A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole

Amazon.com

British explorer Robert F. Scott spent three years exploring the Antarctic, returning to England a hero in 1904. His ambition was to be the first man to reach the South Pole, and he overcame innumerable obstacles to assemble another expedition, which left in 1910. Scott and three of his men did reach the pole, only to discover that Norwegian Roald Amundsen had been there only five weeks earlier. Slightly more than two months later, Scott and his companions died in their tents, their bodies--and Scott's diaries--found eight months later by a search party. This account of Scott, having followed the explorer from childhood through his naval training and marriage, gives us at the end not only a national symbol but a fully developed tragic hero. Diana Preston commendably ventures beyond the longstanding myth, including material that shows how Scott's decisions and faulty judgements ultimately sealed his fate.

Book Description

On November 12, 1912, a rescue team trekking across Antarctica's Great Ice Barrier finally found what they sought -- the snow-covered tent of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Inside, they made a grim discovery: Scott's frozen body lay between those of two fellow explorers. They had died just eleven miles from the depot of supplies that might have saved them. The remaining two members of the party were nowhere in sight, but Scott's eloquent diary revealed their nightmarishly similar fate. It is a story that continues to haunt the popular imagination, and which has never been told more grippingly or with greater compassion than in this book.

Customer Reviews:

a second rate book.......2006-01-01

The entire thesis of the book is that Scott's fate was a darn good attempt, despite the result. Unfortunately, Ms. Preston's arguments fall flat. By the end, the reader has but no choice but to deem the mission a failure on a grand scale through Scott's incompetence more than anything else.

Ms. Preston's failed arguments have been summed up by other reviewers well, so I won't rehash all of them, but I will add this. One of the aruguments she tries to use that Scott was a product of his time and that his actions, such as the pseudo-scientific mission, were reasonable given the times. However, she then also tries to justify certain actions, such as man-hauling , by stating that this is now fashionable with modern adventurers. Well, you can't rightly defend him both in and out of historical context. It's cherry picking and it's scholarly dishonest.

Ok, given my criticisms above why then did I give it even two stars. Well, it was fairly well written in the story-telling sense, if not logic. I also think it provided a good look into the British colonial mindset, which Ms. Preston still clings to in a lovely wigged-Parliamentarian manner. So while the thesis of the book is laughable, the book does provide some good, if unintended, entertainment. In other words, I finished it.

Good account of the South Pole expedition.......2005-02-15

Diana Preston was written a concise, good book about Robert Falcon Scott who led a 1910-1913 expedition that reached the South Pole. Scott and his four companions died on the return from the Pole, but left journals that told of their ardous journey right up to the end. Scott lost the race to the Pole to Norwegian explorer Raoud Amundson who beat him by a month but in death Scott became a great English hero nevertheless.

Preston's book is not as good as two others about the expedition. Apsley Cherry-Garrard was with Scott for the expedition, but did not accompany Scott to the Pole. His account, "The Worst Journey in the World" is a classic of travel adventure. Roland Huntford's, "The Last Place on Earth" is a blistering attack on Scott's competence and character along with a favorable account of Amundson.

Was Scott incompetent? Well, Amundson made the 1400 mile plus trek to the Pole and back from his base camp in 99 days, averaging about 15 miles per day. Scott averaged less than 10 miles a day, the short Antarctic summer ended, the weather got worse, and he and his companions died. Amundson made good use of skis and dogs; Scott relied on man-hauling his supplies. The British apparently loved Scott in death because of his amateurism, rather than in spite of it. A timely and tragic death can be enhancing to one's reputation.

Preston is generous with Scott and tells a touching story of Scott's relationship with his ambitious and independent wife.

