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South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery
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 reach both the North and South Poles.
Lynne Cox, adventurer and swimmer, author of S w imming to Antarctica (“gripping” — Sports Illustrated ) and Grayson (“wondrous, and unforgettable” —Carl Hiaasen), gives us in South with the Sun a full-scale account of the explorer’s life and expeditions.
We see Amundsen, in 1903-06, the first to travel the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in his small ship Gjøa , a seventy-foot refitted former herring boat powered by sails and a thirteen-horsepower engine, making his way through the entire length of the treacherous ice bound route, between the northern Canadian mainland and Canada’s Arctic islands, from Greenland across Baffin Bay, between the Canadian islands, across the top of Alaska into the Bering Strait. The dangerous journey took three years to complete, as Amundsen, his crew, and six sled dogs waited while the frozen sea around them thawed sufficiently to allow for navigation.
We see him journey toward the North Pole in Fridtjof Nansen’s famous Fram , until word reached his expedition party of Robert Peary’s successful arrival at the North Pole. Amundsen then set out on a secret expedition to the Antarctic, and we follow him through his heroic capture of the South Pole.
Cox makes clear why Amundsen succeeded in his quests where other adventurer-explorers failed, and how his methodical preparation and willingness to take calculated risks revealed both the spirit of the man and the way to complete one triumphant journey after another.
Crucial to Amundsen’s success in reaching the South Pole was his use of carefully selected sled dogs. Amundsen’s canine crew members—he called them “our children”—had been superbly equipped by centuries of natural selection for survival in the Arctic. “The dogs,” he wrote, “are the most important thing for us. The whole outcome of the expedition depends on them.” On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen and four others, 102 days and more than 1,880 miles later, stood at the South Pole, a full month before Robert Scott.
Lynne Cox describes reading about Amundsen as a young girl and how because of his exploits was inspired to follow her dreams. We see how she unwittingly set out in Amundsen’s path, swimming in open waters off Antarctica, then Greenland (always without a wetsuit), first as a challenge to her own abilities and then later as a way to understand Amundsen’s life and the lessons learned from his vision, imagination, and daring.
South with the Sun —inspiring, wondrous, and true—is a bold adventure story of bold ambitious dreams.
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 reach both the North and South Poles.
Lynne Cox, adventurer and swimmer, author of S w imming to Antarctica (“gripping” — Sports Illustrated ) and Grayson (“wondrous, and unforgettable” —Carl Hiaasen), gives us in South with the Sun a full-scale account of the explorer’s life and expeditions.
We see Amundsen, in 1903-06, the first to travel the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in his small ship Gjøa , a seventy-foot refitted former herring boat powered by sails and a thirteen-horsepower engine, making his way through the entire length of the treacherous ice bound route, between the northern Canadian mainland and Canada’s Arctic islands, from Greenland across Baffin Bay, between the Canadian islands, across the top of Alaska into the Bering Strait. The dangerous journey took three years to complete, as Amundsen, his crew, and six sled dogs waited while the frozen sea around them thawed sufficiently to allow for navigation.
We see him journey toward the North Pole in Fridtjof Nansen’s famous Fram , until word reached his expedition party of Robert Peary’s successful arrival at the North Pole. Amundsen then set out on a secret expedition to the Antarctic, and we follow him through his heroic capture of the South Pole.
Cox makes clear why Amundsen succeeded in his quests where other adventurer-explorers failed, and how his methodical preparation and willingness to take calculated risks revealed both the spirit of the man and the way to complete one triumphant journey after another.
Crucial to Amundsen’s success in reaching the South Pole was his use of carefully selected sled dogs. Amundsen’s canine crew members—he called them “our children”—had been superbly equipped by centuries of natural selection for survival in the Arctic. “The dogs,” he wrote, “are the most important thing for us. The whole outcome of the expedition depends on them.” On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen and four others, 102 days and more than 1,880 miles later, stood at the South Pole, a full month before Robert Scott.
Lynne Cox describes reading about Amundsen as a young girl and how because of his exploits was inspired to follow her dreams. We see how she unwittingly set out in Amundsen’s path, swimming in open waters off Antarctica, then Greenland (always without a wetsuit), first as a challenge to her own abilities and then later as a way to understand Amundsen’s life and the lessons learned from his vision, imagination, and daring.
