The South Pole

The greatest tale of this age was surrounded by no great tales of hardship, no honeyed or sanitised versions of the deed. In this book we hear in the words of the greatest exponent of the art of polar travel, the story of that rarest of plans - the perfectly executed coup.

For a coup it was. When Amundsen turned from the North Pole to the South after the question of "the great nail" had been settled by Cook & Peary, his decision was treated in many sectors (most notably an unbalanced and jingoistic British Press) as underhanded and double dealing. Amundens account of the reasoning behind it makes clear that any deceit was necessary to ensure no forestalling of his plans by others - not only Scott. To ensure the future of his extended plan (the drift across the Arctic which was eventually carried out in the "Maud") he knew the Press Barons would need an exclusive and juicy story. The South Pole would give him this currency.

The book is written in an honest and clean style - an extension of the Man and his nature. The hardships faced are almost disguised by the simple tale of their telling. To strike up an unknown glacier and forge his way over virgin ground on the way to the polar plateau and the Pole itself displays fortitude and grit we can only marvel at in todays world. But his description of the task is hidden behind a work-a-day narrative. To truly appreciate the splendour of the achievement is difficult in our modern era.

One cannot help but admire the total outcome of the plan. There are few tales in history and few great men who can truly say they accomplished exactly what they set out to do in the manner in which they planned. Those who can are Masters of their field. Amundsen is such a man - and master.

A feature of this book is the credit given by Amundsen to those who went with him. Where others claimed responsibility for the great deeds of their men, Amundsen retreats to the background and gives the credit to those who did the act. Natural humility is a trait of the Norwegian nature and Amundsen shows this in the writing of the book. There is no playing to the crowd but deeds are allowed to speak for themselves.

To appreciate the tale, read the book and marvel.


Preparedness Leads To Success   May 27, 2003
Randy Smith (Pineville, La United States)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

In the Foreword, Roland Huntford describes Amundsen's narrative as "all that Scott's is not". How right he is! This a very large book, but nonetheless an easy read. Amundsen relates a fascinating tale of fortune, misfortune, hardship, and ultimately - success. The narrative is detailed, but not overly so. In many places, a dose of humor is weaved in. Complete with numerous photos, maps, and scientific data, this book should be considered one of the great narratives of exploration. The great moral lesson of this tale is that preparedness ultimately leads to success. Is it any wonder that Roald Amundsen and his comrades won the race to the South Pole?


Amundsen was funny!   February 21, 2006
Travis Emmitt
8 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book was a lot of fun, in a geeky documentary sort of way.

Amundsen had a dry sense of humor, kind of like Tolkien. You know, polite and proper but every once in a while you can picture an arched eyebrow. Like Gandalf cracking a subtle joke. If you are not paying attention, you will miss it... but if you *are* paying attention, it'll make you chuckle.

I laughed out loud several times when reading this book, which is something I never did when reading other Antarctica books.

So if you are worried about this book being "dry" and "boring", well, did you like Lord of the Rings? If so, Amundsen's writing might "click" with you too.


MasterPiece.   June 7, 2007
Gustavo B. Horbach (Porto Alegre, BRAZIL)
Wonderful. Strong. Beautiful. It is a great book. You end up thinking that the five hundred pages are not enought. Amundsen is the project management himself. It is a pleasure to read such an adventure in a such complete edition, with all maps, photos, cientific info, etc. Highly recommended.


Well prepared and modest   May 8, 2010
Marc Ranger (québec, canada)
Roald Amundsen's account of his South Polar dash reveals how modest the man really was. He, alone (with the help of brother Leon), collected funds, found a suitable vessel, recruited professional polar travelers, bought dogs, food, materials of every kind, fought against incredible odds just to leave port with the expedition...all the while keeping it a secret!

Yes he was deceptive, but he was succesful! His only concern was to get to the Pole and back. He never suggest otherwise. But woudn't you agree that there is a serious contradiction when the Scott expedition is concern? How can you brag going to Antarctica with an extensive program for the sake of "science", and still travel like cavemen over the ice man-hauling in terrible condition?

The only thing missing from Amundsen's story is his relation with Johanssen, most specifically the tension between those two that endangered Amundsen's leadership when he started too early in september.

I advise you to read both "Scott's journals" and "The South Pole" before going into all the others major books who analyses both men's work. That way, you'll be able to make your mind more freely about both explorers.