Smallchief

Scott as Tragic Hero.......2003-01-22

Books on North Polar exploration seem to take a pro-Peary or pro-Cook slant. Even the National Geographic Society pushes Peary's claim, because it also helped fund his expedition. So when a book like Bryce's COOK AND PEARY comes out, saying what many of us believed all along, that both men were unscrupulous liars and neither deserve polar priority, it's a breath of fresh air on the subject. Nevertheless, Bryce also tempers this conclusion by saying both men were skilled in extreme conditions and remarkable real achievements below their belts before they started lying on a big scale and claiming for themselves what they had not achieved. Bryce tries in a valiant book to put an end to the nonsense that if Cook failed, Peary won, and vice-versa.

Books on South Polar exploration must be different. Amundsen reached the pole. It's indisputable. Scott died bringing back the proof that he didn't get priority. Because he reached the pole and -- to the anti-Scotteans, more importantly -- he got back. However, Scott's expedition was not a failure. It was, first and foremost, a scientific expedition; Scott wanted polar priority and probably deserved it (Amundsen wanted the north, denied him by the charlatans Cook and Peary, so he jumped Scott's claim).

Scott's reputation, unlike Amundsen's, has undergone a roller coaster ride for almost a century. First he was made a hero. Then the iconoclasts set in. Roland Huntford's book on Scott and Amundsen was the Big Nail for the anti-Scott forces. To them, Huntford's book is gospel, and to question it is to question reality.

But Huntford, a fine biographer of polar explorers (Nansen, Shackleton), was distintly and unapologetically anti-Scott. And while Scott made errors (the biggest being his modern-minded "diversity" in taking seaman Evans along), his expedition was meticulously planned and employed the latest scientific and techonological advances. Solomon's COLDEST MARCH lays some Scott criticism aside (and since Solomon is a scientist who has actually worked in Antarctica her credentials should carry more weight with the anti-Scotteans than it does). Scott and Amundsen were products of their class and their era, but both also had been on polar adventures before and both men knew what they were up against. Scott is often, these days, portrayed by his detractors (euphemism) as mercurial and indecisive and, in some cases (as in the dramatization of Huntford's book) cruel.

In fact, Scott's polar expedition was a tragedy, in the classic sense as well as the modern. Many events beyond his control led to his death, but decisions he made did go woefully wrong. In any event, it seems, in light of more recent evidence than Huntford's, the whole party would have made it back in most years, but conditions were different on that part of the Antarctic than had been scientifically observed previously. Scott made some bad decisions that led to the tragedy, but it also seems he had a run of bad luck, while Amundsen (and this is not a detraction of him to say so) had a run of good luck. It's ironic that Amundsen left a letter for Scott to take back (and he did) in case Amundsen died, but it proves Amundsen knew that, even with his methods, which seem the "right" ones because he lived, he ran the risk of death in those extreme conditions.

In A FIRST RATE TRAGEDY Preston presents her case clearly and with fairness, and without the judgmentalism that mars Huntford's well-researched and iconoclastic study.

To lighten up some on Scott, folks, does not demean Amundsen's achievements. It's not the silly either/or with the partisans for Cook or Peary. Both Amundsen and Scott could have died (probably should have died) and both might well have made it back alive. There seems to be, in the anti-Scotteans, the fear that if someone treats Scott with a modicum of non-judgmentalism and doesn't bludgeon Scott as a downright fool, it somehow makes denigrates Amundsen. Nonsense. Both men were brave, courageous and intrepid leaders. Their men deserve every bit of praise as being the brave men they were. Scott's expedition was more interested in the scientific end and Amundsen's willy-nilly chase for hte pole was an opportunistis to get the fame to do researches in the north, but the achievements of both neither man, unlike Cook and Peary, need to be given proper appreciation without the need to bludgeon the other.

Preston's A FIRST RATE TRAGEDY is a study of Scott whose time has come.

Great book on the polar adventure.......2002-04-11

This is a great tale of the fateful journey of Mr. Scott to the South Pole and the disaster that became him on the return journey.

