Roald AmundsenThe South Pole: Complete and Unabridged with Illustrations, Charts, Maps and Appendices

This book is rather large and the text covers pages from top to bottom & side to side, and by having to hold it close to read, it leads to a more intimate journal-reading experience. After all, Amundsen is a terrific writer, spontaneous and never writing for effect, who seems inherently positive and as a result this is a very relaxing and entertaining read. Having read books by other authors about the journeys of both Scott and Amundsen to the South Pole, I found it very refreshing to read the author's original log-based biography of his amazing experiences. This would be a great book to take on vacation, because it puts you in an entirely different place & time. My take is also that this story involves a lot of "emotional intelligence" in the way that the entire crew worked together towards the main goal. One reads again and again about how members of the shore party had brought along secondary skills which over time became more apparent and useful to the entire group's well-being. Amundsen's attention to detail in all things including the quality of the food they brought and the technological improvements to skis and bindings are awesome. One more example are the walking boots, which underwent four reconstructions from the originals, during the time before the pole attempt. R. F. Scott's pole team - unfortunately for them - had no such footwear equivalents, and paid a heavy price as a result.

This is a great reference book for my library.

What an amazing book! A true take of exploration, planning, and adventure. In 1910 getting to the South Pole was like getting to the moon. A truly amazing feat!

I did not realize that Amundsen, along with being a great explorer, was also an excellent writer with a great sense of humor. His story here is captivating until the end.

Amazing account of Amundsen's (being the first) reaching The South Pole in 1911. Much is taken from the diaries of the men involved who were very good at detailing their day to day challenges. Men of this caliber are a rarity today.

Amazing book. Well written and so detailed

In modern warfare, it has been observed that “generals win battles, but logisticians win wars.” So it is with planning an exploration mission to a remote destination where no human has ever set foot, and the truths are as valid for polar exploration in the early 20th century as they will be for missions to Mars in the 21st. On December 14th, 1911, Roald Amundsen and his five-man southern party reached the South Pole after a trek from the camp on the Ross Ice Shelf where they had passed the previous southern winter, preparing for an assault on the pole as early as the weather would permit. By over-wintering, they would be able to depart southward well before a ship would be able to land an expedition, since a ship would have to wait until the sea ice dispersed sufficiently to make a landing.Amundsen's plan was built around what space mission architects call “in-situ resource utilisation” and “depots”, as well as “propulsion staging”. This allowed for a very lightweight push to the pole, both in terms of the amount of supplies which had to be landed by their ship, the Fram, and in the size of the polar party and the loading of their sledges. Upon arriving in Antarctica, Amundsen's party immediately began to hunt the abundant seals near the coast. More than two hundred seals were killed, processed, and stored for later use. (Since the temperature on the Ross Ice Shelf and the Antarctic interior never rises above freezing, the seal meat would keep indefinitely.) Then parties were sent out in the months remaining before the arrival of winter in 1911 to establish depots at every degree of latitude between the base camp and 82° south. These depots contained caches of seal meat for the men and dogs and kerosene for melting snow for water and cooking food. The depot-laying journeys familiarised the explorers with driving teams of dogs and operating in the Antarctic environment.Amundsen had chosen dogs to pull his sledges. While his rival to be first at the pole, Robert Falcon Scott, experimented with pulling sledges by ponies, motorised sledges, and man-hauling, Amundsen relied upon the experience of indigenous people in Arctic environments that dogs were the best solution. Dogs reproduced and matured sufficiently quickly that attrition could be made up by puppies born during the expedition, they could be fed on seal meat, which could be obtained locally, and if a dog team were to fall into a crevasse (as was inevitable when crossing uncharted terrain), the dogs could be hauled out, no worse for wear, by the drivers of other sledges. For ponies and motorised sledges, this was not the case.Further, Amundsen adopted a strategy which can best be described as “dog eat dog”. On the journey to the pole, he started with 52 dogs. Seven of these had died from exhaustion or other causes before the ascent to the polar plateau. (Dogs who died were butchered and fed to the other dogs. Greenland sled dogs, being only slightly removed from wolves, had no hesitation in devouring their erstwhile comrades.) Once reaching the plateau, 27 dogs were slaughtered, their meat divided between the surviving dogs and the five men. Only 18 dogs would proceed to the pole. Dog carcasses were cached for use on the return journey.Beyond the depots, the polar party had to carry everything required for the trip. but knowing the depots would be available for the return allowed them to travel lightly. After reaching the pole, they remained for three days to verify their position, send out parties to ensure they had encircled the pole's position, and built a cairn to commemorate their achievement. Amundsen left a letter which he requested Captain Scott deliver to King Haakon VII of Norway should Amundsen's party be lost on its return to base. (Sadly, that was the  fate which awaited Scott , who arrived at the pole on January 17th, 1912, only to find the Amundsen expedition's cairn there.)This book is Roald Amundsen's contemporary memoir of the expedition. Originally published in two volumes, the present work includes both. Appendices describe the ship, the Fram, and scientific investigations in meteorology, geology, astronomy, and oceanography conducted during the expedition. Amundsen's account is as matter-of-fact as the memoirs of some astronauts, but a wry humour comes through when discussing dealing with sled dogs who have will of their own and also the foibles of humans cooped up in a small cabin in an alien environment during a night which lasts for months. He evinces great respect for his colleagues and competitors in polar exploration, particularly Scott and Shackleton, and worries whether his own approach to reaching the pole would be proved superior to theirs. At the time the book was published, the tragic fate of Scott's expedition was not known.Today, we might not think of polar exploration as science, but a century ago it was as central to the scientific endeavour as robotic exploration of Mars is today. Here was an entire continent, known only in sketchy detail around its coast, with only a few expeditions into the interior. When Amundsen's party set out on their march to the pole, they had no idea whether they would encounter mountain ranges along the way and, if so, whether they could find a way over or around them. They took careful geographic and meteorological observations along their trek (as well as oceanographical measurements on the trip to Antarctica and back), and these provided some of the first data points toward understanding weather in the southern hemisphere.In Norway, Amundsen was hailed as a hero. But it is clear from this narrative he never considered himself such. He wrote:“I may say that this is the greatest factor—the way in which the expedition is equipped—the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.”

Been looking for the Amundsen account for some time but most were abridged. this is the full version

Excellent

The British empire have. Tried to sideline Amundsen and push Scott , literally jamming him down our throats.Amundsen has huge achievements in both the north and south pole,the only on e to have this.he thus deserves to be on a higher pedestal than anyone else.he is his true account and rebels his total awareness,readiness to harmonize with nature. Instead of trying to master it and his love and caring of animals,especially the dogs !A great read...

Images quality is really lame, looks printed by my home printer. As they are really ancient i may believe it, if somebody tell me is for that reason.. Also the quality of the cover is pretty lame, as material. Too tender. Anyway it was not possible for me to find any other version not in Norwegian ( Italian version impossible to find) therefore, it's ok.

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