From Pole to Pole: A Book for Young People (Illustrated Edition)

by Sven Hedin

Sven Anders Hedin (1865-1952) was a Swedish explorer, geographer and geopolitician. Hedin was born in Stockholm. Between 1886 and 1892 he studied geology, mineralogy, zoology, and Latin in Stockholm, Uppsala, Berlin, and Halle. He was a student of Ferdinand von Richthofen. Between his graduation in 1892 and 1935 he led several expeditions to Central Asia. His achievements include the production of the first detailed maps of vast parts of Pamir, Taklamakan, Tibet, the ancient Silk Road, and the Himalayas. He seems to be the first to realise that the Himalayas are a single mountain range. Although primarily an explorer, Hedin was also the first to unearth the ruins of ancient Buddhist cities in Chinese Central Asia. In 1899 he discovered the ancient Chinese garrison town of Loulan (Lou-lan) in the Taklamakan desert. The many manuscripts he unearthed there proved to be of great historical importance.

484 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Sven Hedin was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer, and illustrator of his own works. During four expeditions to Central Asia, he discovered the Transhimalaya (once named the Hedin Range in his honor) and the sources of the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej Rivers, Lake Lop Nur, and the remains of cities, grave sites and the Great Wall of China in the deserts of the Tarim Basin. In his book Från Pol till Pol, Hedin describes a journey through Asia and Europe between the late 1880s and early 1900s. While traveling, Hedin visited Constantinople (Istanbul), oil-rich Azerbaijan in times of the Nobel Brothers, Teheran, Mesopotamia (Iraq), lands of the Kyrgyz people, India, China, Asiatic Russia and Japan.

Reviews

[Sicofonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"From Pole to Pole" is a book divided in two parts. The first one is solely dedicated to Hedin's expeditions which took him from Europe to Asia. It's a summary of all the places he visited during the late Eighteenth century and early 1900s.
Then, the second part deals with other continents and regions, and they are described by relating the voyages of the great explorers and adventurers of the past (namely Livingstone, Stanley, Shackleton, Franklin, etc.).

The book itself is intended as a description of the most relevant lands and their inhabitants in the world. And it is only in the first part when Hedin's own experiences and deeds are written. So, in that sense this is not a strictly work on Hedin's expeditions.

If you have never read a Hedin's book this might be good for you as an introduction to him. It might no be very detailed, because it tries to cover a lot of things in a single volume. However, there's enough material that could leave you wondering about Hedin's adventures, and probably it will leave you wanting to know more about his ever amazing stories.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sven Hedin war ein Verehrer Hitlers und auch nach dem Ende des 2. Weltkrieges dessen rassistischen Ideen immer noch positiv gegenüber eingestellt. Hitler wiederum fand Hedin und dessen Reisen für sich und seine Zwecke hilfreich.
Somit muss man Hedins Reiseberichte aus einem anderen Blickwinkel betrachten und mit entsprechender Distanz lesen. Sie waren durchaus ein wirkungsvolles Propagandamittel für die Jugend.