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kelly_may's review against another edition
4.0
So glad to find a book for middle grades about Nansen! I had not heard of him until our team of teachers designed a project about Nobel peace laureates for our fourth graders. It’s fascinating to read this detailed account of his polar expeditions long before his work on the Nansen passport.
scostner's review against another edition
3.0
Fridtjof Nansen had a crazy idea. Everyone said so. He wanted to purposely get a ship locked in the pack ice that surrounds the North Pole and let it drift with the currents to see if it could reach the Pole. Despite naysayers, he found a shipwright who designed a ship with modifications that were meant to keep it from being crushed by the ice. Nansen also convinced the government of Norway to fund his expedition. He and the crew set off with enough supplies to last for 5 years, with none of them sure if they would ever see home again.
This biography tells of Nansen's earlier expeditions, those that gave him the credibility to get a polar voyage funded and staffed. Then it traces the voyage of the Fram and her crew from their home port through their time trapped in the ice, to Nansen's departure from the ship to cross the ice by dogsled, and the end of both those journeys. Plentiful archival photos of the expedition (and drawings inspired by the photos), fill the pages. There are descriptions of each crew member and his responsibilities, the various supplies, and the special equipment used by Nansen and his crew, all of which are supplemented in the back matter.
For those who enjoy tales of survival and exploration, this contains a wealth of information. It is intended for grades 7 - 10, but even adult readers would find it fascinating.
-- On a personal note, the fate of the sled dogs during that final dash for the Pole is not a happy one. The author makes a point of mentioning several times that it was a different era then and that the men "loved their dogs and treated them well when they were traveling, but if one grew too weak to pull, it became food to keep the other dogs alive...Survival depended on a dog's ability to pull." Dog lovers will not enjoy those portions of the narrative, but will appreciate the section in the after matter about how modern expeditions do things differently.
This biography tells of Nansen's earlier expeditions, those that gave him the credibility to get a polar voyage funded and staffed. Then it traces the voyage of the Fram and her crew from their home port through their time trapped in the ice, to Nansen's departure from the ship to cross the ice by dogsled, and the end of both those journeys. Plentiful archival photos of the expedition (and drawings inspired by the photos), fill the pages. There are descriptions of each crew member and his responsibilities, the various supplies, and the special equipment used by Nansen and his crew, all of which are supplemented in the back matter.
For those who enjoy tales of survival and exploration, this contains a wealth of information. It is intended for grades 7 - 10, but even adult readers would find it fascinating.
-- On a personal note, the fate of the sled dogs during that final dash for the Pole is not a happy one. The author makes a point of mentioning several times that it was a different era then and that the men "loved their dogs and treated them well when they were traveling, but if one grew too weak to pull, it became food to keep the other dogs alive...Survival depended on a dog's ability to pull." Dog lovers will not enjoy those portions of the narrative, but will appreciate the section in the after matter about how modern expeditions do things differently.
amdame1's review against another edition
4.0
Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer and scientist. He loved the skiing and the outdoors, especially winter. He also had a curious mind. So he combined all these things, especially since at that time, there was a lot of scientific exploration going on. He decided that he would take a team of men and dogs and try a new method to be the first to reach the North Pole. He raised funds and had a new design for a ship built that would handle the ice differently than other ships of that time. He would also cross the ice with one other man once the ship did get locked into the ice so that they could actually reach the North Pole. Nansen knew that this was going to be very difficult, but he was determined to do it anyway. He had a successful journey without losing any of his men and made many scientific discoveries. He went on other journeys, none so well known as this one.
He later went on to become a statesman and is revered in Norway to this day.
The book is thoroughly researched and has lots of fascinating back matter - including blurbs about all of the men aboard the boat, a detailed list of the provisions they took with them, how dogs were thought about and treated in those days on scientific voyages, north pole expeditions and records timeline, duties of the crew, design of the ship, etc.
He later went on to become a statesman and is revered in Norway to this day.
The book is thoroughly researched and has lots of fascinating back matter - including blurbs about all of the men aboard the boat, a detailed list of the provisions they took with them, how dogs were thought about and treated in those days on scientific voyages, north pole expeditions and records timeline, duties of the crew, design of the ship, etc.
bethmitcham's review
4.0
Gripping story of a expedition that I knew nothing about. It's a sign of its quality that I kept annoying my companions by telling them snippits from what I was reading. It's cool that no one died, although since Nansen dashed off halfway through I'm not sure he gets all the credit. I wished the source notes were more closely tied to the text so I'd know where to go to follow up on stuff. The pictures were well done -- mostly original so not in color but large enough and bright enough that I could see what was going on. I liked seeing the "staged" one -- instragraming back in the 1800s!
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