Product Description

This riveting book tells the tragic story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his British team who in November 1911 began a trek across the snows of Antarctica, striving to be the first to reach the South Pole. After marching and skiing more than nine hundred miles, the men reached the Pole in January 1912, only to suffer the terrible realisation that a group of five Norwegians had been there almost a month earlier. On their return journey, Scott and his four companions perished, and their legacy, as courageous heroes or tragic incompetents, has been debated ever since. Susan Solomon brings a scientific perspective to understanding the men of the expedition, their staggering struggle, and the reasons for their deaths. Drawing on extensive meteorological data and on her own personal knowledge of the Antarctic, she depicts in detail the sights, sounds, legends, and ferocious weather of this singular place. And she reaches the startling conclusion that Scott's polar party was struck down by exceptionally frigid weather - a rare misfortune that thwarted the men's meticulous predictions of what to expect. Solomon describes the many adventures and challenges faced by Scott and his men on their journey, and she also discusses each one's life, contributions, and death. Her poignant and beautifully written book restores them to the place of honour they deserve.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87875 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Review
"Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale." R. Scott, written after travelling for weeks of daily temperatures below minus 35 degrees F. "This is a very well balanced and meticulously researched book. It shows beyond doubt how false and shallow have been the many malicious and blinkered books and films in their bland condemnation of Captain Scott as a bumbler and inept leader. Quite the opposite was actually true and The Coldest March goes a long way to putting polar history right and thereby to killing off the vicious myth about one of Britain's great explorers." Sir Ranulph Fiennes "A fresh and captivating look at one of the most tragic sagas in the annals of exploration. Solomon takes the reader on a breathtaking ride through Antarctica's beauty, history, and uniquely forbidding weather. Carefully researched, innovative, and elegantly written, The Coldest March will fascinate and inform anyone intrigued by polar adventure or the interplay of science and society." Paul Ehrlich, author of Human Natures and Wild Solutions "An inspiring chronicle of Antarctic scientific exploration at its most heroic. It is a tale of vision, courage, endurance, patriotism, loyalty, and all the strengths and frailties of the human spirit. Above all, it is good science, good history, and gripping reading." J.W. Zillman, president of the World Meteorological Organization "A great adventure story, made even more compelling by a modern scientific detective." Bruce Babbit, former Secretary of the Interior "Scott's South Pole expedition ended in tragedy. This book is a valuable and sympathetic contribution to the great story, written by the leader of an expedition that ended in triumph." Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch and Time, Love, Memory

The Sunday Times, 30 September 2001
'a fascinating account that gets under the skin of the tragedy's players.' Stuart Wavell

Robert Macfarlane, The Observer, 7 October 2001
'highly original, beautifully presented and remarkably modest...a marvellous and complex book'

Customer Reviews

SUPERBLY WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED VINDICATION OF SCOTT
For anyone interested in the story of Antarctic exploration in the early years of the 20th century, this book is indispensable. From start to finish, I found it hard to put down. A senior scientist and expert on the Antarctic "ozone hole", Susan Solomon writes from personal experience of the extremes of Antarctic weather. Although the story of Captain Scott's tragic final expedition is well known, it seems to have become "fashionable" in recent decades to deride him as a bumbling amateur who led his men needlessly to their deaths. Drawing on the latest scientific research from Antarctica, combined with years of meteorological statistics, Solomon shows how Scott's polar party was overwhelmed by low temperatures which the best planning could never have anticipated and which are only experienced in about one year out of 15 in Antarctica. I found Solomon's arguments all the more impressive given her own scientific background, and as an American she could hardly be accused of lapsing into misplaced patriotic support for Scott. While the science in this book is impressive, it never detracts from a superbly written account of human grit and determination in the face of ultimately overwhelming conditions. Although I have read other accounts of Scott's final days and the discovery of the bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers, Solomon's account combines a careful and detailed presentation of the facts with genuine humanity and compassion. I sincerely hope that any student of Antarctic exploration who has been swayed by the rather mean-spirited and one-sided arguments of Roland Huntford will read this fine book and ponder on its revelations.

Expertly researched
This is an excellent book, the research that has gone into it puts most modern writing, with its 'skim the surface' approach to analysis and understanding, to shame. Solomon uses her scientific expertise to delve into Scott's last expedition, a subject that obviously became very close to her heart too. The only questions I had after reading this book were what really happened to Bowers and Wilson; questions that can never be answered. Please don't miss this book if you are in any way interested in the Antarctic. The hard back edition is also beautifully presented.

Try this book - it'll hook you!
I bought this book because of the reviews I saw on this page. I wasn't sure about it because they all seemed to underline the science aspect, and a scientific outlook is the last thing I have, but this was a fantastic read. Susan Soloman may be a first rate scientist, but above that she had an excellent writing style. She made me feel like I was there, she moved me to tears, she interested me in the modern scientific approach, she made me think about what it must have been like there, what the equipment must have been like. Truly this is a 'can't put it down' book, even if you've never been interested in polar exploration try this book, it'll hook you!