Recommended Expedition Reading
There has been a lot written about The Northwest Passage. Reading EVERYTHING is the best you can do to prepare yourself for an expedition. Here is a ‘short’ list of books that West Hansen has read to help prepare for the long journey.
Arctic Labyrinth: The Quest for the Northwest Passage (Hardcover)
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Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk (Kindle Edition)Levy recounts the expedition of the Karluk, initially under the command of a very self-centered leader who felt no remorse abandoning his charge, leaving the ship in the hands of the heroic Captain Robert Bartlett to save. I particularly appreciated Levy’s extensive research of the aftermath and the media/politics that are unfortunately part and parcel of explorers in the community, even to this day; whereupon the well-connected and monied men of dishonor are lauded above those who actually accomplished great things.
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The North West Passage (Paperback)
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My Life as an Explorer: Autobiography of the First Man to Reach the South Pole (Paperback)
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The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) (Kindle Edition)Readings about and by Roald Amundsen should be consumed and studied by all adventurers and explorers who have little or no money, then by explorers who want to learn how to succeed in their goals. To be blunt, Amundsen is a legendary explorer whom I admire to a great extent, primarily for his pragmatic – often non-glamorous – methods and equally by his leadership style, which is as a comrade responsible for the well-being of his team. His faults are numerous and eerily mimic those with which I struggle, as well, so while I would never hold myself in his ranks, perhaps I feel a little better knowing that with the same faults, he accomplished so much.
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Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition (Kindle Edition)
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Rowing to Latitude: Journeys Along the Arctic's Edge (Paperback)
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In a Far Country (Paperback)John, who I know personally, is unfortunately part of a diminishing breed of highly intelligent, skilled researchers and authors who bring to the fore explorers and characters who may be known a bit in popular lore, but not much. This is the story of an imperfect missionary in the wilds of turn-of-the-century Alaska who, at a moment’s notice, leaves his wife and comfort of his home in an arctic winter to drive a herd of caribou hundreds of miles to save a group of starving whalers, whose ships are frozen in the ice.
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Blokes Up North: Through the Heart of the Northwest Passage by Sail and Oar (Paperback)In the early years of the 21st century, a couple of British soldiers spend two summers rowing and sailing an open-faced wooden boat from the western boundary of the Passage up to Resolute.
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Inside: One Woman's Journey Through the Inside Passage Paperback - March 12, 2019 (Paperback)The Inside Passage runs roughly from Oregon, USA up to Alaska, skirting the mainland shoreline inside hundreds of islands on one of the most wild and scenic coastlines in the Americas. Conrad has become one of the leading experts on the route and her pictures and text provide a wonderful primer for anyone interested in kayaking the Inside Passage or just looking for a great read about some incredible adventures of a women in the wild.
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The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage (Kindle Edition)Originally, I thought this book was strictly about Franklin’s overland expedition in northern Canada; however, it turned out to be about many expeditions in and around the Northwest Passage, including Franklin’s and the multiple rescue expeditions.
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Into the Great Emptiness: Peril and Survival on the Greenland Ice Cap (Kindle Edition)
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The North Water: A Novel (Audible Audiobook)A fiction novel that depicts in stark, often horrifying detail the culture and world of mid-1800’s whaling industry in the arctic and the Passage. Very well written and disturbing. I believe it was made into a mini-series.
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Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night (Kindle Edition)The first English-language telling of one of the first expeditions to Antarctica and the very first expedition for Roald Amundsen. The “madhouse” is due to the rampant symptoms of scurvy that the entire crew encountered during their winter frozen in the ice. It turned into a nail-biter as the entire crew rallies to free the ship from the ice before sure death with a second winter-over.
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Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen (Kindle Edition)
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The Frozen Frontier: Polar Bound through the Northwest Passage (Hardcover)
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Barren Grounds: The Story of the Tragic Moffatt Canoe Trip (Hardcover)It was a simple college canoe trip for an experienced group of outdoorsmen that went all kinds of wrong in the Canadian North.
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Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventure (Paperback)
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Arctic Assignment - The Story of the St. Roch (Hardcover)
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Paddle to the Arctic: The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World (Hardcover)Don was a quite a character and I had the honor of getting to know him just a little bit before he died, as I was planning my Amazon River expedition. He wasn’t what I’d call a team player and he made several very foolish mistakes along his kayak trips from Churchill to (almost) Tuktoyaktuk. It’s a great read, so long as you compare/contrast with is partial partner’s book.
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Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak: One Woman's Journey Through the North West Passage (Paperback)Jason was a partial partner of Don Starkell, who did her best to balance out his strong personality. They split up their attempts to kayak from Churchill to Tuktoyaktuk and her writings of their expeditions is a good one for learning about team dynamics.
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Cold Oceans: Adventures in Kayak, Rowboat, and Dogsled (Hardcover)
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Fury Beach: The Four-Year Odyssey of Captain John Ross and The Victory (Paperback)An extremely well-detailed account of Ross’s expedition in and around Prince Regent Inlet in the somewhat steam-powered “Victory”. Given our current technology, it is an amazing account of what Ross and his men accomplished in such harsh conditions.
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Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk (Kindle Edition)Levy has established himself as one of the preeminent researchers and scholars with regards to accounts of historic expeditions. His forte is bringing the stories of nearly forgotten expeditions back to the fore, from which current explorers can learn and so we all will remember the heroism and folly of our forebears. The Karluk left port with great hopes of exploring the NWP, but almost immediately ran in to tragedy at the hands of its inept and self-centered leader. The remaining men and women on board rose to the occasion to save themselves and the crew, only remain in the shadows of their dishonorable leader.
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North to the Night: A Year in the Arctic Ice (Hardcover)An experienced global sailor (the author) his wife and cat set sail for Tay Bay on Bylot Island in the Navy Board Inlet of the Passage, with plans to get iced-in and overwinter in the arctic. Partway through, the author’s wife has to depart, leaving he and his cat to experience the dark, lonely arctic on their own. It’s a great read, with accurate descriptions of Bylot Island and the frozen sea of the Passage.
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Polar Passage (Hardcover)
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Arctic and Northern Waters (Paperback)
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