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Arctic Diary: Surviving on Thin Ice
It's hardly a surprise to discover that Sam Branson has a love of adventure and a real concern about our future in a world where the climate is changing rapidly. Journeying into the heart of the Arctic wilderness with his father and a film crew, Sam explores the changing landscape and the lives of the native Inuit people who have survived in a relentlessly inhospitable environment for 5000 years.
Sleeping on frozen seas and encountering majestic polar bears, Sam and his father embark together on a winter expedition which Sam must ultimately complete on his own, finding new depths of resilience and courage in a formidable and breathtaking landscape.
Sleeping on frozen seas and encountering majestic polar bears, Sam and his father embark together on a winter expedition which Sam must ultimately complete on his own, finding new depths of resilience and courage in a formidable and breathtaking landscape.
- GenresNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 22, 2020
As a reading experience this gets 2 stars. It is often repetitive and the main author (which is Sam not Richard) shows his inexperience with writing. It is hard not to feel detached from his experiences and his writing style is quite dull in places.
The glossary and information at the end of the book is more interesting than the main story. There are parts of both sections that I learnt something from. This concludes the review as a reading experience. You can stop reading here if you wish.
This is where I make additions to the review. This book was written 13 years ago and in it the author was promising that his father's companies were going to do more to combat climate change and he was praising the efforts that his father was putting into this. These changes haven't happened. Even media that normally denies climate change has been known to criticise the Virgin media empire for this. The propaganda that Sam wrote here is just that. The most recent news story on Sam is about his jet setting lifestyle which doesn't help the planet. This reduces the impact that he tried to make with this book in hindsight. He is just as bad as those he criticises in the text of the book.
The glossary and information at the end of the book is more interesting than the main story. There are parts of both sections that I learnt something from. This concludes the review as a reading experience. You can stop reading here if you wish.
This is where I make additions to the review. This book was written 13 years ago and in it the author was promising that his father's companies were going to do more to combat climate change and he was praising the efforts that his father was putting into this. These changes haven't happened. Even media that normally denies climate change has been known to criticise the Virgin media empire for this. The propaganda that Sam wrote here is just that. The most recent news story on Sam is about his jet setting lifestyle which doesn't help the planet. This reduces the impact that he tried to make with this book in hindsight. He is just as bad as those he criticises in the text of the book.
January 29, 2026
I picked up this book late at night, and by 1 am I had to make the conscious decision to, out of respect for the book and wanting to appreciate it/enjoy it properly, go to bed and read the rest of it in the morning.
Sam Branson is perhaps the most down-to-earth, empathetic, aware and emotionally intelligent author I’ve come across. Especially as he is the son of a billionaire.
He has such a way with words! I remember constantly putting the book down in disbelief, thinking, “How can someone write so beautifully?”, and, “He’s 22!?”, and, “Why aren’t my diaries as wonderful as this?”, and, “He sounds just like me. Why do I feel like I know him so well?”
From ice caps dating back to the last ice age, to being educated on the Inuit/Eskimo culture, to seeing towering snowy cliffs and endless sea ice in my mind’s eye and understanding each deeply personal word that Sam Branson wrote as if they were written for me…
I can’t get over the fact that Sam sounds exactly like me, on the inside. The pressure of being his age, the transformative experience of his expedition and his affinity with and connection to nature, his awe-inspired appreciation for the world around him…
In this diary, I saw a glimpse into someone else’s life. Into their mind and, more importantly, their heart.
He might have been only an affable 22 year old documenting his time in the Arctic, but Sam Branson’s words are written on my soul.
This book educates less about global warming, and more about what makes it is so important to stop it.
Sam lovingly details the Inuit culture and people, and the immense, untouched landscape they live in and the ecosystems within, with such admiration that it inspires and motivates you to learn more and to do your part to help preserve their piece of earth.
I have the feeling I’m going to read this book again and again. It was simply magical.
Sam Branson is perhaps the most down-to-earth, empathetic, aware and emotionally intelligent author I’ve come across. Especially as he is the son of a billionaire.
