Leopold McClintock (1819–1907)

This short book was not a literary endeavor, but rather a spare description of an arctic voyage to find the remains of a previous exploratory voyage consisting of two ships and their crews that never returned. It is fascinating to learn about 19th Century men who braved extreme elements of cold and ice for months at a time. In ways most modern men would not, they accepted daily discomforts and the close possibility of their own demise with equanimity. These sailors all seemed multi-talented in their abilities to sail, to run, maintain, and repair engines, to hunt, to make mathematical calculations, to measure temperature, magnetism, pressure, etc. In addition, they were engaged in strenuous physical activity for hours and even days at a time.
I would wish this book to be required reading in high schools, in order to expose our children to a really different world and culture, instead of just a diversity of skin color, food choices, and perhaps language.
This edition could have been much improved had it provided a few maps of the the journey taken by the 'Fox.'… (mere)