LEADER 02233pam 2200169 a 4500
001 891527
005 20181210092822.0
008 181225s2018 nyuaf g b 001 0 eng d
020 $a9781633884113 (hbk.) :$cNT$980
040 $aTWTNM$beng$dTWTNM
050 04$aG587$b.D57 2018
082 04$a919.80409$222
100 1 $aDippel, John Van Houten,$d1946-.
245 10$aTo the ends of the Earth :$bthe truth behind the glory of polar exploration /$cJohn V. H. Dippel.
260 $aNew York :$bPrometheus Books,$c2018.
300 $a343 p., 8 p. of plates :$bill. ;$c24 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 287-332) and index.
505 0 $aTrailing clouds of glory -- Hail the conquered hero! -- By nature possessed -- La belle dame sans merci -- Keeping the brutes at bay -- Dog eat dog, man eat dog, man eat man -- More noble than the greed for discovery -- Down with science, sentiment, and the fair sex -- No man is an island -- We have met the enemy, and he is us -- In the end was the word -- Printing the legend.
520 $aFrom the late-17th to the early 20th century, intrepid explorers from America and Europe risked (and sometimes lost) their lives exploring the forbidding, uncharted landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctica. What drove these men to undertake these seemingly impossible journeys? In this deeply researched book, author John Dippel makes a convincing case that dozens of polar expeditions were motivated less by courageous idealism than personal ambition and national rivalries. The author traces the ways in which men of unbridled ambition responded to society's need for heroes by masking their true intentions behind patriotic sentiments or noble claims about advancing science. In so doing they frequently put their own lives and those of the men in their command at enormous risk. At the same time, they projected an attitude of cultural superiority, looking down on indigenous arctic people. Their disrespect and ignorance of native means of transportation, diet, shelter, and knowledge of the terrain often led explorers into disaster, where men perished from starvation and exposure or nearly lost their minds. In the end, the failure of so many polar expeditions exposed the limits of humanity's control of nature and helped to undermine faith in inevitable progress.--Amazon.com.
651 0$aPolar regions$xDiscovery and exploration.
651 0$aArctic regions$xDiscovery and exploration.
651 0$aAntarctica$xDiscovery and exploration.
651 0$aNorth Pole$xDiscovery and exploration.
651 0$aSouth Pole$xDiscovery and exploration.