South with the Sun —inspiring, wondrous, and true—is a bold adventure story of bold ambitious dreams.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
27 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Cox
47 books153 followersLynne Cox is an American long-distance open-water swimmer and writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
March 21, 2024
Yes and sadly, the book title (South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery) and equally the presented cover image are in my humble opinion not only totally and utterly misleading but in fact and in my humble opinion also rather majorly dishonest to and for potential readers.
Because I for one certainly and totally was expecting (and this is also why I had signed South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery out of the library in the first place) that author Lynn Cox would not only mostly but actually almost exclusively be writing about Roald Amundsen and his antarctic explorations in South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery. And when this ceases to be the case after sixty odd pages (and which I indeed did rather enjoy reading) and Lynn Cox then starts to pontificate in South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery more and more if not even rather exclusively about her own life and her career as a swimmer (interesting enough, perhaps, but not in a book about Roald Amundsen, for if I had wanted to read about Lynn Cox's swimming career, I would have tried a sports biography or autobiography), I not only very quickly lost any and all interest and stopped reading, I was (and I remain) also infuriated that the author could be so misleading, that Lynne Cox has basically used the interesting premise of Amundsen's polar explorations to in fact mostly just talk about herself and indeed about how supposedly wonderful she seemingly is.
And therefore, only one star for South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery (and with no feelings of guilt whatsoever that I could not manage to finish this book, as yes, nothing does seem to make me more livid than misleading book titles and South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery absolutely in NO WAY practices what the title claims, does not really ever show itself to be all that much about Roald Amundsen and is indeed mostly just about Lynne Cox writing about herself and often tooting her own proverbial horn so to speak).
Because I for one certainly and totally was expecting (and this is also why I had signed South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery out of the library in the first place) that author Lynn Cox would not only mostly but actually almost exclusively be writing about Roald Amundsen and his antarctic explorations in South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery. And when this ceases to be the case after sixty odd pages (and which I indeed did rather enjoy reading) and Lynn Cox then starts to pontificate in South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery more and more if not even rather exclusively about her own life and her career as a swimmer (interesting enough, perhaps, but not in a book about Roald Amundsen, for if I had wanted to read about Lynn Cox's swimming career, I would have tried a sports biography or autobiography), I not only very quickly lost any and all interest and stopped reading, I was (and I remain) also infuriated that the author could be so misleading, that Lynne Cox has basically used the interesting premise of Amundsen's polar explorations to in fact mostly just talk about herself and indeed about how supposedly wonderful she seemingly is.
And therefore, only one star for South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery (and with no feelings of guilt whatsoever that I could not manage to finish this book, as yes, nothing does seem to make me more livid than misleading book titles and South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, his Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery absolutely in NO WAY practices what the title claims, does not really ever show itself to be all that much about Roald Amundsen and is indeed mostly just about Lynne Cox writing about herself and often tooting her own proverbial horn so to speak).
February 12, 2012
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 of all the famous people she has met, human-powered flight, the USAF, and on the final page she even tosses in the Afghanistan water polo team (WTF?). We never do learn about Amundsen's Arctic trek, although the author does eventually get around to a brief description of his being the first man to reach the South Pole. But then she's off on herself again. Oh, and she repeatedly states in the text that part of her goal is to write about the effects of climate change on the polar regions, but somewhere along the way she forgets to follow up on this.
Wow.
If this mess had been tossed out by a vanity press, then at least we could understand how it managed to get published. But Knopf is a major name in the business. How this ever managed to get through the company's process is a true mystery. They must not have editors anymore. The way this book is presented to potential readers is completely dishonest. There is nothing on the cover or description warning that it is about anything other than Amundsen.
The only reason I finished this was for the writing of a published review. In other words, I got paid to read it. Upon reflection, I don't think it was worth it.
Wow.
