The Great Polar Fraud
Cook, Peary, and Byrd - How Three American Heroes Duped the World into Thinking They Had Reached the North Pole
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Great Polar Fraud
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Patrick Cronin
-
By:
-
Anthony Galvin
About this listen
In 1910 Roald Amundsen set off from Oslo toward the North Pole but soon received word that two Americans - Frederick Cook and Robert Peary - each claimed to have reached the Pole ahead of him. Devastated, Amundsen famously went south. For years Cook and Peary tried to convince the world of their claims. Finally the National Geographic Society endorsed Peary, and the matter seemed settled. In May 1926 an American airman, Richard Byrd, flew north in a three-engine plane, and returned with a log showing that he had flow exactly over the geographical North Pole, becoming the third man to reach that mythical spot. National Geographic again supported the claim. However, it is now obvious that Peary claimed distances he could not possibly have achieved, and it is doubtful that Cooke, who had a history of fraud, ever got even close to the pole. Byrd flew further north than anyone before, but he did not have the fuel to have made the journey he claimed - his log was falsified. Just three days after Byrd's flight, Amundsen reenters the story on an airship traveling across the pole from Svalbard to Alaska, unknowingly passing directly over the pole, becoming the true first to reach it - just as he had been the first at the South Pole.
The Great Polar Fraud explores the history of the three men who claimed the pole, their claims, and the subsequent doubts of those claims, effectively rewriting the history of polar exploration and putting Amundsen center stage as the rightful conqueror of both poles.
©2014 Anthony Galvin (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Madhouse at the End of the Earth
- The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
- By: Julian Sancton
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 823
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 716
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 711
In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent story
- By Ginger 3701 on 05-23-21
By: Julian Sancton
-
Wanderlust
- An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age
- By: Reid Mitenbuler
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 173
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 173
Deep in the Arctic wilderness, Peter Freuchen awoke to find himself buried alive under the snow. During a sudden blizzard the night before, he had taken shelter underneath his dogsled and become trapped there while he slept. Now, as feeling drained from his body, he managed to claw a hole through the ice only to find himself in even greater danger: his beard, wet with condensation from his struggling breath, had frozen to his sled runners and lashed his head in place, exposing it to icy winds that needed only a few minutes to kill him. If Freuchen could escape that, he could escape anything.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazingly in-depth look at an amazing person.
- By Dave on 06-18-23
By: Reid Mitenbuler
-
The Last Viking
- The Life of Roald Amundsen
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 468
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding.
- By Leon Miller on 12-01-15
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
Fatal North
- Murder and Survival on the First North Pole Expedition
- By: Bruce Henderson
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
It began as President Ulysses S. Grant's bid for international glory after the Civil War - America's first attempt to reach the North Pole. It ended with Captain Charles Hall's death under suspicious circumstances, dissension among sailors, scientists, and explorers, and the ship's evacuation and eventual sinking. Then came a brutal struggle for survival by 33 men, women, and children stranded on the polar ice.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An average reader says 10
- By Barbara on 11-10-16
By: Bruce Henderson
-
Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 95
Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
-
The Terror
- A Novel
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Tom Sellwood
- Length: 28 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,747
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,269
The men onboard HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Very good then, NOT
- By Randall on 07-24-18
By: Dan Simmons
-
Madhouse at the End of the Earth
- The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
- By: Julian Sancton
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 823
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 716
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 711
In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent story
- By Ginger 3701 on 05-23-21
By: Julian Sancton
-
Wanderlust
- An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age
- By: Reid Mitenbuler
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 173
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 173
Deep in the Arctic wilderness, Peter Freuchen awoke to find himself buried alive under the snow. During a sudden blizzard the night before, he had taken shelter underneath his dogsled and become trapped there while he slept. Now, as feeling drained from his body, he managed to claw a hole through the ice only to find himself in even greater danger: his beard, wet with condensation from his struggling breath, had frozen to his sled runners and lashed his head in place, exposing it to icy winds that needed only a few minutes to kill him. If Freuchen could escape that, he could escape anything.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazingly in-depth look at an amazing person.
- By Dave on 06-18-23
By: Reid Mitenbuler
-
The Last Viking
- The Life of Roald Amundsen
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 468
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding.
