Into the great emptiness : peril and survival on the Greenland ice cap / David Roberts.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roberts, David, 1943-2021, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Explorers--Great Britain--Biography.

Explorers.

Discoveries in geography--British.

Watkins, Henry George, 1907-1932.

Watkins, Henry George.

Courtauld, Augustine, 1904-1959.

Courtauld, Augustine.

British Arctic Air Route Expedition (1930-1931).

British Arctic Air Route Expedition.

Greenland--Discovery and exploration--British.

Greenland.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

256 pages, 6 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, N.Y. : W.W. Norton & Company, [2022]

Summary:

"The riveting story of one of the greatest but least-known sagas in the history of exploration from David Roberts, the "dean of adventure writing." By 1930, no place in the world was less well explored than Greenland. The native Inuit had occupied the relatively accessible west coast for centuries. The east coast, however, was another story. In August 1930, Henry George Watkins (nicknamed Gino), a 23-year-old explorer, led thirteen scientists and explorers on an ambitious journey to the east coast of Greenland and its vast and forbidding interior. Their mission: chart and survey the region and establish a permanent meteorological base 8,000 feet high on the ice cap. That plan turned into an epic survival ordeal when August Courtauld, manning the station solo through the winter, became entombed by drifting snow. David Roberts, "veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures" (Washington Post), draws on firsthand accounts and rich archival materials to tell the story of this daring expedition and of the ingenious young explorer at its helm"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: One. "He Never Discussed Anything Seriously"

Two. Edgeøya

Three. The Land That God Gave Cain

Four. Gino at Home

Five. Base Camp

Six. "That Cat's on the Roof Again"

Seven. Autumn with the Inuit

INTERLUDE The Cosmos of the East Coast Inuit

Eight. "All, All Alone": Courtauld on the Ice Cap

Nine. Winter with the Inuit

Ten. Courtauld in Purgatory

Eleven. Asking for Trouble: Gino's Finale.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [337]-341) and index.

ISBN:

9780393868111

0393868117

OCLC:

1272855608

Publisher Number:

99991216276