He has such a way with words! I remember constantly putting the book down in disbelief, thinking, “How can someone write so beautifully?”, and, “He’s 22!?”, and, “Why aren’t my diaries as wonderful as this?”, and, “He sounds just like me. Why do I feel like I know him so well?”
From ice caps dating back to the last ice age, to being educated on the Inuit/Eskimo culture, to seeing towering snowy cliffs and endless sea ice in my mind’s eye and understanding each deeply personal word that Sam Branson wrote as if they were written for me…
I can’t get over the fact that Sam sounds exactly like me, on the inside. The pressure of being his age, the transformative experience of his expedition and his affinity with and connection to nature, his awe-inspired appreciation for the world around him…
In this diary, I saw a glimpse into someone else’s life. Into their mind and, more importantly, their heart.
He might have been only an affable 22 year old documenting his time in the Arctic, but Sam Branson’s words are written on my soul.
This book educates less about global warming, and more about what makes it is so important to stop it.
Sam lovingly details the Inuit culture and people, and the immense, untouched landscape they live in and the ecosystems within, with such admiration that it inspires and motivates you to learn more and to do your part to help preserve their piece of earth.
I have the feeling I’m going to read this book again and again. It was simply magical.
December 18, 2007
I thought this would be like "the long way round" where Sir Richard and his son Sam would take turns in telling part of the tale of their journey.
In fact it was the son's perspective and not Sir Richards who we were reading most of the time. I found myself absorbed by this book even thought Sam still has some growing up to do. The "hard stuff" at the end wasnt that hard to read at all and was informative. I found that I was learning stuff on different sections and would recommend this to everyone. A must read view of the world of the Inuit people whose lives we are changing with our desire for material goods. Also the Canadian Governement of the 1960's should be horrified by their treatment of these peoples!
In fact it was the son's perspective and not Sir Richards who we were reading most of the time. I found myself absorbed by this book even thought Sam still has some growing up to do. The "hard stuff" at the end wasnt that hard to read at all and was informative. I found that I was learning stuff on different sections and would recommend this to everyone. A must read view of the world of the Inuit people whose lives we are changing with our desire for material goods. Also the Canadian Governement of the 1960's should be horrified by their treatment of these peoples!
April 30, 2008
The cheek of putting your name as sole author to a book that isn't entirely your own is a bit naughty....
Despite being a tosser, I quite like this guy.... he often goofs and appears to be almost human, sometimes.
However, this book is full of glib cliches that you would expect from an Arctic adventure.... "brrrr it's cold today"... well Duh!.... and "the water was frozen again this morning"... well hello... it's minus 38 degrees. [Actually I made both of those quotes up... but they are basically what is in the book].
Despite being a tosser, I quite like this guy.... he often goofs and appears to be almost human, sometimes.
However, this book is full of glib cliches that you would expect from an Arctic adventure.... "brrrr it's cold today"... well Duh!.... and "the water was frozen again this morning"... well hello... it's minus 38 degrees. [Actually I made both of those quotes up... but they are basically what is in the book].
April 11, 2010
This is actually more written by Sam, Richard's son than by himself.
The journey throught artic seems great, but they where here to notice the effects of global warming, but i didn't really feel that in the book. If you want to sensibilize people to that problem, why not start with your readers ?
But it was a nice story to follow sam on ice for the first time, how he discovered many things, like building igloos, dogsled, ...
The hard stuff at the end are really interesting.
The book wasn't really what I expected, but it turned out nice.
The journey throught artic seems great, but they where here to notice the effects of global warming, but i didn't really feel that in the book. If you want to sensibilize people to that problem, why not start with your readers ?
But it was a nice story to follow sam on ice for the first time, how he discovered many things, like building igloos, dogsled, ...
The hard stuff at the end are really interesting.
The book wasn't really what I expected, but it turned out nice.
April 20, 2011
An interesting book, but it didn't grab my attention and some parts were quite boring. Full of advertisements too.
August 2, 2011
This was ok. I found it a little repetitive though I did enjoy the more factual part at the end.
February 15, 2016
Interesting topic about how climate change is affecting the Artic and the Inuit people though reads as though written by a 21 year old (which it was).
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews