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Safe return doubtful: The heroic age of polar exploration
Until the early twentieth century, the north and south polar regions remained unknowns, shrouded in white wilderness; the mystery demanded resolution, and the feat of reaching the poles would guarantee immortality.
This book by renowned marine historian John Maxtone-Graham, tells the exciting story of the exploits of the polar explorers, who overcame fearsome odds and horrendous conditions. Neither radio nor aircraft had been invented; there was no nylon, no vitamins, and the food was often so primitively preserved as to be poisonous. The men camped overnight in subzero agony, their sweat-soaked furs frozen the moment they stopped.
Safe Return Doubtful covers every aspect of the polar game: ships, sledges, primus stoves, animals, rations, frostbite, scurvy, and, always, these remarkable men and their dogged search for polar immortality
This book by renowned marine historian John Maxtone-Graham, tells the exciting story of the exploits of the polar explorers, who overcame fearsome odds and horrendous conditions. Neither radio nor aircraft had been invented; there was no nylon, no vitamins, and the food was often so primitively preserved as to be poisonous. The men camped overnight in subzero agony, their sweat-soaked furs frozen the moment they stopped.
Safe Return Doubtful covers every aspect of the polar game: ships, sledges, primus stoves, animals, rations, frostbite, scurvy, and, always, these remarkable men and their dogged search for polar immortality
364 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
John Maxtone-Graham
34 books15 followersJohn Maxtone-Graham has written numerous works, including The Only Way to Cross—“the bible of the ship buffs"—Normandie, and France/Norway. He spends six months lecturing aboard ships. Ashore, he lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 31, 2021
Like many, I recently enjoyed AMC's The Terror and it left me wanting to know more about early polar expeditions. I also love books about survival at the limits of human endurance - Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster being the definitive example that I will never stop recommending to people (whether they ask or not) until I die. (I joke, but I'm serious.)
Anyway, I wanted a broad history of polar exploration rather than something specific, and was surprised how few books on the subject I could actually find: in the end I plumped for this book from 1988; though out of print, I picked up a nice copy second-hand.
The stories of these expeditions are so utterly mind-blowing that it would be difficult not to give five stars to this book even if it was hand-written in crayon with no punctuation. The stories tell themselves, and even a good hour getting lost in this subject on Wikipedia would have you gripped. That being said, the author's research is clearly meticulous and he balances the historical detail and the human drama well. There were touches of appropriate humour, whilst not detracting from the fact that hundreds of lives were lost in pursuit of the fabled 90°. I also couldn't help but feel for the similar number of sledging and hauling animals whose lives were also cheaply lost, given that unlike their human counterparts, they hadn't willingly signed up.
Anyway, I wanted a broad history of polar exploration rather than something specific, and was surprised how few books on the subject I could actually find: in the end I plumped for this book from 1988; though out of print, I picked up a nice copy second-hand.
The stories of these expeditions are so utterly mind-blowing that it would be difficult not to give five stars to this book even if it was hand-written in crayon with no punctuation. The stories tell themselves, and even a good hour getting lost in this subject on Wikipedia would have you gripped. That being said, the author's research is clearly meticulous and he balances the historical detail and the human drama well. There were touches of appropriate humour, whilst not detracting from the fact that hundreds of lives were lost in pursuit of the fabled 90°. I also couldn't help but feel for the similar number of sledging and hauling animals whose lives were also cheaply lost, given that unlike their human counterparts, they hadn't willingly signed up.
December 22, 2012
Read this book with hot coffee, cocoa or tea at hand, because you will feel the polar chill start to surround you.
I had little knowledge of Arctic explorations before Peary and not much more of the Antarctic besides the trio of Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton. This book filled in a lot of gaps, especially on early Arctic exploration.
Unfortunately, the question about whether Peary actually reached the North Pole or not -- and if he didn't, was it sextant mismeasurements or fraud -- is only briefly and tangentially discussed. Many polar authors and experts claim he didn't, but last year an explorer duplicated his fast-paced feat.
The contingencies of history are interesting, as this book shows. Amundsen had originally planned for the North Pole, but Peary's triumph led him to look south.
British humanity excluded dogs for the Antarctic mush; British stupidity refused to use Norwegian horse snowshoes, which might have let Scott beat Amundsen and return alive. If not stupidity and stubbornness, stupidity and sentimentality, leading Scott to add a fifth to his original four-man party, doomed him. The psychology behind this and the Scott-Shackelton dustup was also tred just lightly.
But, trying to reach the Arctic by ramming a ship into ice floes, or via ballooon? Read this book for for the lust for the poles, an addiction of human adventure.
I had little knowledge of Arctic explorations before Peary and not much more of the Antarctic besides the trio of Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton. This book filled in a lot of gaps, especially on early Arctic exploration.
Unfortunately, the question about whether Peary actually reached the North Pole or not -- and if he didn't, was it sextant mismeasurements or fraud -- is only briefly and tangentially discussed. Many polar authors and experts claim he didn't, but last year an explorer duplicated his fast-paced feat.
The contingencies of history are interesting, as this book shows. Amundsen had originally planned for the North Pole, but Peary's triumph led him to look south.
British humanity excluded dogs for the Antarctic mush; British stupidity refused to use Norwegian horse snowshoes, which might have let Scott beat Amundsen and return alive. If not stupidity and stubbornness, stupidity and sentimentality, leading Scott to add a fifth to his original four-man party, doomed him. The psychology behind this and the Scott-Shackelton dustup was also tred just lightly.
But, trying to reach the Arctic by ramming a ship into ice floes, or via ballooon? Read this book for for the lust for the poles, an addiction of human adventure.
December 21, 2014
An truly readable survey of Polar exploration during the Heroic age.
January 4, 2025
Exceptionally harrowing and fascinating. Graham writes with humor, vision, and fact. An awesome history of an under-discussed age of exploration.
January 8, 2026
For anyone with an interest in polar shenanigans, this is a fun romp (well, not fun fun, but you know what I mean) through the who's-who of the heroic age of polar exploration, from the search for Franklin over the Peary/Cook North pole feud to Scott's tragic demise in the race to the South pole. As someone who's read loads about the topic before, I still enjoyed this one a lot. I also learned some awesome new polar exploration trivia, for example that Fridtjof Nansen's mum was a badass, some guy drank Leopold McClintock's wash water and another guy proposed using captive eagles harnessed to a balloon for air travel. Be aware though that this was originally published in the eighties, so there's some outdated language in there.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews