The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen

As a fan of Arctic exploration The Last Viking is one of the best books I have read on this topic. Stephen Brown has done an outstanding job of detailing the life of one of the great explorers of all time. When we think of Roald Amundsen we usually just think of his being the first to reach the South Pole. Brown goes much further and takes us through the life of this incredible man beginning with his early days and a step by step journey through his many adventures. What really made Amundsen such a great and successful explorer was his willingness to learn from others, to study, to read, and to prepare before launching into his journeys. His first great success was his trip on the Goja through the Northwest passage. In that experience he lived with and studied the Inuit People and gained great insight as to how to how they survived in such cold and harsh climates. With that knowledge, he successfully accomplished his goal of later reaching the South Pole. Amundsen was constantly on the go and lectured and traveled extensively as he loved to tell people about his travels. The author gives us a good insight into the total life of Amundsen beyond just his exploration epics. We find how he related others, not just those on his trips, but the general public who loved hearing him speak and relate his experiences. We learn a great deal about his final trip, a joint effort with the Italians in a dirigible from Spitzbergen across the North Pole to Alaska. Truly, this man was one of the greatest explorers in history. He accomplished all he set out to do. This book is well worth your time and I highly recommend it.

Roald Amundsen and his competition with Scott for the South Poll is a fascinating story of exploration and survival in Antarctica. The book details Amundsen's early career looking up at Nansen and other arctic explorers and takes you through his first Belgian Antarctic expedition where he met Henry Cook. He then chronicles his arctic and antarctic trips, finding the Northwest passage, South Pole, and Northeast passage. The writing is very good and at times you feel like you are a long for the ride. The book is well researched and written. I enjoyed it so much I read two other books on Polar exploration which were not as well written as this one.

An extraordinary man and the author of this book does him great honor. I highly recommend this. A superb read.

Generally, in my day to day life, I feel that I was born too soon... I know that I would make an excellent planetary colonist. But I am also a diligent student of the lives and accomplishments of ground - breaking mountaineers and arctic explorers. This excellent work brings the details of Amundsen's "firsts" to light. He was, without doubt, one of, if not THE, greatest explorers on the planet. Ever. Things that you'd think would be elementary: proper planning, using skis on snow/ice at the poles, learning from arctic inhabitants... he basically pioneered. During my read, I found myself wondering... if Cook and Peary's claims on the North Pole have been discredited, then who actually DID get there first? Gee. Guess who! Although details about his personal life rounded out his character, to me these are secondary points that did nothing to sway my admiration for the man. He tended to keep his personal life separate from his professional life, and (especially in today's world where people tend to think you want to know all the minutiae of their business) I like that. His personal life was generally kept that way, which to me is an admirable trait. The language barrier has been instrumental in keeping Amundsen's accomplishments from being more widely known (as explained in the book), so I for one am very glad to see his story told in English. I was late finding it (published in 2012)... don't wait any longer! Definitely recommended.

Thanks to the author for including interesting info about the preparation, outfitting, and effort required to make 2-3 year trips into the polar regions. He also provides a good look into the psychological and emotional stress that these determined individuals experienced during their adventures. The story is at times difficult to follow due to the origin, motives and the training required of the explorers and the supporters of these difficult undertakings. Weeks spent at (-50F) and below. Absolutely incredible!! Take the time to read this amazing story of an amazing man.

Roald Amundsen was the greatest explorer of his time and, his biographer convincingly argues, possibly of any time. Best remembered as the discoverer of the South Pole, he was also the first person to study the magnetic North Pole, the first to sail the Northwest Passage, the first person to reach the North Pole, the first to use airplanes and airships in arctic exploration, and more. At times the most famous person in the world, the book uses Amundsen's fame as a venue for studying celebrity culture and the way celebrity itself becomes a career: book tours, paid speeches, taking tactical mutual advantage of the press, fundraising. "The Last Viking" also delves into the relationship between exploration and nationalism, and in discussing Amundsen's famous "race to the pole" with Scott (which wasn't a race at all), points out that Amundsen succeeded partly because of his admiration for and willingness to learn from native arctic cultures like the Inuit, while Scott, as an English gentleman, thought he could learn nothing from native peoples. Scott died in Antarctica because of his poor planning, but also, the author argues, because he carried the weight of the British Empire on his shoulders. Named by many organizations as one of the best books of 2012, “The Last Viking” is deeply researched, thoughtful, informative, entertaining, and often exciting. It is an outstanding biography.

I always wanted to know his story. My mom lived 10 minute walk from his home which I have seen too.

Very dry. I'm working my way through it. Seems quite an informed bio, but as I say, dry in style.

Ho usato questo prodotto per documentazione personale apprezzandone la precisa documentazione che in questo genere di libri è (quasi) tutto.