Instead of rehashing the story of the book in this review, which other reviewers have already done, it's more interesting to focus on the book itself. I notice that many of those who rate this book poorly seem to do so because the author was too sympathetic to Scott, too hard on Schackelton or Amundsen, or point to other works as superior accounts of this historic tale.

I give this work 5 stars for a couple of reasons. First, she develops the inner psyche of each participant, digging into their personalities, explaining what made them tick and how that caused them to make the decisions that they made. Second, it's obvious a well-researched book. The author continually points out inconsistencies between the participants published (and sanitized) works vs. what they said privately in their journals. Third, the story is balanced. I supposed this is a point that other reviewers disagree on, for what one person calls "balanced" another person calls "biased". She points out what they did right and what they did wrong, not dwelling on either point. People who downgrade this book seem to do so because the author didn't berate Scott more for his mistakes and blunders, of which he made many of. However, I'm interested in history, and not finger pointing. Fourth, it's a great story.

The reading of this book is easy and interesting, and I recommend it.

A First Rate Justification.......2001-11-22

Please read other works of Antarctic exploration before you read this book of fiction promoted as a work of historical research. Read books like Huntford's "The Last Place on Earth", Amundsen's "South Pole", Cherry-Garrard's "The Worst Journey in the World", and from Scott's own diaries "The Diaries of Captain Robert Scott" for reliable information on which to make up your own mind about Scott's expedition. Read these books with a nuanced view, using your critical thinking to come up with your own conclusions. I doubt you will agree with Preston's thesis when you have done so.

In my readings, I have identified 31 separate areas in which Scott's methods were inadequate for safe polar travel as compared to his contemporaries (Amundsen, Peary, Cook, Borchgrevink, Nansen, Shackleton, etc.). Could all 31 areas really have been a matter of bad luck, Ms. Preston? I think not.

Book Description

Part historical essay, part scientific article, and part enthralling diary-Roald Amundsen's (1872-1928) book presents intriguing documentation about how his expedition reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, just one month ahead of his rival, Robert Scott. Amundsen organized his gripping account using what is referred to in the film industry as the zooming technique. It starts in the past, examining the history of Antarctic exploration in different eras, and then moves ahead to describe how his own expedition was created, its organization, the slow stages involved in preparing for departure and, finally, the heart-stopping excitement of the race to the South Pole. Supplementing the vivid first-person text are black-and-white archival photographs illustrating the actual expedition, and color photographs depicting the landscape of Antarctica.

The Race to the South Pole (Stories from History)

Average customer rating:

The Race to the South Pole (Stories from History)
Jim Pipe
Manufacturer: School Specialty Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Gladiators and the Story of the Colosseum (Stories from History)

ASIN: 0769647022

Book Description

In the early 1900s, one destination remained untouched by human beings-the South Pole. Antarctica's ruthless weather, including blizzards and temperatures that can reach -119ºF in the winter, made human beings' attempts to reach this remote location all but impossible. However, two extraordinary men were determined to overcome the odds in a race to reach the South Pole. Thus began their voyage of frostbite, starvation, fame, and, for some-death.

Tales from the past meet modern-day storytelling!

Stories From History presents some of the most important people and events of history in a fast-paced, edgy graphic novel format. Bright, action-packed scenes help bring history to life for readers. Each title takes a completely factual look at an individual or event and delivers the information in an exciting way that only a graphic novel can. Stories From History is sure to capture any reader's attention and turn even the most casual reader into a history buff!

Features:

* Full-color illustrations

* Fact boxes

* Timeline, glossary, and index

Stories From History

The Building of the Great Pyramid

Book Description

Two men! One dream! Which one will become the first to reach the South Pole and bring the honor and glory home to their country? Trek along the route of discovery and adventure, deep into Antarctic wastelands. Relive the harrowing trials of Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott in a story of soaring triumph and bleak tragedy. Young readers will follow this race to greatness all the way to the ends of the Earth.

