When this book originally appeared in 1990; it was hailed as an important new work because of the author's access to Adm. Richard E. Byrd's just-released private papers. Previous books on the legendary polar explorer had to rely on sources subject to the admiral's vigilant censorship or the control of his heirs and friends. With this study Eugene Rodgers provides a scrupulously honest and objective account of Byrd's 1929 expedition to Antarctica.Without discrediting the expedition's success or Byrd's leadership; Rodgers shows that the admiral was not the saintly hero he and the press depicted. Nor was the expedition without its problems. Interviews with surviving members of the expedition together with a wealth of other new material indicate that Byrd; contrary to his claims; was not a good navigator--his pilots usually had to find their way by dead reckoning--and that he was not on the actual flight that discovered Marie Byrd Land. The book further reveals a crisis over drunkenness among the men (including Byrd); the admiral's fear of mutiny; and his rewriting of news stories from the pole to embellish his own image.
#3839430 in Books Applewood Books 2007-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .65 x 5.50l; .81 #File Name: 1557099952288 pages
Review
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Landmark Case in American HistoryBy J Martin JellinekThey Have No Rights Covers the trials of Dred Scott and traces the legal wrangling that led to a decision that contributed to the start of the Civil War. The history of the trials and the people involved is a fascinating chapter in American History.That said; I found this book to be rather tedious reading. Although I have never read a law textbook; I would guess that they are written much like this book. It is dry with lots of facts and little background. Although the author attempts to be neutral; the author very obviously comes down on the politically correct side of the prohibitionists. This was disconcerting in what I thought would be a historical study.
