Burlington Public Library MA

Locked in ice, Nansen's daring quest for the North Pole, Peter Lourie

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

illustrations

index present

Ages: 9-14

non fiction

Locked in ice

bibliography

1028880499

Peter Lourie

Nansen's daring quest for the North Pole

A riveting adventure biography of Fridtjof Nansen, the pioneer of polar exploration, with a focus on his harrowing three-year journey to the top of the world. A celebrity among the ranks of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton at the turn of the twentieth century, Fridtjof Nansen contributed tremendous amounts of new information to our knowledge about the Arctic. At a time when the North Pole was still undiscovered territory, he attempted to make it to the Pole in a way that most experts thought was mad: Nansen purposefully locked his ship in ice for two years in order to float northward along the currents. This compelling account of his Arctic expedition celebrates the legacy of a courageous man who dared to push the boundaries of human exploration

pt.1: Fridtjof Nansen and his dream 1861-1893 -- Young skier -- The Viking and first Artic ice -- Bergen and a daring trek over the mountains -- Greenland -- Eva -- Nansen sets his sights on the North Pole -- The plan: follow the Jeannette -- Building an ice ship -- A crew of twelve -- pt. 2: The journey North - June 24, 1893--March 14, 1894 -- Leaving home -- The Fram locked in ice -- Life aboard the Fram: the adventure and monotony of being stuck in ice -- Science aboard -- Decision to leave the ship -- pt. 3: Outfitting for a two-man dash - February 1895 -- Preparations -- Tent -- Clothing -- Double sleeping bag -- Sleds, kayaks, and guns -- Cook kit and medicine -- Instruments for navigation -- pt. 4: Onto the ice - March 14--April 6, 1895 -- Each mile a new record -- The cold -- First dog to die -- The ice, the routine, the dogs -- Cracking ice and opening leads -- Desperate work -- Farthest North -- pt. 5: Turning South - April 8--May 31, 1895 -- Calculations -- Thin ice and burning the third sled -- Birthday, narwhals, and bear tracks -- The birds come back -- pt. 6: To the kayaks - June 1--July22, 1895 -- Mending the kayaks -- Water sky, the color of hope -- One dog left for Nansen, two for Johansen -- Salvation is a seal -- Seal-blood pancakes and tent on fire -- First bear -- Departing homesick camp -- pt. 7: Land at last - July 25--August 15, 1895 -- "We shall reach it today!" -- Polar bear attack -- Following along glaciers -- Rogue walrus -- Feet on dry land -- pt. 8: Franz Josef Land - bears, walrus, and a winter home - August 16--September 30, 1895 -- But what land? -- Cold closing in, time to winter over -- Harvesting walrus for winter -- Building a winter dwelling -- pt. 9: Polar night - October 1--December 31, 1895 -- Bear-meat soup and blubber cakes -- Thieving foxes -- Dwelling comfort -- Idle Artic days and nights -- Leaden darkness outside -- Christmas and New Year's Eve -- pt. 10: Preparing to move again-January 1--May 18, 1896 -- The Tromsø sloop -- The return of bears -- Final preparations for the journey south -- pt. 11: The journey southward-May 19--June 16, 1896 -- Departure and a note -- Near disaster -- A life-or-death swim -- Walrus revenge -- pt. 12: Rescue-Cape Flora, Northbrook Island--June 17, 1896 -- A sound like the bark of a dog -- Getting Johansen -- Jackson's house -- pt. 13: Norway - June 18--August 12, 1896 -- Vanishing caveman -- Time with Jackson -- The Windward -- Return to Vardø -- pt. 14: Home-August 13--September 9, 1896 -- Vardø -- Eva and Liv -- Tromsø reunion -- What had happened to the Fram? -- Kristiania -- Epilogue 1896-1930

juvenile