Race for the South Pole: The Antarctic Challenge (Cultural & Geographical Exploration Series)

Average customer rating:

Race for the South Pole: The Antarctic Challenge (Cultural & Geographical Exploration Series)

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

Race to the South Pole
Lorraine Jean Hopping
Manufacturer: Newbridge Educational Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1582737010

Average customer rating:

The race to the South Pole
William Bixby
Manufacturer: Longmans, Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Race to the South Pole (Great Journeys)

Average customer rating:

The Race to the South Pole (Great Journeys)
Rupert Matthews
Manufacturer: Bookwright Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding

Exploration & Discovery | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Antarctica | Polar Regions | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0531182738

Amazon.com

To most observers, the Internet is too new a medium to draw any firm conclusions about how to use it for business. But the Rieses have already come up with 11 "immutable" laws. Each is somewhat counterintuitive, and a couple are downright debatable. Start with No. 1: the Law of Either/Or. It states that a Web site can be a business or a medium for information, but not both. Therefore, companies have to choose which purpose they want to use the Internet for. Is it a medium, a way to get out the message about an existing "outernet" business? An example of this would be a magazine that puts up a Web site to allow readers to sample its content and then order a subscription. Or is it a business, trying to make money by selling a product or service? The Rieses argue that when a company decides to do business on the Web, it's better off starting a new brand rather than trying to extend its existing name. Another debate might erupt over No. 10: the Law of Divergence. Rather than the Internet becoming a medium that combines radio, TV, and telephone service, the Rieses say technology always goes in the opposite direction--it splinters. They use the analogy of the combination car and boat someone once invented: it drove like a boat and floated like a car. Thus, the Internet will separate into different types of services but will never converge with TV and radio.

Only history will tell us if these laws are truly immutable, but one thing is certain now: there's not a paragraph in this book that isn't provocative in some way. Businesspeople may not take all the counsel the Rieses offer, but they'd be nuts not to at least consider it. --Lou Schuler

Book Description

As we move into the twenty-first century the most important question for businesses everywhere is: What are we going to do about the Internet? The two most qualified people in the country to answer that question may be Al Ries and Laura Ries. Not only are they the authors of the BusinessWeek bestseller The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, they are also consultants to dozens of Fortune 500 companies.

This book is the result of their hands-on work with both large and small companies as well as Internet start-ups and established Internet brands. Brash, bold, and mercifully succinct, The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding is the definitive text for businesses eager to jump on the Internet expressway.

In the book you'll learn why:The Internet can be a business or a medium for your brand, but not both.Interactivity is the single most important ingredient of any Internet site.The kiss of death for an Internet brand is a common name.Being second in a category is tantamount to being nowhere.You have to be fast. You have to be first. You have to be focused.Everyone is talking about convergence while just the opposite is happening.

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding will also give you tangible information on how to successfully build your company, product, service, or self into a hot and profitable brand on the Internet. Specifically you'll learn how to:Build a brand that will dominate a category over an extended period of time.Find a proper name (instead of a common one) for your Website.Take your brand into the global marketplace.Avoid the biggest mistake in Internet branding: the belief that you can do everything.Take advantage of the transformations that will occur in all aspects of life, thanks to the power of the Internet.

With characteristic counterculture observations and signature marketing savvy, Ries and Ries bring their expertise to branding on the Internet, the most challenging problem in the world of marketing today. No one who wants to turn a brand into a global phenomenon should ignore their sage advice.

Customer Reviews:

Confirmed that I was doing something right!.......2007-02-23

I was a fan of the The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. A coworker had this book on his shelf and I asked to borrow it. It was just as good as the The 22... book. As I read through it, I was so happy to see that the approach I had taken for my business as it relates to marketing on the internet was correct. My favorite chapter is the one about the differnce between a business who markets on the internet and a true internet business. I also loved the information about picking a domain name. This book is ideal for the small business owner who either has a business they want to expand to the internet, or an idea for a business that uses the internet as the foundation.

