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Amazon.co.uk Review
On December 14, 1911, the classical age of Polar exploration ended when Norway's Roald Amundsen conquered the South Pole. His competitor for the prize, Britain's Robert Scott, arrived one month later--but died on the return with four of his men only 11 miles from their next cache of supplies. But it was Scott, ironically, who became the legend, Britain's heroic failure, "a monument to sheer ambition and bull-headed persistence. His achievement was to perpetuate the romantic myth of the explorer as martyr, and... to glorify suffering and self- sacrifice as ends in themselves."
Last Place On Earth is a complex and fascinating account of the race for this last great terrestrial goal. It is also biographer Ronald Huntford's rather heavy-handed attempt to restore Amundsen to glory. Though this was the age of the amateur explorer, Amundsen was a professional: he left little to chance, apprenticed with Eskimos and obsessed over every detail. While Scott clung fast to the British rule of "No skis, no dogs", Amundsen understood that both were vital to survival and they clearly won him the Pole.
Amundsen in Huntford's view is the "last great Viking" and Scott his bungling opposite: "stupid... recklessly incompetent", and irresponsible in the extreme--failings that cost him and his teammates their lives. Yet for all of Scott's real or exaggerated faults, he understood far better than Amundsen the power of a well-crafted sentence. Scott's diaries were recovered and widely published, and if the world insisted on lionising Scott, it was partly because he told a better story. Huntford's bias aside, it's clear that both Scott and Amundsen were valiant and deeply flawed. "Scott... had set out to be an heroic example. Amundsen merely wanted to be first at the pole. Both had their prayers answered." --Svenja Soldovieri --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
In 600 wonderfully researched pages ... Huntford has at last written the 3-dimensional book this immense drama deserves (SPECTATOR )
Gripping ...enthralling ...Handles a great mass of material with exceptional intelligence and skill (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
A brilliant achievement, as readable as an adventure story, as fact filled as an explorer's manual, as compelling as history always is when brought to life (TORONTO STAR 'One of the great debunking biographies’ )
NEW YORK TIMES (On December 14, 1911, the classical age of Polar exploration ended when Norway's Roald Amundsen conquered the South Pole. His competitor for the prize, Britain's Robert Scott, arrived one month later--but died on the return with four of his men only 11 mi )
Gripping ...enthralling ...Handles a great mass of material with exceptional intelligence and skill (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
A brilliant achievement, as readable as an adventure story, as fact filled as an explorer's manual, as compelling as history always is when brought to life (TORONTO STAR 'One of the great debunking biographies’ )
NEW YORK TIMES (On December 14, 1911, the classical age of Polar exploration ended when Norway's Roald Amundsen conquered the South Pole. His competitor for the prize, Britain's Robert Scott, arrived one month later--but died on the return with four of his men only 11 mi )
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On the morning of November 1st, 1911, a little cavalcade left Cape Evans in the Antarctic, straggled over the sea ice and faded into the lonely wastes ahead. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
On the morning of November 1st, 1911, a little cavalcade left Cape Evans in the Antarctic, straggled over the sea ice and faded into the lonely wastes ahead. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a great story and Huntford manages to work up the excitement of a unique explorers' race. Amundsen is depicted as a ruthless realist only after the glory of being first. His know-how, leadership and meticulous preparation bring victory. Scott is portrayed as a hopless amateur, poor leader and as responsible for needlessly killing himself and his men. Huntford litters his story with diary extracts and seemingly achieves authenticity. The truth wins out!
Alas, just as Huntford criticises Scott for selective diary re-touches, this is exactly what Huntford himself is guilty of. Left thoroughly convinced of the integrity of this book I went on to read the diaries of three men who were actually there: Scott himself, Evans the second in command and Ponting the photographer. Whilst it is true that following the death of Scott one would expect the two latter would tone down criticism of their former leader, these three original sources completely discount many of Huntfod's claims and clearly demonstrate that Huntford has rather cleverly selected material, omitted facts and misinterpreted events in order to make his theories fit reality. This book is a very good read but an accurate picture of Scott's final expedition it is not. R.Fiennes' 'Captain Scott' also methodically rips to shreds Huntford's spurious claims with concrete facts and written evidence from all concerned with the expedition and is throughly recommended for a much more balanced assesment of Scott.
Alas, just as Huntford criticises Scott for selective diary re-touches, this is exactly what Huntford himself is guilty of. Left thoroughly convinced of the integrity of this book I went on to read the diaries of three men who were actually there: Scott himself, Evans the second in command and Ponting the photographer. Whilst it is true that following the death of Scott one would expect the two latter would tone down criticism of their former leader, these three original sources completely discount many of Huntfod's claims and clearly demonstrate that Huntford has rather cleverly selected material, omitted facts and misinterpreted events in order to make his theories fit reality. This book is a very good read but an accurate picture of Scott's final expedition it is not. R.Fiennes' 'Captain Scott' also methodically rips to shreds Huntford's spurious claims with concrete facts and written evidence from all concerned with the expedition and is throughly recommended for a much more balanced assesment of Scott.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The other reviews some this book up well. When I bought it, I was well aware that it would be an anti-Scott account of his life. I was taken aback by how one-sided and vitriolic it was. Barely a paragraph goes past without Huntford giving Scott a kicking in some way, construing the tiniest detail to be another example of a character-failing on the part of Scott. It can get a little tiring after a while. What's more, I feel sometimes Huntford fails to give enough evidence at times - talking about Scott being passed over for promotion when all of his colleagues were progressing - but he failed to give examples and names of these colleagues.
