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South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery
by
Lynne Cox
Roald Amundsen, “the last of the Vikings,” left his mark on the Heroic Era as one of the most successful polar explorers ever.
A powerfully built man more than six feet tall, Amundsen’s career of adventure began at the age of fifteen (he was born in Norway in 1872 to a family of merchant sea captains and rich ship owners); twenty-five years later he was the first man to re...more
A powerfully built man more than six feet tall, Amundsen’s career of adventure began at the age of fifteen (he was born in Norway in 1872 to a family of merchant sea captains and rich ship owners); twenty-five years later he was the first man to re...more
Hardcover, 275 pages
Published
September 13th 2011
by Knopf
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The historical parts were interesting...the stuff about the author's cold-water swims, not so much. Needed more focus--and Amundsen deserves a book of his own, not this memoir/biography mishmash.
This is nothing short of a bait and switch. Everything about this book's cover and description indicate it will be an account of Roald Amundsen's polar explorations, and for the first sixty-six pages that's just what it is. Then, suddenly, just as he embarks on what will be the first successful crossing of the Northwest Passage, it becomes a book about the author's cold water swims in the far north, meandering ruminations on various experiences in her life, swim coaching, endless name-dropping o...more
I think this title is a bit misleading. South with the Sun is really only half about Amundsen and half about Lynne Cox herself. Cox sees Amundsen as something of a role model because, like her, he did a lot of things that had never been done before - travelling through the Northwest passage, getting to the South pole, and seeing polar flight as the new way forward in arctic exploration. Cox made records for swimming the English channel and for swimming a mile in Antarctica (in a swimsuit and cap...more
Holy bait and switch Batman! Based on the title you'd think the book "South to the Sun" was about polar explorer Roald Amundsen. How silly of us to assume! While parts of the book do deal with Amundsen in a very elementary manner, large portions are devoted to Ms. Cox's peculiar desire to swim in extremely cold water. Ms. Cox some how believes this activity makes her a kindred spirit to one of the most intrepid explorers of the 20th century. It doesn't. It makes her very cold and a hero in her o...more
It's obvious that Cox is not a writer. She is, in fact, a swimmer. The clunky writing isn't really what bothered me about the book. I feel like it just never picked up any speed. When I was 2/3 of the way through, I caught myself wondering when The Big Thing was going to happen, and then I thought, "Oh, I think this is it. Huh." I was shocked when I turned the page near the end and saw the header "Afterword." Having said all that, I think if you are SUPER EXCITED about polar exploration OR swimm...more
Oct 18, 2012
Amy
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-botns-retreat,
2012
This book was almost unreadable. I appreciate the person who identifies with a historical figure/even and weaves a memoir with relevant historical information. The author either isn't a good enough writer to describe a convincing link to Roald Amundsen and her passion for swimming in cold water, or she knew no publisher would believe readers would be interested in reading her unremarkable experience with swimming in cold water 3 times, so she came up with some historical that very loosely connec...more
The subtitle for this book is Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations & the Quest for Discovery. As far as that goes, the book is good. However, most of the book involves Lynne Cox's need to swim in strange waters. It is really HER book and not about the polar explorers. Since this was in the bibliography of a respected book, I expected a LOT more.
Don't bother to read this if you're looking for good, solid information on polar explorations. Find another source.
Don't bother to read this if you're looking for good, solid information on polar explorations. Find another source.
The title of this book is very misleading. Yes, the book discusses Roald Amundsen's polar expeditions, but most of the book focuses on the author's own modern day networking to help her complete open water oceanic swims in the north and south. Needless to say I was quite disappointed as I was really looking forward to a book detailing Amundsen's expeditions.
I'm glad I got this at the library. Paying for it would have been a waste of money.
It starts off well enough, but devolves into a personal travelogue that is not very interesting. The author keeps talking about folks she met in airports who ended up helping her organize various long distance swims. Yawn.
This book needed some serious editing.
It starts off well enough, but devolves into a personal travelogue that is not very interesting. The author keeps talking about folks she met in airports who ended up helping her organize various long distance swims. Yawn.
This book needed some serious editing.
I liked the concept about melding two stories about polar explorations together, but the execution was uneven. Some chapters were great (the one about Gjoa Haven) but others were not so great (the final chapter about antartic c-130 flyers). Some chapters seemed repetitive as if they were previously published essays.
From the title, one would assume this book is about Roald Amundsen. Actually, about two thirds concerns the authors obsession with taking brief swims in cold waters. The portions that are actually about Amundsen and his polar expeditions are interesting, but the balance of the book varies from inane to boring.
Like other reviewers, I enjoyed the historical narrative. I knew very little about Amundsen, and Cox did a good job telling me part of his story.
She lost my interest when she switched to her own story, though.
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Lynne Cox seems to have become a better writer since Grayson. Altho' the last chapter about the flying of the plane goes on for a bit. I liked how she paralleled the Amundsen story with her swimming achievements.
This looked like an interesting book, pity that it was not well written or edited.
I am enjoying this poetically written travel tale. It is about the travails of men who want claim to be the first to the North Pole-leading up to Amundsen's success. Cox does a great job weaving history, rugged environmental descriptions and the passionate curiosity of these male explorers. I have not yet finished this book, but look forward to seeing her own interest in exploration woven into the story.
I finished the book and it was very enjoyable. I admire the author's sense of adventure and p...more
I finished the book and it was very enjoyable. I admire the author's sense of adventure and p...more
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