[.ca] The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition (ISBN 0300099215)

From Amazon.com:
The icy deaths of Robert Falcon Scott and his companions on their return from the South Pole in 1912 made them English icons of courage and sacrifice. Soon, however, Scott's judgments and decisions were questioned, and his reputation became one of inept bungler rather than heroic pioneer. Susan Solomon, senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Colorado, approaches Scott's story from a meteorologist's point of view. She shows that the three weeks from February 27 to March 19, during which the explorers fell further and further behind the daily distances they had to cover in order to survive, were far colder than normal. Unusual blizzards of wet snow had already slowed the party and depleted their provisions and strength. Without these once-in-a-decade phenomena, Solomon believes the party would have returned to its base on the Ross Sea--second after Roald Amundsen in the race to the Pole, but safely. She opens each chapter with comments from a hypothetical modern visitor to Antarctica, presumably to give a wider context to the human drama of the last century, though this reviewer finds them inappropriate. She enriches her narratives of Scott's two Antarctic expeditions with vintage photographs and tables of meteorological data that highlight the explorers' achievements. Their determination was pitted against the worst weather in the world. Scott's story has been told many times before, but its weather information makes The Coldest March a useful addition to the literature. --John Stevenson

The Coldest March-High Adventure in Antartica:
This is a fascinating tale of high adventure in Antarctica that is well documented with all the scientific facts that a scientist or scholar would demand in a research paper. I chose to read it as a true story of a heroic struggle by a determined group of men who willingly followed Scott out of love and respect, despite terrible hardships. Besides the obvious hardship of the cold, the men also faced death by drowning, starvation, disease and were even threatened by Killer Whales trying to break through the ice to get to the men and the horses. A must read for the real or would be adventurer!

New Insight Disturbing:
This book is very readable and enjoyable, even for those familiar with Scott's story. The reason for the one star deduction is the author's half-hearted defense of Scott. Several of the examples she uses to demonstrate that Scott was not a total idiot actually confirm Scott's deficiencies. Scott's largest flaw was his inability to learn from his previous experience. In his initial foray into Antartica, he took two excursions that found him making it back barely alive. In his trip to the pole, he cut his margin of error too close yet again. The author makes a strong point that Scott had been informed by Simpson of the March temperatures and expected temperature differences further south, yet Scott did not alter his plans to accordingly. What the author may have missed is that the Scott/Amundsen dielectic is one of the dying empire/doing it the British way with human fortitude (ie. stiff upper lip) versus a new country/adjusting to the circumstances as required. Scott was doomed by the paradigm he was working within. Amundsen represented the new paradigm that would eventually replace Scott's paradigm. Scott's failure was a harbinger of the decline of the British Empire. The major contribution of the book is the revelation that Scott in the final days was not held back by the weather. The obvious conclusion, that the author dances around, is that Scott, due to his back frostbite and inability to go on himself, failed to follow in Oates' heroic footsteps and allow Wilson and Bowers the chance to survive. Scott's vanity and lack of courage cost may have cost them their lives. I had a very low opinion of Scott before reading this book. Knowing that Scott lied about the weather and the reason their party was stalled lowers my opinion of him further. Someone interested in polar exploration should begin by reading The Last Place on Earth. When done with that, Solomon's book adds an interesting twist on the story.

Last Place on Earth is better!:
Susan Solomon's 400+ pages of closely reasearched and well written material can't disguise Capt. Scott's failings in leadership. He may have possessed a modern scientific outlook in his thinking, but his methodology was so often flawed that his expedition was probably doomed from the start. The PBS companion program "Secrets of the Dead" also does a great diservice to Roald Amundsen, characterizing this professional polar explorer's successful journey to the South Pole as "lucky" and "unplanned." Amundsen's achievement--traversing nearly 2000 miles of unknown territory in the harshest climate on the planet with a mixture of meticulous planning and hearty self-reliance--completely eclipses Scott's slavish & unimaginative repetition of Shackleton's route & methods. Roland Huntford's excellent "The Last Place on Earth" remains the classic study of the Amundsen/Scott polar journeys--don't read Solomon without Huntford.

Interesting assessment of Scott's Polar journey......:
This is a really thoughtful, well-researched assessment of Scott's fatal Polar expedition. It is insightful and gives the reader a clear explanation of many issues that affected the outcome of one of the most interesting expeditions of all times. It is full of information that brings to life what these MEN did almost a hundred years ago. Exploration is on a different level these days. Nothing like it was for Scott's party and those of his era experienced. Brave and daring like nothing we can imagine.I think anyone interested in Polar exploration will be thoroughly satisfied with the subject matter covered in this well written book. It covers survival issues like no other book on the subject I have seen to date.It is a subject that I find fascinating and this book brings out the horrific circumstances that they had to contend with and is a more fair appraisal of Scott's effort to reach the South Pole. Well worth your time and consideration.

Antarctic Trip Gone Bad:
I bought this book shortly after I saw a documentary on TV outlining this whole situation. The subject of the book - Robert Falcon Scott's deadly walk to and from the South pole. Along with 4 other men, Scott trudged off in the bitter cold and blinding Antarctic. He made it to the South Pole (900 miles one way) only to realize that he'd been beaten two weeks earlier by fellow thrill-seeker Amundsen. On their return trek, they encountered severe wind, continual snow, and record setting bitter cold. With only 160 miles to go, the group under Scott's command decided to set up camp (and only 11 miles from a camp site with food & fuel). There in the tent the remaining 4 men died... dazed and confused and so frost-bitten they probably were unable to walk. So many details of the trek are well documented... the hot dinners to warm their insides; sleeping with the sleeping bags zipped closed all the way to keep the chilled air out; the stench of inside the sleeping bag from continuous moisture, bad breath and body odor; the moist pants crackling; the utter desire to stay dry; and the slow process of getting the ice out of their boots by placing their bare hands or feet in them to melt it away with the body's warmth. It may always remain a question - why did the other 3 men decide to stay with Scott and die in the tent? Personal opinion - many have said that Scott was a bumbling fool for going when he did... that he should have known the weather patterns. He could have and should have used sled dogs, but was too sympathetic (other men on similar treks used sled dogs for the haul and along the way killed them for their meat... Scott was to sympathetic to do this to the kind animals). How good were the meteorology instruments in 1911? Another issue - how could he have forecasted weeks or months in advance the worst winter cold spell (probably) ever recorded at that particular point in time? I admire Scott's bravery & courage and the men he took with him who stuck with him until their doom. 400+ pages with some great vintage black & white photos. Just knowing it's something men did for the sake of exploration - close to 100 years ago - is just amazing. A long but very good read.