- By Leon Miller on 12-01-15
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
Fatal North
- Murder and Survival on the First North Pole Expedition
- By: Bruce Henderson
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
It began as President Ulysses S. Grant's bid for international glory after the Civil War - America's first attempt to reach the North Pole. It ended with Captain Charles Hall's death under suspicious circumstances, dissension among sailors, scientists, and explorers, and the ship's evacuation and eventual sinking. Then came a brutal struggle for survival by 33 men, women, and children stranded on the polar ice.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An average reader says 10
- By Barbara on 11-10-16
By: Bruce Henderson
-
Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 95
Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
-
The Terror
- A Novel
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Tom Sellwood
- Length: 28 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,747
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,269
The men onboard HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Very good then, NOT
- By Randall on 07-24-18
By: Dan Simmons
-
Empire of Ice and Stone
- The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 361
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 316
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 315
In the summer of 1913, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk departed Canada for the Arctic Ocean. At the helm was Captain Bob Bartlett, considered the world’s greatest living ice navigator. The expedition’s visionary leader was a flamboyant impresario named Vilhjalmur Stefansson hungry for fame. Just six weeks after the Karluk departed, giant ice floes closed in around her. As the ship became icebound, Stefansson disembarked with five companions and struck out on what he claimed was a 10-day caribou hunting trip. Most on board would never see him again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great adventure story
- By Elaine McCollough on 01-06-23
By: Buddy Levy
-
Endurance
- Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
- By: Alfred Lansing
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 25,745
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 22,798
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 22,757
In August of 1914, the British ship Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October, 1915, still half a continent away from its intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in the ice. For five months, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways in one of the most savage regions of the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best book I've had
- By Thomas Allen on 09-17-08
By: Alfred Lansing
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
River of Darkness
- Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 669
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 574
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 574
In 1541, the brutal conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his well-born lieutenant Francisco Orellana set off from Quito in search of La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man". Driving an enormous retinue of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, hunting dogs, and other animals across the Andes, they watched their proud expedition begin to disintegrate even before they descended into the nightmarish jungle, following the course of a powerful river.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing!
- By Sammi on 02-17-18
By: Buddy Levy
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,143
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Superb tale that unravels at an iceburg's pace
- By Mel on 03-19-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
Labyrinth of Ice
- The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,115
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,000
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 997
In July 1881, Lt. A. W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge - vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness - as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship. Only nothing came.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An incredible read
- By Lauren Olson on 12-06-19
By: Buddy Levy
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,095
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,503
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Gasping for Air
- By Jean Engle on 04-19-23
By: David Grann
-
His Majesty's Airship
- The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine
- By: S. C. Gwynne
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 142
The tragic fate of the British airship R101—which went down in a spectacular fireball in 1930, killing more people than died in the Hindenburg disaster seven years later—has been largely forgotten. In His Majesty’s Airship, S.C. Gwynne resurrects it in vivid detail, telling the epic story of great ambition gone terribly wrong.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
O, The Humanity
- By Glenn G Poole II on 06-11-23
By: S. C. Gwynne
-
Race for the South Pole
- The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen
- By: Roland Huntford
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
For the first time ever Roland Huntford presents each man's account of the race to the South Pole in their own words. In 1910, Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen set sail for Antarctica, each from his own starting point, and the epic race for the South Pole was on. 2010 marks the centenary of the last great race of terrestrial discovery. For the first time Scott's unedited diary entries run alongside those of Amundsen and Bjaaland, never before translated into English.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great account, might be better in hard copy
- By Error9312 on 05-24-22
By: Roland Huntford
-
Alaska
- A Novel
- By: James A. Michener
- Narrated by: Larry McKeever
- Length: 57 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,665
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,467
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,472
The high points in the story of Alaska since the American acquisition are brought vividly to life through more than 100 characters, real and fictional.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I KNOW ALASKA LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-19-15
-
Race to the Pole
- By: Sir Ranulph Fiennes
- Narrated by: David Povall
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
During the Golden Era of Exploration, Captain Robert Scott and his competitor Roald Amundsen conquered the unconquerable: Antarctica. Their perilous race to the South Pole claimed Scott’s life and became the stuff of legend as well as endless scrutiny. In this compelling biography of Captain Scott and his fatal journey, renowned modern-day explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, holder of ten expeditionary records, has written the definitive book on this hotly debated subject.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I enjoyed the story
- By serrano yolanda on 12-22-22
-
The Ship Beneath the Ice
- The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance
- By: Mensun Bound
- Narrated by: Mensun Bound - preface, Charles Armstrong
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
On November 21, 1914, after sailing more than ten thousand miles from Norway to the Antarctic Ocean, the Endurance finally succumbed to the surrounding ice. Ernest Shackleton and his crew had navigated the 144-foot, three-masted wooden vessel to Antarctica to become the first to cross the barren continent, but early season pack ice trapped them in place offshore. They watched in silence as the ship’s stern rose twenty feet in the air and disappeared into the frigid sea, then spent six harrowing months marooned on the ice in its wake.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Dragged out story
- By Bill on 09-14-23
By: Mensun Bound
Related to this topic
-
The Last Viking
- The Life of Roald Amundsen
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 468
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding.