If this mess had been tossed out by a vanity press, then at least we could understand how it managed to get published. But Knopf is a major name in the business. How this ever managed to get through the company's process is a true mystery. They must not have editors anymore. The way this book is presented to potential readers is completely dishonest. There is nothing on the cover or description warning that it is about anything other than Amundsen.
The only reason I finished this was for the writing of a published review. In other words, I got paid to read it. Upon reflection, I don't think it was worth it.
December 23, 2011
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.
February 20, 2016
I picked up this book when I saw it listed in the catalog put out by Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers, which specializes in selling remaindered titles at low prices. The life story of Roald Amundsen, who spent years methodically preparing for polar exploration, was beaten in the race to reach the North Pole by Robert Peary, then re-focused his attention on the South Pole and made a successful dash to that location while Englishman Robert Falcon Scott's team perished in a heroic but misguided venture, is filled with human interest and vivid adventure, and since the book had been remaindered it was practically free.
Even at this low cost, however, the book was overpriced. Amundsen's story, insofar as it appears in the book, is competently told for the most part. However, this story probably occupies less than half the space in the book, with the remainder being devoted to Ms. Cox's own travels.
Ms. Cox is the type of author who cannot resist the urge to insert herself into the story she is trying to tell. Her particular gimmick is that she swims in arctic waters, wearing nothing more than an ordinary swimsuit. This makes her the first person to have swum in many of the places she goes, though as she admits that is only because no one in his or her right mind voluntarily would go swimming in such waters.
Thus, Ms. Cox interrupts the narrative by going swimming in many places on the edge of the Arctic Ocean which Amundsen visited during his long apprenticeship as an explorer. She attempts to up the suspense by claiming to fear being attacked on these jaunts by arctic fauna like polar bears. Of course, the support team which follows her in a boat lest she become overwhelmed by hypothermia in the frigid water easily could save her in the unlikely event that a hostile bear made an appearance by pulling her into the boat before it got close.
When the scene shifts to Antarctica, where Amundsen won his fame, Cox no longer can go swimming in his footsteps. After all, Antarctica is a continent, not a frozen-over ocean. Our intrepid heroine manages to keep herself in the picture by cadging a ride in an airplane flying over Antarctica. In doing so,as she pointed out, Cox once again was paralleling Amundsen to some degree. Late in his life, Amundsen became a pioneer in polar aviation, and he died in a plane crash in the Barents Sea. However, it was not Amundsen's adventure; it was her own.
On the whole, I would recommend that a potential reader save his or her money and not buy this book, even if it remains available for next to nothing on the remainder shelves, and instead read one of the many Amundsen biographies that are available.
Even at this low cost, however, the book was overpriced. Amundsen's story, insofar as it appears in the book, is competently told for the most part. However, this story probably occupies less than half the space in the book, with the remainder being devoted to Ms. Cox's own travels.
Ms. Cox is the type of author who cannot resist the urge to insert herself into the story she is trying to tell. Her particular gimmick is that she swims in arctic waters, wearing nothing more than an ordinary swimsuit. This makes her the first person to have swum in many of the places she goes, though as she admits that is only because no one in his or her right mind voluntarily would go swimming in such waters.
Thus, Ms. Cox interrupts the narrative by going swimming in many places on the edge of the Arctic Ocean which Amundsen visited during his long apprenticeship as an explorer. She attempts to up the suspense by claiming to fear being attacked on these jaunts by arctic fauna like polar bears. Of course, the support team which follows her in a boat lest she become overwhelmed by hypothermia in the frigid water easily could save her in the unlikely event that a hostile bear made an appearance by pulling her into the boat before it got close.
When the scene shifts to Antarctica, where Amundsen won his fame, Cox no longer can go swimming in his footsteps. After all, Antarctica is a continent, not a frozen-over ocean. Our intrepid heroine manages to keep herself in the picture by cadging a ride in an airplane flying over Antarctica. In doing so,as she pointed out, Cox once again was paralleling Amundsen to some degree. Late in his life, Amundsen became a pioneer in polar aviation, and he died in a plane crash in the Barents Sea. However, it was not Amundsen's adventure; it was her own.
On the whole, I would recommend that a potential reader save his or her money and not buy this book, even if it remains available for next to nothing on the remainder shelves, and instead read one of the many Amundsen biographies that are available.
