The Polar Press eBooks
eBooks editi da The Polar Press
My Attainment of the Pole. E-book. Formato EPUB Frederick Albert Cook - The Polar Press, 2024 -
Frederick Albert Cook (1865-1940) was the first American to explore both Polar regions and the first to spend forced winters in the Antarctic (1897-99) and the Arctic (1907-09). The subzero temperatures were only one of the dangers Cook faced in his attempts to reach the North Pole in 1908. During his extraordinary and harrowing journey, he fought off arctic wolves and polar bears, lived through ice storms, almost starved on several occasions, and faced long and lonely hours of isolation. His book relates how he learned from Eskimos how to survive in the Arctic, hunting musk ox to survive, harpooning walruses, and traveling by dog sled. After his journey, he defended himself against the charges of fellow explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that Cook had lied about reaching the Pole. My Attainment of the Pole is not only a great read for any armchair explorer, but it is also a controversial work that contributed to a dispute that lasted for decades and continues to resonate to this day.
Shores of the Polar SeaA Narrative of the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6. E-book. Formato EPUB Edward L. Moss - The Polar Press, 2024 -
When the British Arctic Expedition set sail from Portsmouth on May 29, 1875, the explorers hoped to reach the highest latitude, and perhaps even approach the ever-elusive North Pole. It was believed that, should they successfully pass through Smith Sound, between Greenland and Canada's Ellesmere Island, they would encounter an Open Polar Sea free from troublesome ice. With this primary goal, three steamships set out across the stormy Atlantic only to immediately become separated by a violent cyclone, reconvening at Disko Bay on the western coast of Greenland some weeks later. Perhaps they could have interpreted this early inconvenience as a sign of the winter to come, or a warning that the Arctic waters are rarely kind. Regardless, the captains pressed on.In Shores of the Polar Sea, Edward L. Moss, an artist and esteemed Royal Navy Surgeon, records this journey from his first-hand seat in the belly of HMS Alert.Overall, the expedition was a near disaster. The men suffered badly from scurvy and were hampered by inappropriate clothing and equipment. Realizing that his men could not survive another winter in the ice, Nares hastily retreated southward with both his ships in the summer of 1876.In hopes of expanding England's contribution to natural history, they captured, bottled, and preserved everything from brittle feather stars to small black spiders. And what they didn't capture for study, they killed en masse to consume. Carrying Winchester repeating rifles — "murderous weapons for this sort of work" — the men hunted everything that moved. Arctic hares, reindeer, walruses, and seals, which they grimly nicknamed "floe-rats." As the winter encroached, so did a seemingly permanent darkness. Fearful of the perennial ice floes, which could easily crush whatever ship crossed their path, the Alert landed at Floeberg Beach, where it would rest until the following summer allowed for safe escape. And while the daily life of a sailor may appear unsympathetic, Moss's prose is deeply personal, poetic, and even romantic. Not only are his accounts of the expedition unflinchingly thorough, but they also linger playfully on every odd moment, awkward bit of dialogue, or alienating aspect of harsh Arctic life.
A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. E-book. Formato EPUB Matthew Henson - The Polar Press, 2023 -
Seven times had Robert Peary and Matthew Henson attempted to reach the fabled North Pole. Seven times they failed. In 1908, following years of frustration, they gather a crew of Inuit guides and set sail from Greenland, hopeful that the eighth voyage will end in discovery.