There are two types of biographies: those that try to write a comprehensive, 'definitive' history of the subject and those that simply aim to tell a story, capturing the essence of a person. This biography is in the second category and is probably all the better for it. If you like your biographies to be at least 900 pages and know exactly what so-and-so was doing on the 19th November in 1919, this book might frustrate you, but if you want a compelling narrative that eschews superfluous details, this account is highly recommended. In 'The Last Viking', the author has successfully curated a wealth of research to produce a narrative that is never anything other than gripping, rationing the details of Amundsen's early years in favour of concentrating on the most interesting part of his life. Above all, he asks why Amundsen was so successful compared to rivals like Scott. This book is perfect for the casual reader who is interested in polar exploration - the descriptions of Amundsen's missions vivdly recreate the hostile environements he encountered. It is a cliche to say that I couldn't put it down, but it's true. This is a very enjoyable book about an extraordinary man who has, in Great Britain at least, never received the credit he deserved for his extraodinary leadership skills.

Makes for a good read.

Bought this for my husband for Xmas. He loved it!

Having just returned from Arctic Norway and been reminded of Amundsen's National Hero status (carvings of him in ice hotel, etc) I realised I'd never read a biography of him separate from the Scott controversy/rivalry so carefully nurtured over the years. Having read a number of books on the protagonists and some original documents (but not Roland Huntford's notorious book) I was looking for a relatively unbiased biography and this seemed to fit the bill, although, reading the author's notes, it is clear he was, as is almost the norm since the book's publication, heavily indebted to Huntford. However, he did his best, given this and the fact that a biography of a man so deliberately private and devious made it hard to dig out anything much of personal interest. Bown wrote clearly and lucidly about his background ; like Scott, from a middle class mercantile family, but unlike Scott's family a richer and more successful one; Amundsen was privately educated, well off, and initially self-funding. His relationship with his brothers was not edifying, and lack of anything detailed in the way of private correspondence precluded any real feeling for their dynamic, apart from the final catastrophic bust-up with his loyal, effective manager/brother Leon. The author was very good on Amundsen's approach to a career as a polar explorer, covering his methods, relentlessly single minded self training and the really astonishing amount of detailed planning and organisation he put into his expeditions, particularly his controversial South Polar one. I felt that statements the author made about his subject (towards whom, like most biographers, he becomes partial and emotionally entangled) were not born out by the subsequent stated facts. I take issue with the statement that he was democratic; his very small, personally chosen teams were rarely diluted by imposed personnel; in the main they were all of a similar background/class (apart from the jolly cook Lindstrom) and there was no need to replicate the RN divisions Scott has been so often criticised for (despite the fact that the bulk of his workforce were RN and would find it entirely normal and acceptable). However, Amundsen was always primus inter pares and went to great lengths to ensure he was in sole command and control and that his word was law. He bore awesome grudges against any he perceived had gone against him. It was interesting to note that although he paid lip service to scientific research being part of his expeditions for fund raising purposes, he actually despised the science element and whenever possible dispensed with scientists and their multifarious equipment. I also take serious issue with the statement that he was such a wonderful judge of men. Particularly in the latter part of his life, he appeared to make some catastrophic choices of business partners, and his co-operation with the Fascist Nobile can hardly be described as prescient (despite Bown tying himself in knots assuring us how much the Norwegians were against Mussolini et al). Clearly, personal ambition and desire to carry out lucrative trips meant that Amundsen would consort with almost anyone, whatever the shadiness of their background, if they were prepared to put up solid money. I do wonder if Amundsen's impaired judgement in later life was a result of the stove poisoning incident - it clearly affected his health quite severely and some of his worst judgements took place subsequently. However, no one can deny Amundsen his triumphs of planning and execution. Reading how long he had prepared, studied native tribes, husky breeding and training, sledge loading, perfecting his snow skills and his meticulous laying out of depots, it is entirely predictable that he would reach the South Pole well ahead of the Scott expedition with its cumbersome load of scientists, equipment and personnel imposed as placemen for all the warring committee interests. I rather lost interest in the latter part of the book, although saddened by Amundsen's obvious decline and falling out with his backers, and above all, his loyal brother Leon. It is unsurprising that he was mainly involved with married women; this gave him some feminine interest with only a remote chance they would actually leave their husbands and prove a severe hindrance to such a single minded explorer who planned endless absences as a matter of course. It was sad that his last amour seemed to offer the kind of companionship that might have worked. We will never know. Ultimately I felt unmoved by Amundsen the man, recalling the old Civil War saw - Right but Repulsive (Roundheads/Amundsen) v Wrong but Romantic (Scott). I found the book interesting rather than riveting, and would really give it 3.5 stars.