The Antarctic is the last vast terrestrial frontier. Just over a century ago; no one had ever seen the South Pole. Today odd machines and adventure skiers from many nations converge there every summer; arriving from numerous starting points on the Antarctic coast and returning some other way. But not until very recently has anyone completed a roundtrip from McMurdo Station; the U.S. support hub on the continental coast. The last man to try that perished in 1912. The valuable surface route from McMurdo remained elusive until John H. Wright and his crew finished the job in 2006.Blazing Ice is the story of the team of Americans who forged a thousand-mile transcontinental “haul route†across Antarctica. For decades airplanes from McMurdo Station supplied the South Pole. A safe and repeatable surface haul route would have been cheaper and more environmentally benign than airlift; but the technology was not available until 2000.As Wright reveals in this gripping narrative; the hazards of Antarctic terrain and weather were as daunting for twenty-first century pioneers as they were for Norway’s Roald Amundsen and England’s Robert Falcon Scott when they raced to be first to the South Pole in 1911–1912. Wright and his team faced deadly hidden crevasses; vast snow swamps; the Transantarctic Mountains; badlands of weird wind sculpted ice; and the high Polar Plateau.Blazing Ice will appeal to Antarctic aficionados; conservationists; field scientists; and adventure readers of all stripes.
#1384009 in Books 2017-05-08 2017-05-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 6.25 x .75l; .0 #File Name: 1611213118212 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent book on Sand CreekBy James W. DurneyEvents occur but how they are reported and remembered can change our perception of what occurred.This book takes a detailed look at an event as it occurs; as it is reported and as it is remembered.Over time; we see how personal and political agendas will change “history†remaking it into something that didn’t quite happen that way.Indian Wars were often fought by civilians with neither side making an effort to protect “non-combatantsâ€; if they existed.Battles were often to the death with capture being the worst possible outcome.To lose is to lose your way of life and by Sand Creek the Native Americans were clearly starting to lose.The author looks at this first as a military action. Readers understand the situation leading up to the battle and the battle as it occurs.The next phase is the politics involved. We see the infighting within the command; within the state and at the national level.National leaders have no clear policy and are apt to change direction quickly and without warning.Powerful political and religious groups demand policy changes and intrigue to improve their position.At the state level; political figures step into a firestorm as the story changes and public opinion is manipulated.Lastly; we look at how the “history†of Sand Creek is written and remembered.This is an excellent book both as a history and as a look at how history if really made.The author has an excellent style; very readable and enjoyable.This is a Savas Beatie book and contains all the quality we expect from them.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. "Highly recommended" review by Midwest Book ReviewBy MilitarybooksA comprehensive and definitive work of seminal research and scholarship; "The Three Battles of Sand Creek: In Blood; in Court; and as the End of History" is an extraordinary study that is impressively well written; organized and presented from beginning to end. Enhanced with the inclusion of two appendices (Ghosts Busted at Sand Creek; List of Killed and Wounded in the First and Third Colorado Cavalry at Sand Creek); a nine page Bibliography; and a four page Index; "The Three Battles of Sand Creek" is a critically important and core addition to both community and academic library 19th Century American History collections in general; and Native American History supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.- Midwest Book Review(Note: This review was written by Midwest Book Review posted on at their request)