August 30, 2013
Rather disappointing both in terms of quality and contents.
Regarding quality, the work is not terrible, but the transitions are abrupt and the prose is flat.
Regarding quantity, perhaps this was a flaw in perception, but I expected this to be more about Amundsen's polar exploration (about which I've recently developed a keen interest) and less about the author's own cold-water swimming excursions. As impressive as her record-making swims must have been in terms of training, endurance, and achievement, the accounts just don't make for gripping reads.
Regarding quality, the work is not terrible, but the transitions are abrupt and the prose is flat.
Regarding quantity, perhaps this was a flaw in perception, but I expected this to be more about Amundsen's polar exploration (about which I've recently developed a keen interest) and less about the author's own cold-water swimming excursions. As impressive as her record-making swims must have been in terms of training, endurance, and achievement, the accounts just don't make for gripping reads.
September 14, 2020
There is a lot going on in South with the Sun. The title (misleadingly) implies that it’s a book about Roald Amundsen. I loved the preface: the author talking about how inspired she is by Amundsen, examining his life, looking to the past and to the stars to look ahead, we’re all explorers. Then the beginning was all Arctic exploration, Nansen and the Fram, all very interesting. I liked that Nansen took his naysayers and instead of being discouraged, thought about the problems they brought up and used them to figure out how to deal with them should they arise.
The book then gets into Amundsen and the Northwest Passage, but quickly flips to the author doing an open water swim in Greenland, then additional swims and trips along Amundsen’s Gjoa route. I feel like I missed something big here. Cox was planning one of her swims and when asked if she will be swimming in a wet or dry suit, she explains that she’ll be swimming in a swimsuit. Cox was surprised that the woman helping plan her swim wasn’t aware of that. I was surprised as well. I’m not saying it was never mentioned in the book -maybe it briefly was?- but either way, after reading the whole book, I still don’t feel like I ever learned why she swims in freezing cold water in a swimsuit.
There are more brief Amundsen stories that ultimately lead to airplanes as a method of exploration in Arctic regions. Then, to paraphrase an unintentionally endearing line from Nansen in Farthest North, nothing really happened for the next few weeks, let me tell you all about it. It was a lot about trying to get a connection with someone to get to Antarctica and airplanes.
Bonus points for the incredible unsung hero Tom Crean getting a few paragraphs in the book.
The book then gets into Amundsen and the Northwest Passage, but quickly flips to the author doing an open water swim in Greenland, then additional swims and trips along Amundsen’s Gjoa route. I feel like I missed something big here. Cox was planning one of her swims and when asked if she will be swimming in a wet or dry suit, she explains that she’ll be swimming in a swimsuit. Cox was surprised that the woman helping plan her swim wasn’t aware of that. I was surprised as well. I’m not saying it was never mentioned in the book -maybe it briefly was?- but either way, after reading the whole book, I still don’t feel like I ever learned why she swims in freezing cold water in a swimsuit.
There are more brief Amundsen stories that ultimately lead to airplanes as a method of exploration in Arctic regions. Then, to paraphrase an unintentionally endearing line from Nansen in Farthest North, nothing really happened for the next few weeks, let me tell you all about it. It was a lot about trying to get a connection with someone to get to Antarctica and airplanes.
Bonus points for the incredible unsung hero Tom Crean getting a few paragraphs in the book.
July 1, 2019
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!). I met Lynne Cox once - introduced her at a book event - and I liked her enormously. I like Swimming in Antarctica - she's not a fancy writer but it was her story and she did a nice job. But in South with the Sun there is too much Cox and not enough Amundsen. I like hearing about her swims in Greenland and so on - places where Amundsen had been - but I found her discussions of trying to get to talk to people about polar flight a bit tedious - her research methods aren't that interesting.
It was certainly interesting to follow up An Empire of Ice with this book. In Empire of Ice, Amundsen is kind of a bad guy - his sole intention was to win the race to the pole instead of being part of a scientific expedition, and he used dogs! (I love the story of the Royal Geographic Society cheering the dogs but not Amundsen - well, of course they didn't cheer Amundsen - he beat their British guy!) In Lynne Cox's book, Amundsen respects the skills of those people who lived in cold places and seeks out their advice, hence the use of dogs, underwear from seals etc.
