Farthest North: The Incredible Three-Year Voyage to the Frozen Latitudes of the North (Modern Library Exploration) Paperback – Abridged, August 17, 1999

Farthest North is a great read for lovers of arctic exploration novels of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Nansen became a national hero when he returned home, and to fulfill high demand for their story he wrote this book quickly; so it is not highly polished and at points can get repetitious. However, Nansen is a good writer, and he's able to convey a sense of what it must feel like to be in uncharted Arctic territory; plus the story reads fresh, as if Nansen wrote it while still on the Fram. Nansen explains his thought process behind the Fram's design and the decisions he made during their journey, which some readers might not like, but which conveyed to me a sense of Nansen the person. Because Nansen, the Fram, and its highly qualified crew were so very well prepared to undertake their journey, Nansen's expedition avoided a lot of the misfortunes and health problems that struck other Arctic explorers; therefore, this book is not for readers looking for an Arctic tale replete with mortal terror, but instead it provides an interesting contrast to those other explorer's experiences. Farthest North was written in two volumes, and unfortunately this Kindle edition ONLY CONTAINS VOLUME ONE, which leaves off before Nansen leaves the icebound Fram and sets out towards the North Pole. I had already found a free edition of Farthest North volume one, and after reading that version I bought this Amazon Kindle edition because I mistakenly thought that it contained both volumes one and two. However, this edition DOES INCLUDE NANSEN'S ILLUSTRATIONS that are missing from the free edition; therefore, I feel it is well worth paying the $0.99 Amazon price instead of downloading the free edition.

Long book but was very well done and quite detailed. It is an amazing story of how resilient and resourceful they were in the early 20th century.

This exploration was the most thought out and meticulously planned and executed by a brilliant and compassionate man and awesome crew. There is so much detail in the day to day life you feel as if you were there. Their triumph against the most challenging odds is amazing. The author and captain of this journey will provide the most interesting of true stories.

I will only state briefly, that I have an abiding interest inarctic exploration and I find that this edition, while very useful,does not do justice to the 1897 original in that the many engravings and esp the color prints are missing. One must purchase a used book to get the whole flavor of the original.

I loved this book but admittedly would not have done so if it had been my first polar read. It is dense, and takes some time to digest. You are basically reading a diary. I found it much easier to get through than "The Worst Journey in the World" which I unfortunately had to put down after a hundred or so pages. I would recommend to the novice polar reader to start with some books that are little more well known like "The Endurance" and tend to get you hooked and wanting more. I walked away from this book with such a high level of respect for the Norwegian polar explorers of that time period. They were very bright and their logic and problem solving skills never ceased to impress me. They plan and organize on a whole different level. Their adaptation to their environment is unparalleled. Also, I think it is worth mentioning I never read a negative word from Dr. Nansen regarding any of his crew or their abilities, this is something very rare with people who are forced to live in close quarters together for years on end. They conducted themselves like adults and cared for each other as though they were brothers. What a pleasure it is to read the descriptions of nature from someone who was born, educated, and lived through that time period. Nansen was quite eloquent and seemed a bit of a romantic as well. What a great book, recommended for the advanced polar reader.

Do recommend the reading. Exciting story that take us to another era. Dr. Nansen narrative takes you to the heart of the action and will make you dream about new adventures.

My bucket list includes a trip to one day see the Fram.. the ship that made this incredible journey possible as well as taking Roald Amundsen to Antartica where he was the first man to reach the south pole.This book details a great voyage by brave men who put their lives on the line to test a theory. I was very interested in the construction and design of the ship .It was a definite sucess and i think the north pole would have been reached by Nansen if he had waited onboard until it was further north. a great read and a great ship.

As advertised

This book Is interresting. With the Words of Nansen himself you can live an adventure like a pioneer.A must

This is Nansen's own account of his attempt to reach the North Pole late 19th century. The project was crazy to start off with - freezing a ship into the polar ice and then let it drift across the Pole - but leaving the ship midway and continue the trip on skies was even worse. Nansen, however, was a brillant explorer and survived to tell the story. He was also good story teller, scientists and artist. You wil enjoy this book and if you want more of the story, read about the relationship between Nansen and his crew member Johansen. who joined him on the trip. Two men alone in the ice for a year and a half is another fascinating story.

This is not a typical tale a 19th century Polar exploration. Unlike the British and Americans who went head first into the Arctic, Nansen studied what went wrong before and acted accordingly.The Fram drifted as plan, no one died from scurvy or cold, they did not eat each other. The leader, well prepared, was listened to and respected. He was so well prepared that, in fact, on board the Fram, Nansen complained about the inactivity of the whole expedition, limited as they were by the confine of their ship.Once Nansen and Johansen left the Fram by sledge, they had a harder time but nothing cruel or harrowing. Nansen provides us with numerous details of his sledge journey north, details about what he saw, what he observed, what he felt. He is honest enough to sometimes point out that he did not exactly know where he was.Once you read Farthest North, you'll find that Robert Peary (especially) and Frederick A Cook own tales of North Pole exploration lacked details and authenticity.Nansen has set the "modern way" of Polar travel. Those (like Roal Amundsen) who listened to him where bound to succed, and those (like RF Scott) who sticked to the old ways where bound to die.

This is only half of the story of Furthest North. You have to buy a second volume to finish the story!Also, there are maps that are supposed to be part of it but there were no maps included so I couldn't follow Nansen's journey.

I didn't realise that this was just volume 1 - probably my fault