The Last Viking : The Extraordinary Life of Roald Amundsen

The Last Viking unravels the life of the man who stands head and shoulders above all those who raced to map the last corners of the world. In 1900, the four great geographical mysteries—the Northwest Passage, the Northeast Passage, the South Pole, and the North Pole—remained blank spots on the globe. Within twenty years Roald Amundsen would claim all four prizes. Renowned for his determination and technical skills, both feared and beloved by his men, Amundsen is a legend of the heroic age of exploration, which shortly thereafter would be tamed by technology, commerce, and publicity. Féted in his lifetime as an international celebrity, pursued by women and creditors, he died in the Arctic on a rescue mission for an inept rival explorer. Stephen R. Bown has unearthed archival material to give Amundsen's life the grim immediacy of Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World, the exciting detail of The Endurance, and the suspense of a Jon Krakauer tale. The Last Viking is both a thrilling literary biography and a cracking good story. In the early 1900s, many of the great geographical mysteries that had intrigued adventurers for centuries remained unsolved: the polar regions -- the Northwest Passage, the South Pole, the North Pole and the Northeast Passage -- despite having claimed countless lives, were still shrouded in mystery. One man would claim all these prizes within a span of 20 years.Roald Amundsen was larger than life, arrogant and competitive. He was also a meticulous organizer and planner, willing to learn from the mistakes of others, and humble enough to seek the advice of indigenous peoples skilled in arctic survival -- thus avoiding the early death that was so common among other explorers.But Amundsen's life was one of sharp contrasts: reviled by the British for defeating Robert Falcon Scott, he was loved by his men, hailed as a hero in his native Norway and idolized as a charming and eccentric celebrity in the US. Drawing on hundreds of recently uncovered press clippings, The Last Viking goes beyond Amundsen's conflicted legacy, revealing a humorous, self-deprecating storyteller and a visionary and showman who who won over both his sponsors and his audiences with the same verve that characterized his geographical conquests. In the early 1900s, many of the great geographical mysteries that had intrigued adventurers for centuries remained unsolved: the polar regions — the Northwest Passage, the South Pole, the North Pole and the Northeast Passage — despite having claimed countless lives, were still shrouded in mystery. One man would claim all these prizes within a span of 20 years. Roald Amundsen was larger than life, arrogant and competitive. He was also a meticulous organizer and planner, willing to learn from the mistakes of others, and humble enough to seek the advice of indigenous peoples skilled in arctic survival — thus avoiding the early death that was so common among other explorers. But Amundsen's life was one of sharp contrasts: reviled by the British for defeating Robert Falcon Scott, he was loved by his men, hailed as a hero in his native Norway and idolized as a charming and eccentric celebrity in the US. Drawing on hundreds of recently uncovered press clippings, The Last Viking goes beyond Amundsen's conflicted legacy, revealing a humorous, self-deprecating storyteller and a visionary and showman who who won over both his sponsors and his audiences with the same verve that characterized his geographical conquests. The untold story of the great polar explorer who conquered the world's last unknown places, before vanishing in a daring bid to rescue his nemesis. Larger than life, arrogant and competitive, Roald Amundsen was also a meticulous organizer and planner, willing to learn from the mistakes of others, and humble enough to seek the advice of indigenous peoples skilled in arctic survival. Drawing on hundreds of recently uncovered press clippings, "The Last Viking" goes beyond Amundsen's conflicted legacy to reveal a humorous, self-deprecating storyteller who was also a visionary and showman A biography of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who was the first person to sail the Northwest Passage, the first to reach the South Pole, and possibly the first to set a flag on the North Pole