The Mammoth Book of Polar Journeys

by Jon E. Lewis

Fifty first-hand accounts of intrepid travel through the wild polar wastelands form Sir John Franklin's starvation march through Alaska in 1821 to Vassilli Gorshkovsky's trip aboard a creaking Russian icebreaker.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

494 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Jon E. Lewis is a historian and writer, whose books on history and military history are sold worldwide. He is also editor of many The Mammoth Book of anthologies, including the bestselling On the Edge and Endurance and Adventure.

He holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in history. His work has appeared in New Statesman, the Independent, Time Out and the Guardian. He lives in Herefordshire with his partner and children.

From: Constable & Robinson

Reviews

[Ronald Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of excerpts from Arctic and Antarctic exploration and adventure writing. If you cannot read the full accounts of these journeys, this collection is a good entry point. Some of the selections seem a bit odd, for example, it is a bit of a stretch to call Franklins overland expedition a polar journey, but I guess there can be no other contribution from the famed explorer. Also, though the accounts are all interesting to a degree, I found myself less interested or captivated by the more recent ones. But, all considered, a nice little intro to polar writing that can be digested a bit at a time.