- By Leon Miller on 12-01-15
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
To the Edges of the Earth
- 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration
- By: Edward J. Larson
- Narrated by: Paul Michael Garcia
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration - set at the world's frozen extremes - lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the so-called "Third Pole", the pole of altitude, located in unexplored heights of the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny, and the harshest conditions on the planet to plant flags at the furthest edges of the Earth.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
brutally honest accounts unbelievable stories
- By Troy Hamilton on 07-17-18
By: Edward J. Larson
-
A Wretched and Precarious Situation
- In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier
- By: David Welky
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
A remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal, and survival set in one of the world's most inhospitable places. In 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm "Crocker Land". Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
it all comes together at the end
- By Kat on 01-30-18
By: David Welky
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
The Lost Men
- The Horrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party
- By: Kelly Tyler-Lewis
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed south aboard the Endurance to be the first to cross Antarctica. Shackleton's endeavor is legend, but few know the astonishing story of the Ross Sea party, the support crew he dispatched to the opposite side of the continent to build a vital lifeline of food and fuel depots.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK
- By Michael on 05-17-07
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,143
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Superb tale that unravels at an iceburg's pace
- By Mel on 03-19-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
The Last Viking
- The Life of Roald Amundsen
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 468
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding.
- By Leon Miller on 12-01-15
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
To the Edges of the Earth
- 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration
- By: Edward J. Larson
- Narrated by: Paul Michael Garcia
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration - set at the world's frozen extremes - lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the so-called "Third Pole", the pole of altitude, located in unexplored heights of the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny, and the harshest conditions on the planet to plant flags at the furthest edges of the Earth.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
brutally honest accounts unbelievable stories
- By Troy Hamilton on 07-17-18
By: Edward J. Larson
-
A Wretched and Precarious Situation
- In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier
- By: David Welky
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 50
A remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal, and survival set in one of the world's most inhospitable places. In 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm "Crocker Land". Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
it all comes together at the end
- By Kat on 01-30-18
By: David Welky
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
The Lost Men
- The Horrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party
- By: Kelly Tyler-Lewis
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed south aboard the Endurance to be the first to cross Antarctica. Shackleton's endeavor is legend, but few know the astonishing story of the Ross Sea party, the support crew he dispatched to the opposite side of the continent to build a vital lifeline of food and fuel depots.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Just OK
- By Michael on 05-17-07
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,149
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,143
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Superb tale that unravels at an iceburg's pace
- By Mel on 03-19-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
Barrow's Boys
- By: Fergus Fleming
- Narrated by: James Gillies
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Barrow's Boys is a spellbinding account of perilous journeys to uncharted areas under the most challenging conditions. Fergus Fleming captures the passion for exploration that led a band of men into situations that would humble today's bravest adventurers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow
- By Robert B. Golson on 07-05-17
By: Fergus Fleming
-
Ice Ghosts
- The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition
- By: Paul Watson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 465
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 411
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 408
Ice Ghosts weaves together the epic story of the Lost Franklin Expedition of 1845 - whose two ships and crew of 129 were lost to the Arctic ice - with the modern tale of the scientists, divers, and local Inuit behind the incredible discovery of the flagship's wreck in 2014. Paul Watson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was on the icebreaker that led the discovery expedition, tells a fast-paced historical adventure story: Sir John Franklin and the crew of the HMS Erebus and Terror setting off in search of the fabled Northwest Passage.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed Writing Dashes High Hopes :(
- By Gillian on 03-31-17
By: Paul Watson
-
Ghosts of K2
- By: Mick Conefrey
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
At 28,251 feet, K2 might be almost 800 feet shorter than Everest, but it’s a far harder climb. It will kill you on the way up and the way down. Mick Conefrey guides us through the early story of the legendary mountain and the extraordinary attempts that led up to its first ascent in 1954 - these are tales of riveting drama and unimaginable tragedy.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
First Review? It was an "okay" book
- By Matthew on 10-20-15
By: Mick Conefrey
-
The Cruelest Miles
- The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic
- By: Gay Salisbury, Laney Salisbury
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 441
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 311
