part of the world is about Shackleton & Scott and the race to the south pole. The guy I am interested in finding out about died at the other end of the world, in what I think is an equally facinating story.
 
Sorry bluespud - misinterpreted your original post. Thought you were looking for books to read on any exporer rather than the specific one mentioned. Ignore my post!!!!!
 
Haven't read any of them, but try checking out some of these (e.g. see reviews on Amazon). Some relate to multiple explorers, not just Franklin.

Frozen in Time
Ice Blink
The Discovery of Slowness
Fatal Passage
The Franklin Conspiracy
The Search for the Northwest Passage
Buried in Ice
The Arctic Grail
Voyages of Delusion
Ninety Degrees North
 
We have a book "Seek the Frozen Lands" by Frank Nugent and it covers Irish polar explorers 1740 - 1922.

There are ten pages of reference to The Franklin Expedition with etchings and details of their trip but I am just looking at the last sentence which reads "None of those who sailed from there into the Arctic ever returned, and their fate is still shrouded in mystery"

Hope this is of some help.
 
What made me interested in this is that some time ago I saw a documentary which referenced the expedition, and it said that they brought furniture and the kitchen sink with them. You got to wonder, at what stage did they discard that kind of baggage. I also believe that they turned to cannibalism, and some were seen by the Inuit. It had the making of a fascinating tale, and as I say, I am looking for a good tale. I loved Michael Smith's "An Unsung Hero" about Tom Crean. He made it a very enjoyable read without beating you to death with the uninteresting minutia.
 
Bluespud,

There was a 2 hour docummentary on Channel 4 about this expedition a few months ago but I have never come across a good book on the subject. Like yourself (and for the same reasons as yourself) I enjoyed the Tom Crean book. Michael Smith's book about Captain Oates is as good if not even better - I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this area.

I'm a bit of a Polar Explorer groupie at this stage, when we were on holidays in Kerry last year I insisted on a family detour so that I could enjoy a pint in the South Pole Inn (wifey has a lot to put up with).

During the Channel4 docummentary there was speculation that some of Franklin's men were slowly poisoned by metals leaking in to tinned food, some of them were lost for a couple of years in the Arctic before finally dying. It must have been like being stranded on a distant planet with no prospect of rescue - I find these stories fascinating and the cast of characters is so rich and varied it couldn't have been made up.

Oh I've just remebered a biography of Apsley Cherry-Garrard called "Cherry" also a brilliant read. He inherited a huge estate in England and offered Scott a thousand pounds to be brought south, Scott told him that the expedition was full and refused him. Cherry-Garrard told Scott he could have the money anyway and seeing this, Scott included him. Cherry-Garrard was the last one sent out from base-camp to try to rescue Scott and was haunted by his failure for the rest of his life.

These are a couple of good books I've also read some stinkers, "they were stuck on the ice ... they were still stuck on the ice"

apologies for rambling on ... i'm a serious bore about this suff
 
the Hill you and my husband would get on well, also had to make that detour on holidays.
We had to go to the NAtional Museum to see an exhibition on Shackelton and he has every single book, ever written on the subject.
He is one and the same bore referred to by fobs.
 
Re: Arctic explorers

Any book by Roland Huntford is excellent. Very detailed though. He has written extensively on the Polar explorers Scott, Shackleton, Nansen and Amundsen.

Shackleton and Scott get all the press but I think Amundsen is a much more fascinating character. After all it was Amundsen who was first to both navigate the Northwest Passage AND the reach the South Pole. He also found Magnetic North Pole and completed North East passage. The problem is that he was professional in his approach for polar exploration whereas the other 2 (Scott and Shackleton) were idealists and thus found themselves in tragic and horrific situations. Amundsen reached South Pole with relative ease on first attempt. Scott died on second attempt. Shackleton never made South Pole after 3 attempts.

Amundsen was killed in a plane crash while trying to rescue another explorer. Body never found.
 
Re: Arctic explorers

Teabag said:
Shackleton and Scott get all the press
Click to expand...

I think that is cos they were Irish and English (although I wonder just how Irish Shakleton was, an accident of birth methinks) and they get the press here. I wonder if the Norwegians have it the other way round, i.e. Amundsen gets all the press & the other not so much.

I have sent an email to Channel4 enquiring about the documentary.
 
Every time this subject is brought up a few lads come crawling out of the woodwork. The exhibition in the National Museum was great - what about the size of the little boat that they sailed over 800 miles in to get from Elephant Island to South Georgia - those guys were some tough backstards.

I agree that Amundsen is even more fascinating than Scott, Roland Huntford wrote a great sort of double biography about Amundsen and Scott in which he puts forward the opinion that Scott was a bungling idiot in comparison to the cold professionalism of Amundsen (pardon the pun).
Ranulph Fiennes (who himself was part of a 2-man team that reached the South Pole unsupported) took exception to Huntford's opinion and wrote another great biography of Scott leaping to his defence. There is a whole chapter at the end of the book which contains a diatribe directed at Huntford - better than a soap opera.

Am I obsessed with this stuff ?? I haven't read a book on the Antarctic explorers in ages, I am reading books on Irish history at the moment. On my "To Be Read" pile at the moment I have a biography of Nansen (the daddy of them all - he inspired Amundsen) and "The Worst Journey in the World", written by Apsley Cherry-Garrard with advice from George Bernard Shaw who was his neighbour and friend at the time - these 2 gems sit on my shelf like 2 bottles of fine wine waiting to be opened !

Let me know what Channel4 say about the docummentary - is it available on DVD?
 
thehill said:
Let me know what Channel4 say about the docummentary - is it available on DVD?
Click to expand...

I found the following DVD, but it is region 4, Australia. Dont know if this is the C4 showing.

http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=733532

From the C4 Website:

Videos/DVDs (Channel 4)
Channel 4 videos and DVD's commercially available can be purchased at the Channel 4 Shop.
If the video or DVD you want is not available through the Channel 4 shop, the programme has not been released through Channel 4 Video or any other distributor. As we are sure you can appreciate, we receive hundreds of calls and emails requesting copies of programmes that were not released commercially, therefore, Channel 4’s policy is that we do not send out one-off copies.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, I read Huntford's Amundsen V Scott book and I do think that Scott was a bungling idiot and that his pride cost the lives of his men. Huntford even suggested that Scott pressured Oates into leaving the tent so that the others would survive.

The thing is that Shackleton turned his team around from within 90 miles of the pole in 1909 because the saftety margin was wearing too thin. Scott should probably have done the same. Thats why Shackleton is considered such a great leader.
 
Ok I am beginning to wonder if my husband is on here disguised as someone else.
I hear enough of this at home.....
My husband is not a great reader normally but will happily sit and read through volume after volume on antarctic explorers.
What is the fascination?

Did any of you see the film Scott of the Antarctic?
 
I just ordered a book, "The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909", which has a bit more than the Franklin expedition, the reviews are very, very good. It is a big book, 600+ pages, so I will report back in 4 years time. I went for a 2nd hand hardback version, hope I get to read it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585741167/ref=pd_cpt_gw_3/002-7441876-0589612?n=283155
 
A.Partridge said:
Would like to second the biography of Apsley Cherry-Goddard. Excellent stuff.
Click to expand...
If you haven't already read it, try the Michael Smith book about Captain Oates I think it's called "I'm just going outside", you will not be disappointed.
 
Just got reply from channel 4. It is not available.....

Darn.

If anybody spots this comming on TV in the future, please pm me & all the other interested parties on this post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top