Most inane book I have ever read.......2003-08-16

This book offers conclusory statements with very superficial, if any, analysis. For example, the authors argue that technologies tend to diverge, and not converge. For support, they say "[i]n biology, the law of evolution holds that new species are created by the division of a single species. Convergence, instead, suggests that the combining of two species will yield you a new one. Invaraibly in nature you see things divide and not converge. We have hundreds of varieties of dogs and hundreds of varieties of cats, but "very few" dogcats, or chickenducks, or horsecows." What?! I haven't the foggest idea how a system like technology controlled by humans has to do with biology, a system of nature. When there's human intervention, convergence occurs all the time - such is the case with many modern fruits and vegetables that have been bred by humans. And really,there are "very few" varieties of dogcats? I'm not aware of any.

I'd be curious as to what the authors have to say about the trend towards bigger corporations, through mergers. According to the authors, these big corporation really shouldn't exist, because things diverge, and not converge.

They also make the pompous statement that the purchasers of business.com could have saved $7,499,979 if they had bought the authors' book. The fact that they could claim credit for saying that a brand name shouldn't be generic is preposterous. That is one of the most basic tenet of branding. Of course, the authors does not discuss sex.com, an equally generic name, which has made $40 million in the course of a few years.

Most inane book I have ever read.......2003-08-16

An easy-to-read, interesting and profound book!.......2002-03-11

I like reading the books written by Ries, all of which are excellent. This one is no exception! With the trend of using Internet, many Internet businesses emerge. However, many of them find it hard to operate online. What's wrong with them?

It is good for Al and Laura Ries to first clarify that the Internet is either a medium or a business. It is really a fundamental and important decision for companies to make. They are sure to be greatly benefit from thinking about this question.

In addition, most businesses neglect or even do not know the importance of a good name. With the lack of the good "seeing and touching" visual impact, the powerful tool companies can put in the prospects' mind is a good name. The law of the common name and proper name can give us a clearer picture.

A good Internet brand cannot solely rely on a good name. It also depends on the interactivity of the website, singularity in the category, off-line advertising¡KMore of which can be found in the book.

This book is very clear. The concept is profound and easy to understand, supported by plenty of examples. I can get a lot of insights from it. And it is interesting! I enjoy reading it!

Easy to read and some thought provoking ideas.......2002-01-28

I am not sure if I totally agree with everything Al and Laura are saying, some of the argument seem somewhat loosely based on circumstantial evidence, yet on the other hand much of what they have to say makes a lot of sense. I am not so sure that all the 11 laws promulgated are indeed "immutable". The law of vanity (chapter 9), for example, I would like to know what the Ries's think of the Virgin brand and how it has transcended from being a record label to a airline carrier, health club operator, cell-phone service provided among others, is this just and exception or is mutation possible? The book enlightened me into some key insights about the Internet that I had not considered relevant before, like the issue of interactivity and the consequential impact on Internet advertising. I was also particularly irritated at first by their chapter on "divergence" and their strong feelings on the myth of "convergence", but then I gave it some thought, I consider that maybe we are being misled by the media hype in respect of convergence in respect of gadgets, but where I think the Ries's are missing the point is in the convergence at the service level - here I think there is a strong case for convergence of content with medium and billing etc. I think the merger of Time Warner with AOL will prove to be model for future survival. For example if the cable company delivering the pay-per-view TV can also give me my telephone and Internet connection - great. Overall this book definitely provides some useful and sound advice for the entrepreneur considering an e-commerce presence, and which one can avoid this today?

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding

Average customer rating:

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding
Ries, Al, Laura Ries
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

Web Marketing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000AMPWM4

Average customer rating:

The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding
Laura Ries Al Ries
Manufacturer: Mehras ,New Delhi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MTLY2C

11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, The

Average customer rating:

11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, The
Al Ries
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OA5N5S

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books