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 310
The year is 1925. It is sixty degrees below zero. The wind sweeps tons of snow over the deep-frozen Alaskan landscape. The nearest railhead is seven hundred miles away. Airplanes cannot fly. The way to Nome is blocked by a treacherous frozen sound, an icebound port, and mountains to the west. But there is a diphtheria epidemic in Nome. The children need serum from the outside world if they are to survive. Their only hope is a few chosen Eskimo drivers and their teams of dogs.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Cruelest Miles Makes Exciting Reading
- By Susan Carter on 01-07-04
By: Gay Salisbury, and others
-
Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 95
Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
-
Farther Than Any Man
- The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 339
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 338
In the annals of seafaring and exploration, there is one name that immediately evokes visions of the open ocean, billowing sails, visiting strange, exotic lands previously uncharted, and civilizations never before encountered - Captain James Cook. Full of realistic action, lush descriptions of places and events, and fascinating historical characters such as King George III and the soon-to-be-notorious Master William Bligh, Dugard's gripping account of the life and death of Captain James Cook is a thrilling story of a discoverer hell-bent on going farther than any man.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Sloppy History
- By Kyle P. Dalton on 04-06-18
By: Martin Dugard
-
The White Darkness
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 2 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
Henry Worsley spent his life idolizing Ernest Shackleton, the 19th-century polar explorer who tried to become the first person to reach the South Pole and later sought to cross Antarctica on foot. Worsley felt an overpowering connection to those expeditions. In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton's crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape and life-threatening physical exhaustion. He soon felt compelled to go back. In 2015, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Will Patton's narration
- By Carol on 01-18-19
By: David Grann
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 626
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
Island of the Blue Foxes
- Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 217
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
The story of the world's largest, longest, and best-financed scientific expedition of all time, triumphantly successful, gruesomely tragic, and never before fully told. The immense 18th-century scientific journey, variously known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition or the Great Northern Expedition, from St. Petersburg across Siberia to the coast of North America, involved over 3,000 people and cost Peter the Great over one-sixth of his empire's annual revenue.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Vivid History of Russia's First Contact In Alaska
- By Neil Ring on 09-01-18
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
Frozen in Time
- An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 670
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 612
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 606
On November 5, 1942, a U.S. cargo plane slammed into the Greenland ice cap. Four days later, a B-17 on the search-and-rescue mission also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on the B-17 survived. The U.S. military launched a second daring rescue operation, but the Grumman Duck amphibious plane sent to find the men vanished. In this thrilling adventure, Mitchell Zuckoff offers a spellbinding account of these harrowing crashes and the fate of the survivors and their would-be saviors.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting Survival Story
- By Jennifer on 05-20-13
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
-
Into the Silence
- The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
- By: Wade Davis
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 28 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 465
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 402
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 402
In this magisterial work of history and adventure, based on more than a decade of prodigious research in British, Canadian, and European archives, and months in the field in Nepal and Tibet, Wade Davis vividly re-creates British climbers’ epic attempts to scale Mount Everest in the early 1920s. With new access to letters and diaries, Davis recounts the heroic efforts of George Mallory and his fellow climbers to conquer the mountain in the face of treacherous terrain and furious weather.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
He wrote exquisite Eel-agies?
- By Florence on 11-29-12
By: Wade Davis
-
The Stowaway
- A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica
- By: Laurie Gwen Shapiro
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
It was 1928: a time of illicit booze, of Gatsby and Babe Ruth, of freewheeling fun. The Great War was over, and American optimism was higher than the stock market. What better moment to launch an expedition to Antarctica, the planet's final frontier? The night before the expedition's flagship launched, Billy Gawronski - a skinny, first-generation New York City high schooler desperate to escape a dreary future in the family upholstery business - jumped into the Hudson River and snuck aboard. Could he get away with it?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Nice Little Story About A Nice Young Man...
- By Gillian on 01-23-18
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Hollow Earth: The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History
- By: Raymond Bernard PhD
- Narrated by: David Bufton
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
In this audiobook, Bernard claims that flying saucers not only exist, but that they are the vehicles of a super-race that lives in a huge, underground world, whose entrance is at the Earth's north and south poles. In essence, the Earth is really a fat donut, with little holes at the top and bottom. The seawater and geographical forms stay in place as the surface of the donut curves inward and upside down, held in place by gravity.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I became interested in this subject..
