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eamcmahon3's review against another edition
5.0
Just the kind of book I love. This felt like it could be an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class (the highest level of praise).
I loved learning about Gino. Great start to 2023
I loved learning about Gino. Great start to 2023
r_omulus's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Fridtjof Nansen nods: 10+
suebrownreads's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting book and well-written. I can't say it was as exciting as most of the books I have read on this subject, but I think the author did a lot of research and presented the information that was available. I do find it hard to take the killing of their dogs. I understand this is necessary in times of starvation, but in some cases, they just did not prepare well ahead of time, and once they mention being in an Inuit camp where dogs were not allowed, due to farm animals, so the dogs were put down. They just seemed to regard them as so easily expendable although the dogs had worked so hard, suffered so much, and were the only way the missions could have even taken place at all.
texreader's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Henry George (Gino) Walker should be recognized among the great arctic explorers, this author asserts, if only he'd survived a tragic accident at 25. A mediocre student with a quest for adventure, it turned out he was an excellent and likable leader of expeditions into the heart of Greenland and established a manned station in Greenland for a year to track weather trends for potential flights to shorten the trip from the USA to Europe. Most of the book focuses on the fierce conditions of the expeditions, for the men manning the station, and efforts to relieve them in somewhat regular intervals--all close to impossible. This was an interesting study of some of the last true explorers (in early 1930s), and especially of an individual, Gino, with unique talents and mindset.
pferdina's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The story of Gino Watkins adventurous life of Arctic exploration. Leader of four expeditions before he was 25 years old. He rounded up other brave young British men and some funding just to go on larks, or so it seems. Outgoing, cheerful, intensely private, and somehow inspiring. He doesn’t make it back from the last journey.
This book focuses on the 1930-1931 expedition to monitor the weather on top of Greenland’s glaciers, but Watkins’s early life and the fates of all the men of the group are also given plenty of space.
This book focuses on the 1930-1931 expedition to monitor the weather on top of Greenland’s glaciers, but Watkins’s early life and the fates of all the men of the group are also given plenty of space.