Greenland Expedition: Where Ice Is Born

by Northword Press

Author, adventurer Lonnie Dupre readily confesses that the spirit of adventure lives strong within his soul. And over the years he has answered its beckoning call many times. But none of those adventures compare to the 15 months he and fellow explorer, John Hoelscher spent kayaking and dog sledding their way around the unexplored wilderness of Greenland. From cover to cover, this book is filled with breathtaking photographs that tell the visual story and help bring to life this extraordinary and dramatic real-world adventure. **The foreword was written by fellow explorer and friend Will Steger. **Dramatic photos and text paint a true-life picture of the trials and tribulations of this awesome undertaking. **Offers insights into the lives of the people who call this harsh land home, and gives readers a feel of what life on this island is like on a day-to-day basis. **Includes sidebars that discuss the culture of Greenland, the schools, the villages and the importance of sledge dogs as the most recognized form of transportation. **Features maps that detail the route traveled by Dupre and Hoelscher.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

159 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[James Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about an attempted circumnavigation of Greenland in the late 1990s, partially by kayak and partially by dog team and skis, by two polar explorers. Ultimately they were not able to make it due to ice conditions.

The story and writing are good but not gifted. The author clearly and competently tells the story of the expedition, a trip that took 15 months including several preparatory layovers.

The outstanding feature and value of this book, a large, coffee-table sized book, is the wonderful photography, done with a 35mm SLR film camera. Many of the photos are large, filling the who page. The beautiful lighting of the arctic, with the sun low in the sky or just over the horizon, provides spectacular coloring throughout the journey.

Second to the photography, I enjoyed the author's accounts of their interactions with the people of Greenland, detailing some of their history and much of their culture. There were many sidebars providing more details about the wildlife and natural history of the area.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes, qualified by the condition that the reader has a particular interest in the arctic, arctic exploration, and an appreciation of excellent photography you will likely not see anywhere else.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this book is more about an expedition than it is about Greenland itself. The author provides a lot of information for the adventurer - how to avoid calving icebergs while in a kayak, sledge dog commands in the Inuit language, the resilience of polar bear pants - with a gloss of anthropological observations. The book has beautiful photos that capture the otherworldly majesty of the high arctic.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am considering taking a cruise that stops in Greenland. This was the only book I could find on this topic. Unfortunately, it was written in 2001 or so, before the effects of global warming made it possible for cruise boats to stop in Greenland. I skimmed through book and it was about an expedition around Greenland and did have nice pictures. But, it wasn't what i was searching for.

[Jessica Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the excellent photos and straightforward adventure narrative.

[Pablo Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love real life adventure books. I am especially fascinated with Arctic journeys. This book describes two men who set out to kayak around the island of Greenland. I found it fascinating every kilometer of the journey.