Rating: 
Summary: Further reading...
Review: I would like to recommend another book to anyone who has read "Artic Grail" -- it is by Edmund Bolles and is called "The Ice Finders" -- it picks up the story of Eliza Kane and his involvement with the discovery of the Ice Age through his ovbservations of the Humbolt Glacier (which he named) while stuck on the western shore of Greenland in 1856-1858 -- its a short book about the length of one chapter from Artic Grail but very interesting, an excellent postscript. No one believed glaciers could be so big to form valleys, much less cover europe, despite all the geological evidence -- it was Kanes description of the Greenland icesheet that finally turned the science community around after 20 years of debate. "The Ice Finders" weaves the tale of Kane and 2 other scientists who went from ignorance of glaciers to a grand theory of an Ice Age.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best on Arctic Exploration
Review: If you like to read about the incredible world of Arctic exploration, this is a book you must read! Pierre Berton covers almost 100 years of man's effort to discover the Northwest Passage and the North Pole. Although it is a long read (over 600 pages) the author's wonderful storytelling style keeps you eagerly turning page after page. Each account seems to have been well researched and the facts are there for the reader to absorb. It is amazing to read how poorly the British were prepared for Arctic travel, how they refused to learn from the native people, yet how much they achieved in spite of their attitude. This book has a good message for us all. We can learn from others! Those explorers who did so, were a lot more successful in the long run. The book ends with Peary and Cook's claim to the North Pole. It is quite an account of two men who were more consumed with their image rather than the truth. Who was the greatest of the bunch? You'll have fun picking your winner. I vote for Roald Amundsen! This is a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Superb Arctic History
Review: It is always a delight to pick up any book by Canadian author Pierre Berton, and a particular pleasure to see what is debatably the finest of his more than twenty volumes, Arctic Grail, back in print. Though reliably thorough in research, Berton's forte is that he puts the humanity into historiography, and never more so than in this comprehensive study of the fevered searches for the fabled northwest passage and the obsessive race to be the first at the top of the world. Covering such a broad reach of space and time, the story of the laborious charting of the vast blank space of the Arctic could have been as numbing for the reader's mind as the endless ice was for the participants' feet. However Berton is a master narrator who can paint a canvas that is large enough for fluent narration, but is not afraid to slow the pace when figures and events demand a more precise account. An evocative description of the first strange encounter between Commander John Ross and Lieutenant William Edward Parry -"resplendent in cocked hats, tailcoats, and white gloves, swords dangling from their waists, the points of the buckled shoes that once trod the parquet floors of Mayfair sinking into the soft snow"- and a bemused audience of fur-muffled Eskimos, grips the reader from the first page of chapter one, setting the stage for a procession of equally vivid characters and events. Quite properly, particular attention is paid to the unfolding tragedy of the Franklin expedition and the aftermath of the total disappearance of two ships and 129 men, but other dramatis personae are brought equally to life: Barrow the visionary, fastidious, obstinate Parry, Ross and his near-paranoia, resourceful Amundsen, and a particular favorite of mine, Robert Peary, who regarded the Arctic almost as private property, displaying the territoriality of a tomcat - to mention just a few. The re-publication of this fine book is a great opportunity to fill the gap in the bookshelves of those not fortunate enough to own it already. Highly recommended for maritime history enthusiasts and those interested in exploration, and for anyone intrigued by the lengths that humans will go in the face of remarkable challenges.
Rating:
Summary: Sweeping Vista
Review: Like the sweeping wide-open spaces of the arctic this book covers a lot of territory. Foremost is a survey of Arctic exploration: when the maps were blank and theories of warm northen oceans and pathways to China ran wild in post-Napoleon pax-Britania, to the final controversy of American Peary reaching the north pole. It is an examanation of explorers and the lessons to be learned applicable to every person who travels. Live off the local environment. Travel light. Adapt to locals customs. It is a triumph of human spirit over adversity equally balanced by human failings. Burton brings historical accuracy to the legends we see the good side and bad side of every explorer. You may find this book used on the Internet look in any of the used book search engines.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greats
Review: Out of print for a number of years, "The Arctic Grail" is indeed the Holy Grail of Arctic history books. It is, without question, the finest compilation on the topic, and one that belongs in every collection of books on polar exploration. No wonder that just about every book on the North Pole and the Northwest Passage published in the past two decades lists "Grail" as source material. It also makes for riveting reading. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Arctic Grail - Best complete survey/overview I've found
Review: Pierre Berton brings history to life once again in this book. What separates Berton from so many other writers is that he makes history readable and entertaining. He brings characters and places to life, as he has done in The National Dream, The Invasion of Canada, Vimy, and so many other books. In The Arctic Grail, numerous explorers, dreamers and obsessives are shown trying to conquer the hostile environment of the North. There is a diverse cast of characters here, but it takes a great storyteller like Berton to make them really come alive; men like John Franklin, Robert McClure, Frederick Cook, Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, Elisha Kane, John Rae, and many others. Many are not well known today, so it is fascinating to read about them. First contact with the Inuit and their interaction with the explorers is also a major part of The Arctic Grail. Above all though, the biggest character in the book is the barren ice-clogged Canadian Arctic; the darkness of an icebound winter, the loneliness and desperation of being trapped on an ice floe with little food, the obsessiveness of men like Peary whose claim to be first to the Pole is largely discredited today, and much more. A terrific book if you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: This could be Berton's best
Review: Pierre Berton brings history to life once again in this book. What separates Berton from so many other writers is that he makes history readable and entertaining. He brings characters and places to life, as he has done in The National Dream, The Invasion of Canada, Vimy, and so many other books. In The Arctic Grail, numerous explorers, dreamers and obsessives are shown trying to conquer the hostile environment of the North. There is a diverse cast of characters here, but it takes a great storyteller like Berton to make them really come alive; men like John Franklin, Robert McClure, Frederick Cook, Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, Elisha Kane, John Rae, and many others. Many are not well known today, so it is fascinating to read about them. First contact with the Inuit and their interaction with the explorers is also a major part of The Arctic Grail. Above all though, the biggest character in the book is the barren ice-clogged Canadian Arctic; the darkness of an icebound winter, the loneliness and desperation of being trapped on an ice floe with little food, the obsessiveness of men like Peary whose claim to be first to the Pole is largely discredited today, and much more. A terrific book if you can find it.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, wish it was twice as long.
Review: The book is a superb account of the history of Arctic exploration in the 19th and early 20th century. The only problem is that due to its depth, the book is too short, even at over 600 pages. It should be more than 1500 pages to cover everything in more detail.
Rating:
Summary: For all you non-fiction buffs out there...
Review: The cast of characters and their disastrous attempts at the Northwest Passage are spellbinding. Berton brings his historical acuity to bear on this subject that seems to have been forgotten in the annals of North American History. If you can get a copy of this book, read it and keep it.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and exciting
Review: There are so many books about polar exploration. However most tend to be narrow and long narratives about expeditions undertaken by specific individuals or teams. Pierre Berton have given us a book that covers a period and presents the subject matter in just the right mix of information and adventure. I chance upon this book at the store while browsing and ended up buying it. I finished it in one sitting through the night and at the end was actually disappointed that it was not longer. As the title goes, this book covers the most exciting period of north pole from 1818 to 1909. It is a truely gripping tale and the writer was able to make me feel as if I was right beside the many explorers. Be prepared to go wow! at every chapter and a whole lot wiser about the north pole.
|
