South: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the Pole

by Hunter Stewart

The race to reach the South Pole for the first time was an unparalleled adventure in the early twentieth century. South, by historian Hunter Stewart, chronicles the competition between two fierce rivals – Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen- to secure their place in history as the first man to lead an expedition to the most uninhabitable place on earth. South dramatically tells the story of the quest that is marked by heartbreak, greed, ego, and bravery – not only by Scott and Amundsen but by the courageous crews and financial backers who supported them. The journey to reach the South Pole was truly, as it was later called, “The Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration.”

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Adventure, Biography

93 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2015

Reviews

[Jennifer Mangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to know what it was like to be on one of the south pole expeditions, you're going to love this book. Stewart really brings each expedition to life. You suffer through the hardships and experience the victories (and defeats) with the teams. But that's really the focus of the book, so if you're looking for a wider context or historical understanding, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Minor quibble: I know that history has framed the race to the pole as a competition between Scott and Amundsen, but Ernest Shackleton is a part of this story, too. He's a significant character in the book, first as a member of Scott's team and then as a rival team leader. Shackleton was also competing to reach the south pole first. Why is his quest for the pole only partially included in the book? And why is his name not in the title? Curious.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, concise history of the competition to reach the South Pole.

[Paul B. Soper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This must have been an easy book to write as all the major participants kept thorough accounts of their travels. The immediacy of those diaries is lost in the author's condensation but the extraordinary drama of the story shines through. The author packs the 121 pages of the book with a review of the history of Antarctica's exploration from its discovery in the early 1800s through the end of Scott's expedition in 1912. The myriad of choices both leaders made determined not just whether they succeeded or failed but whether they lived or died. The reader comes to understand those choices and the men who made them from this book but not in great depth. If you are interested in the subject but don't want to spend much time or money learning about it this is a good choice. If you want depth or a sense of the determination and desperation of the parties involved look elsewhere.

[Marc Pressley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, if short, read. I was at first a little stunned to see the rather slim page count (93 pages in the print edition). On the other hand, the nature of the polar expeditions means that a day-by-day retelling would have been dreadfully boring--can you imagine trying to describe in detail four days spent shivering in a tent in an Antarctic blizzard?

The book may have benefitted from some photos, maps, illustrations, etc. Other than that, it serves as a great introduction to the doomed Terra Nova Expedition.

[Allison S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had more of an air of fiction than it probably should have. It might be because of the style of prose the author used or in the reporting of the details in the book. I also think my judgement may be a bit biased as I read the journals of both Amundsen and Scott in a previous book and enjoyed reading the words of the en themselves. This might be a good book to start the reading of the journey to the South Pole before moving onto other books.

[Rob Pruden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather condensed concise story of the efforts to reach the true South Pole. For me it lacked visuals to tie into the narrative. Obviously the terrain traversed is little seen by the vast portion of humanity and some photos or drawings of the terrain would have helped immeasurably in my enjoyment of this story. Nevertheless it was an interesting story of incredible courage and perseverance of the human spirit.

[Anthony Meaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are plenty of books about the "race" to be the first country to the South Pole. If you don't want to plow through them all this is an excellent, well written summary of the major expeditions. So you can read this one and if you're not interested in reading any more books about hunger, privation, death and unfathomable cold you don't have to.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like the Cliff’s notes version of the South Pole journey in that it’s a quick and easy read. I feel satisfied with what I know from it and not sure if I want to read a longer version of how much Scott was an idiot and cruelty to animals. I went to Antarctica which is why I read this book.

[Manwei Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

exciting with no frills

Greatly informative but without any frills. Concisely retold the early expeditions to Antarctica with enough detail to be interesting but without dragging on any of the story telling.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, good read. Lots I didn’t know. It moved along quickly. The last half is a page-turner and reads like a good adventure story.

[Travel Writing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was working at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during the 2011/2012 season and 100th Commemoration of Roald Amundsen making it to the Pole.

I had the great honor of meeting and eating ginger bread cookies with Jens Stoltenberg, the Prime Minister of Norway. I think I freaked him out when I said,

"OH NO NO! Not the buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons!!!" when Jens offered me a cookie. I was quoting Shrek and I can't help it if the leader of Norway was not up to par on children's movies.


Ice mold of Amundsen's head in the beer can (vertical tunnel connecting station to power plant and VMF) at the South Pole. The ice mold was used during the 100th Commemoration Ceremonies

South is probably one of the simplest and quickest telling of the story of the race between Amundsen and Scott, but the lack of depth does not make the story any less gripping or heart breaking.
When Lawrence Oates says, "I am just going outside and may be some time." It is one of the saddest and bravest things ever uttered in all of the era of Antarctic Expeditions.

These men were amazing. Stronger and braver and more determined than anything we can imagine today.

I have stood on the edge of the polar plateau in my fancy dancy extreme cold weather gear (ECW) and stared out at literally thousands miles of searing white and thought,

"What in the f*^k were those guys thinking?"

They were beasts, gentlemen and adventurers, but beasts.

[Rob Neely · Rating 4 out of 5]

For whatever reason, I like reading these books about people who are insane. But insane in a way that is fun to read about, and without said insanity the human race would probably never have explored beyond the temperate climates and flatlands of where we choose to live. I loved "Into Africa", and this book has some of the same elements - backdropped by a race to be the first expedition to the South Pole. It started out a bit slow - I wasn't really getting engrossed in the pure agony of exploring Antartica, but the 2nd half was pretty engrossing once the race alluded to in the title took root. Hard to imagine what would drive anyone to endure what it takes to do something like that, and as usual - the expedition leader and a few other characters seem to get all the glory when there's a phalanx of support crew that suffer just as much.

I would probably give this 3.5 stars if I could, and "Into Africa" was a bit more interesting if you're looking for a good adventure book to read. But this one was also quite a bit shorter and thus an easier read.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought the ebook of this so I didn't realise how short it was, but it's a great whistle-stop tour of the batch of expeditions determined to make it to the South Pole.
This book seems like a good jumping off point to explore the topic a bit more. I learned a lot, although some maps or images would have been useful to track where everyone went.
I enjoyed the excerpts from the diaries of some of the men who took these intense journeys, and I will probably read more of Scott's journal in the future. It was interesting to compare the British and Norwegian methods and, as usual, arrogance lead to some easy-to-avoid mistakes being made.
An interesting little book, I look forward to reading more on the subject.

[Guy Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise, well-written narrative of the attempts to reach the South Pole by Scott and Amundsen. The trials, extreme weather conditions and physical suffering undergone by the men are well documented. By nature of superior logistics and preparation, Amundsen was the first to reach the Pole and plant the Norwegian flag. Although he also subsequently attained his goal, Scott's efforts were overshadowed by his death and that of his companions.
This is an excellent read and will hold the attention of any adventure enthusiast.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5 stars. This is an easy and enjoyable read for those who know little of Antarctic exploration or the race to the South Pole. It is light on details, but covers a great deal of information.

[Rita Ciresi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a good general introduction to the journeys of Scott and Amundsen.

[Walter E Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Antarctic can spot bull$hite at 1000 Knots.