- By John f Adkins Jr on 12-31-20
-
Alone
- The Classic Polar Adventure
- By: Admiral Richard E. Byrd
- Narrated by: Tim Halbur
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
In January of 1934, Admiral Richard E. Byrd began an Antarctic expedition that would change his life forever. Already a celebrated explorer, Byrd's expeditions were media sensations on radio and film. On this trip, Byrd had an audacious undertaking in mind: manning a weather station alone, miles from the American base along the coast, through the harsh Antarctic winter.
-
Left for Dead
- Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
The best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters tells the story of a wild encounter between an American sealing vessel, a shipwrecked British brig, and a British warship in the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812. Fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, the incident left three British sailors and two Americans including the captain of the sealer, Charles H. Barnard abandoned in the Falklands for eighteen months.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great history
- By Pullman on 07-31-24
By: Eric Jay Dolin
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
Sterling Point Books: Admiral Richard Byrd: Alone in the Antarctic
- By: Paul Rink
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Although less well known than his famous flight over the North Pole, Admiral Richard E. Byrd's adventures in Antarctica are just as remarkable. Wide-eyed youngsters will feel the excitement and danger as they learn about the isolated and tight little manned station where Byrd lived, separated from his crew; the temperatures that plunged to 60 degrees below zero; and Byrd's brush with death when a small stove he needed to keep warm - and stay alive - filled the air with carbon monoxide.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary feat of endurance
- By Jane on 02-18-12
By: Paul Rink
-
Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 95
Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
-
The Hollow Earth: The Greatest Geographical Discovery in History
- By: Raymond Bernard PhD
- Narrated by: David Bufton
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
In this audiobook, Bernard claims that flying saucers not only exist, but that they are the vehicles of a super-race that lives in a huge, underground world, whose entrance is at the Earth's north and south poles. In essence, the Earth is really a fat donut, with little holes at the top and bottom. The seawater and geographical forms stay in place as the surface of the donut curves inward and upside down, held in place by gravity.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
I became interested in this subject..
- By John f Adkins Jr on 12-31-20
-
Alone
- The Classic Polar Adventure
- By: Admiral Richard E. Byrd
- Narrated by: Tim Halbur
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
In January of 1934, Admiral Richard E. Byrd began an Antarctic expedition that would change his life forever. Already a celebrated explorer, Byrd's expeditions were media sensations on radio and film. On this trip, Byrd had an audacious undertaking in mind: manning a weather station alone, miles from the American base along the coast, through the harsh Antarctic winter.
-
Left for Dead
- Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
The best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters tells the story of a wild encounter between an American sealing vessel, a shipwrecked British brig, and a British warship in the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812. Fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, the incident left three British sailors and two Americans including the captain of the sealer, Charles H. Barnard abandoned in the Falklands for eighteen months.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great history
- By Pullman on 07-31-24
By: Eric Jay Dolin
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
Sterling Point Books: Admiral Richard Byrd: Alone in the Antarctic
- By: Paul Rink
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Although less well known than his famous flight over the North Pole, Admiral Richard E. Byrd's adventures in Antarctica are just as remarkable. Wide-eyed youngsters will feel the excitement and danger as they learn about the isolated and tight little manned station where Byrd lived, separated from his crew; the temperatures that plunged to 60 degrees below zero; and Byrd's brush with death when a small stove he needed to keep warm - and stay alive - filled the air with carbon monoxide.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary feat of endurance
- By Jane on 02-18-12
By: Paul Rink
-
Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 95
Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
What listeners say about The Great Polar Fraud
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- rjay
- 09-08-17
A good read
The story is interesting and Galvin included enough ancillary details to put all three Polar efforts into historical context. Mispronunciations and grammatical errors are distracting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- johnny
- 06-08-23
Great
Great listen. Highly recommended!!! Very compelling and I couldn’t stop until it was over. Get it now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt Chambers
- 01-16-23
Couldn’t stop listening
Very well read. Kept my attention. Fascinating men. How do they survive in such conditions?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Luke
- 04-21-24
poorly written with various errors
at times, I wondered if this book was edited before being published. the author makes numerous redundant statements, many of which are explaining very elementary concepts (how many times do we need to confirm that Antarctica is a land mass and the north pole is a spot in the arctic ocean). it's also littered with small factual and terminological errors (there are no crevasses at the north pole). I was hoping to learn more about Byrd but he's only discussed at the very end. there are many better books about the Heroic Age of polar exploration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!