The Last Great Australian Adventurer: Ben Carlin's epic journey around the world by amphibious Jeep.

by Gordon Bass

In 1948, Ben Carlin set out from New York City with an audacious, lunatic plan to circumnavigate the world in an army surplus amphibious jeep called Half-Safe. Fuelled by cigarettes and adrenaline, the Australian army major pushed his fragile, claustrophobic vehicle through fierce Atlantic hurricanes, across uncharted North African desert, into dense South-East Asian jungle and over the icy dark swells of the North Pacific. It was a 50,000-mile roll of the dice that by all rights should have killed him. When Ben finally pulled into Times Square a decade later, he found himself alone and forgotten, his legacy little more than a wake of women and empty whiskey bottles. And the worst was yet to come.Was it all a fool’s errand? Or a pure manifestation of spirit? Where does a dream end and an obsession begin? What’s an acceptable cost to pay, and to what lengths will a person go not to be left with the haunting what if? The Last Great Australian Adventurer is the compelling account of Ben Carlin’s attempt to make an enduring mark on the world at the twilight of the Golden Age of Adventure.

341 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2017

About the author

Gordon Bass is a writer and a creative director for agencies and brands around the world. He lives with his family in Vermont.

Reviews

[Martin Chambers]

Ben Carlin wrote of his journey in 'Half Safe' and 'The other half of half safe' but neither book sold particularly well. Times literary supplement reviewed 'Half Safe ... is in fact only half interesting.' A bit harsh I think. Half Safe has become somewhat of a collectors item so in any case you might be lucky to find a copy, but don't worry, Gordon Bass in 'The last great Australian adventurer' has told Ben Carlin's story somewhat better than Ben Carlin, and he has told it with great sympathy. The story is a tragedy, in the classic literary sense, where a character is brought down by a fault in their own self, and despite the monumental achievement Ben Carlin was and has been largely forgotten. Thanks to Gordon Bass he will be remembered a little more and just perhaps we might be become better people for knowing this story. PS: If you are in Perth, take a drive to Guildford Grammar School to take a look at Half Safe.

[Natalie S]

Review score: 7.5/10

The name Ben Carlin may not mean much to some people, but American author, Gordon Bass is trying to rectify that. Bass has penned a biography called, The Last Great Australian Adventurer that chronicles the life of this world-record holding explorer. Carlin circumnavigated the world in an amphibious jeep in an arduous journey that took him around a decade to complete. The Last Great Australian Adventurer captures Carlin’s mad quest from his formative years in Perth, his time spent in the U.S. and the bitter ending to his ridiculous mission.

To read the rest of this review please visit: http://magazine.100percentrock.com/re...

[Michael Pryor]

Eye-opening. Detailed. Sad.

[Dave]

I had never heard of Ben Carlin, at least that I remember, since his trip around the world in a Ford Amphibious Jeep that ended in 1958. I had read Kon-Tiki after a visit to the museum of that name in Oslo, so this story intrigued me. Although Carlin had no motivation other than and adventure and to show that it could be done, he felt that his trip would make him famous, and rich. Sadly his timing was not good, and he miscalculated the time needed for the venture. Today he would have become a reality show, and an internet sensation, but he never became famous or wealthy. But then his angry personality and his many choices in women and drinking partners set him back quite a it as well. This telling is very well done and seems to be fair and honest. It was a good read, and a book that was worth reading from beginning to end.

[Greg]

Enjoyed this story about an unknown Australian. Good read.

[rob]

This is a well-written interesting book that kept me moderately interested without ever enclosing me in its grip.

Certainly the feat of circumnavigating the world in a vehicle ridiculously poorly equipped for the feat is startling – in its idiocy as much as in its heroism. The book covers the facts of this incredible feat well.

Bass has made his book much more interesting by exploring the human side of this trip. The central character, Major Ben Carlin, emerges as a driven, rather nasty person. In the course of the journey, he destroys a relationship with his second wife Elenore who clearly loves him. He dismisses the incredible amount of help he gets from so many others. He is cruelly dismissive of other companions on his journey who do not live up to his expectations.

I became moderately engrossed but never really engaged with this story. I do not blame Bass. The book is well written. Ultimately I suspect the sheer futility of Carlin’s journey, especially after the Atlantic crossing, caused me to just say ‘why? What’s the point?'

[Nick Ward]

Quite a read.
At the time of the author's' circumnavigation DUKWs were rarely seen other than in the armed services ( & in museums).

An extraordinary adventure by an extraordinarily unconventional man, accompanied by his wife, and for part of the journey by others.
I was extremely privileged in that Ben Carlins' daughter contacted me via a colleague of hers to further enlighten me regarding this extraordinary book, and her extraordinary Father.

Perhaps not for everyone but I enjoyed this book about human endeavour with tenacity and stubbornness very much.
( Read in Kindle format).

[Nicky]

I actually saw the film made by Carlin twice before I read the book. The 2nd time, his daughter Deirdre presented it, making it more personal.
The writing by George Bass is very good; what a driven egocentric, clever, selfish, alcohol fueled individual Ben Carlin was!
It was amazing that he and his companions survived really. I felt for Elinore, his long suffering wife, who vomited her way across the ocean.
Great book, the man was heavily flawed for sure.
I didn't like how he treated his wives, but that's how he was and the bit I struggled with.

[Jamin]

Ben was someone whose need to keep moving was the driving force behind his epic journey. This well researched piece by Gordon Bass describes a broken man's search to find how he fits into a world that he isn't suited to. It could almost be called the accidental adventurer.