Scan barcode
A review by timburbage
Captain Scott by Ranulph Fiennes
5.0
This was an amazing book.
We start with Scott's life before the Antarctic came calling, before journeying on the Discovery, and then the fatal journey on the Terra Nova. It is a fascinating look into life in the deep unforgiving tundra. Scott may have died in the ice, but he was not a failure in any way.
Ranulph Fiennes uses his experience of exploration, plus a lot of research, to defend Scott. Scott is someone who had greatly gone down in Britsh eyes since his death as a bit of a bungler, and for being a gallant loser. Fiennes does a great job defending him, and the fact that he was the first person to do anything on that continent, so of course he made mistakes and miscalculations.
Fiennes does a great job of showing that modern biographers, led by Ronald Huntford, set it up as a race between Scott and Amundsen to the South Pole, and that Scott lost because he made bad decisions. In fact, Scott didn't even know he was in a race because Amundsen lied to absolutely everyone what he was doing, even hiding when Scott came to visit. Amundsen used dogs to get to the South Pole and get out of there as quickly as possible. He didn't even make maps or any observations. Scott was there to explore the region, and his team's work in meteorology and science still stand up today. Scott was an explorer, Amundsen was a glory hunter.
When the end came, it was really sad to read. It just showed how much Fiennes managed to get me to care about these intrepid adventurers in the deep cold, some of whom will be there forever.
We start with Scott's life before the Antarctic came calling, before journeying on the Discovery, and then the fatal journey on the Terra Nova. It is a fascinating look into life in the deep unforgiving tundra. Scott may have died in the ice, but he was not a failure in any way.
Ranulph Fiennes uses his experience of exploration, plus a lot of research, to defend Scott. Scott is someone who had greatly gone down in Britsh eyes since his death as a bit of a bungler, and for being a gallant loser. Fiennes does a great job defending him, and the fact that he was the first person to do anything on that continent, so of course he made mistakes and miscalculations.
Fiennes does a great job of showing that modern biographers, led by Ronald Huntford, set it up as a race between Scott and Amundsen to the South Pole, and that Scott lost because he made bad decisions. In fact, Scott didn't even know he was in a race because Amundsen lied to absolutely everyone what he was doing, even hiding when Scott came to visit. Amundsen used dogs to get to the South Pole and get out of there as quickly as possible. He didn't even make maps or any observations. Scott was there to explore the region, and his team's work in meteorology and science still stand up today. Scott was an explorer, Amundsen was a glory hunter.
When the end came, it was really sad to read. It just showed how much Fiennes managed to get me to care about these intrepid adventurers in the deep cold, some of whom will be there forever.