Nansen: The Explorer as Hero by Roland Huntford soon to be presented for sale on the first-class BookLovers of Bath web site!
Published: London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1997, Hardback in dust wrapper.
Illustrated by way of: Black & White Photographs; Maps;
From the cover: Behind the great polar explorers of the early twentieth century Amundsen, Shackleton, Scott in the South and Peary in the North looms the spirit of Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), the mentor of them all. He was the father of modern polar exploration, the last act of territorial discovery before the leap into space began.
Nansen was a prime illustration of Carlyles dictum that the history of the world is but the biography of great men. He was not merely a pioneer in the wildly diverse fields of oceanography and skiing, but one of the founders of neurology. A restless, unquiet Faustian spirit, Nansen was a Renaissance Man born out of his time into the new Norway of Ibsen and Grieg. He was an artist and historian, a diplomat who had dealings with Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin, and played a part in the Versailles Peace Conference, where he helped the Americans in their efforts to contain the Bolsheviks. He also undertook famine relief in Russia. Finally, working for the League of Nations as both High Commissioner for Refugees and High Commissioner for the Repatriation of Prisoners of War, he became the first of the modern media-conscious international civil servants.
This is the first full-scale biography of Nansen, drawing on a wealth of new material including diaries and other hitherto untapped documents.
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. A little rubbing to the edges of the dust wrapper with a slight crease to the head of the upper panel. Rear flap has a security tag within that has offset to the flap. Text complete, clean and tight.
Red boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. [XIV] 610 pages. Index. Bibliography. 9½” x 6¼”.
Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I lure you to view a further assortment hither or maybe further, hand picked, books in my Biography catalogue?
BookLovers of Bath 