All of that said, I couldn't put it down. The 'attitude' of the author is rather amusing, since it's written which such spite that one can only assume that Scott's family in some way cheated Huntford out of an inheritance or systematically bullied an ancestor in some way. It's like watching one half of a blazing row.
The other thing to point out is that other biographies - and hagiographies - are available. If this were the only book on Scott, it would be a tragedy, but it isn't. In the canon of work on the man, it's useful to have someone build a strong case against. I plan to read another biography of Scott for balance, but I'm glad Huntford went out of his way to compile this vicious account.
All of that said, I couldn't put it down. The 'attitude' of the author is rather amusing, since it's written which such spite that one can only assume that Scott's family in some way cheated Huntford out of an inheritance or systematically bullied an ancestor in some way. It's like watching one half of a blazing row.
The other thing to point out is that other biographies - and hagiographies - are available. If this were the only book on Scott, it would be a tragedy, but it isn't. In the canon of work on the man, it's useful to have someone build a strong case against. I plan to read another biography of Scott for balance, but I'm glad Huntford went out of his way to compile this vicious account.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It feels a bit odd to give a two-star review to a book that is in many respects well written and for the most part an enjoyable read. The trouble here is Huntford's obvious dislike for Scott which, as the pages go by seems to grow and expand to near hysterical proportions. Certainly Scott was a flawed character - aren't we all? - but he was also very much a product of his times, generally well regarded and respected by his men (Shackleton a notable exception) and deserves a better and more balanced biography (and biographer) than what is served up here.
I have travelled to Antarctica many times myself, been to the South Pole and am deeply interested in the story and the continent itself. Huntford is clearly a very good writer - his biography of Shackleton (written some years after this book, when he had matured more as a writer and person) is wonderful. This one too is entertaining, until his personal biases and antipathy to Scott become too annoying. It is one thing to write an iconoclastic biography, fair enough, but honestly this descends almost to parody, and by the end his non-stop harping about Scott's every single action or thought ultimately leads you to question and begin to doubt much of what was probably some pretty good research. He needed a strong editor who knew something about the topic, to rein him in. An excellent and thoughtful counterpoint to this harangue is Susan Solomon's book The Coldest March. Written by a scientist with much experience in Antarctica and the South Pole (places Huntford had never been when he wrote this book) and backed by decades of hard climate data she reveals that Scott was not quite the nincompoop Huntford would have us believe, and that his (and his men's) Byronic death was due at least as much to an unusually severe conditions as his arch-Victorian hubris.
An entertaining read, but there are better around.
I have travelled to Antarctica many times myself, been to the South Pole and am deeply interested in the story and the continent itself. Huntford is clearly a very good writer - his biography of Shackleton (written some years after this book, when he had matured more as a writer and person) is wonderful. This one too is entertaining, until his personal biases and antipathy to Scott become too annoying. It is one thing to write an iconoclastic biography, fair enough, but honestly this descends almost to parody, and by the end his non-stop harping about Scott's every single action or thought ultimately leads you to question and begin to doubt much of what was probably some pretty good research. He needed a strong editor who knew something about the topic, to rein him in. An excellent and thoughtful counterpoint to this harangue is Susan Solomon's book The Coldest March. Written by a scientist with much experience in Antarctica and the South Pole (places Huntford had never been when he wrote this book) and backed by decades of hard climate data she reveals that Scott was not quite the nincompoop Huntford would have us believe, and that his (and his men's) Byronic death was due at least as much to an unusually severe conditions as his arch-Victorian hubris.
An entertaining read, but there are better around.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very poor quality
This book arrived in a very poor state .
Although it appeared new a number of pages fell out when first opened . Read more
Although it appeared new a number of pages fell out when first opened . Read more
Published 1 month ago by tryan
do not waste your time reading this nonsense.
Read this books years ago when the tv series was on,and thought it was a bit hard on scott then.I have just finished reading Ranulph Fiennes excellent Captain Scott and can't... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. L. J. Rose
One tarnished hero, and one forgotten!
Huntford obviously set off with the best intentions, of restoring Amundsen as the heroic conquerer of The South Pole! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jon Shipton
A well researched study
This is a very readable and detailed account of the race to the South Pole. It shows how Amundsen took great trouble to prepare for the expedition. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dr. JN Tristram
scott & amundsen biased
Scott and Amundsen: Last Place on EarthThis is an excellent book it takes you to the polar regions with the explorers. Read more
Published 5 months ago by littlebritain
Great god, this an awful book!
My question is: why does Mr Huntford hate Scott so much? Hindsight is so easy...
Twisting the sources is no serious work for an historian. Read more
Twisting the sources is no serious work for an historian. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sylvie Griffon
he's very hard on Scott and you Brits, but this is a great read
There are few books as satisfying as this one, both in the inherent interest of the story and in the literary execution in all its enthralling detail. Read more
Published 8 months ago by rob crawford
A Disgraceful Book
This book seems to have been written by someone with a very large chip on his shoulder or perhaps a desire to produce a money making sensational story that has little if any basis... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. David Johnson
Awful book
Roland Huntsfords awful book on Scott, which is sensationalist and has a complete lack of perspective. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Greenite
The Last Place on Earth
Roland Huntford has written a superb book in this account of Scott and Amundsen's race for the south pole. Read more
Published 14 months ago by G Gibson
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