I want to give this 2 and a half stars. I keep wavering between 2 and 3.
It was certainly interesting to follow up An Empire of Ice with this book. In Empire of Ice, Amundsen is kind of a bad guy - his sole intention was to win the race to the pole instead of being part of a scientific expedition, and he used dogs! (I love the story of the Royal Geographic Society cheering the dogs but not Amundsen - well, of course they didn't cheer Amundsen - he beat their British guy!) In Lynne Cox's book, Amundsen respects the skills of those people who lived in cold places and seeks out their advice, hence the use of dogs, underwear from seals etc.
I want to give this 2 and a half stars. I keep wavering between 2 and 3.
April 1, 2020
When I bought this book I was convinced that - as per the title - it was a story about Amundsen and his polar explorations. Great! As a fan of Antarctic explorers such as Scott and Shackleton I was looking forward to learning his side of the story.
The book begins by vaguely talking about Amundsen but also about other people who were looking to find the North Passage through the Arctic sea. But about one third in the author begins to tell about her own travels and how she was going to swim somewhere or other. Sorry, what!?
Super disappointed. Did not finish the book because, frankly, even if I did care about Lynne Cox swimming in ice cold waters, I now feel cheated by the cover art and title of the book and don't want to continue reading.
This is a book equivalent of click bait and false advertising. Super lame.
The book begins by vaguely talking about Amundsen but also about other people who were looking to find the North Passage through the Arctic sea. But about one third in the author begins to tell about her own travels and how she was going to swim somewhere or other. Sorry, what!?
Super disappointed. Did not finish the book because, frankly, even if I did care about Lynne Cox swimming in ice cold waters, I now feel cheated by the cover art and title of the book and don't want to continue reading.
This is a book equivalent of click bait and false advertising. Super lame.
March 14, 2019
I listened to the audiobook and nearly stopped immediately after hearing the reader's voice. It sounded as if she were trying to use a stage voice instead of something more natural. Regardless, I decided to listen anyway and then gave up less than halfway through the book. The title of the book implies that it's about Roald Amundsen. However, in reality the author kept injecting her experiences with cold water swimming. While there were some ever so slight parallels, I really wanted to learn more about Mr. Amundsen and could not care less about the author's swimming.
As such, I stopped listening.
As such, I stopped listening.
September 3, 2017
Like many other reviewers, I found this book rather disappointing. The title suggests that the book will be about Roald Amundsen, and although there are a few chapters about him, the majority of the book is on other topics, like Cox's polar swimming, other Arctic explorers and Air Force pilots who operate in polar areas. The bait and switch was enough to knock a few stars off, but her amateurish writing dropped the score even more. Even when talking about occurrences which contain high amounts of drama, like being lost in a snow storm, I got no feeling of danger. Also, I found sections where she recounted conversations to be like reading a middle schooler's short story.
I got this book because I like to read about polar expeditions, but I suggest that if you like this topic, don't waste your time on this book and read books like Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition instead.
I got this book because I like to read about polar expeditions, but I suggest that if you like this topic, don't waste your time on this book and read books like Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition instead.
October 19, 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 connected with it. My opinion is that it was the latter one. While the historical information was mildly education, and interesting, I was distracted by her very poor timeline of events. In one chapter Amundsen is alive, then dead, then alive again. With no warning. And the afterward just kept going... at one point she says she was going to finish the book, but then keeps writing. Really - just end it. I didn't really care to read a single additional word from this author.
February 4, 2017
I was disappointed in the book as I was expecting a much more detailed biography of Roald Amundsen and not an autobiography of the author Lynne Cox.
This book does have information about the life and explorations of Roald Amundsen, but it is mostly about the travels and cold water swimming adventures of Lynne Cox. I am sure that this would have been interesting had I known that was what I was picking up. However since the book title and cover was very misleading, I was unable to get into the author's autobiography and did not enjoy the book.
Bottom line: If you want to read about how Lynne Cox swims in extremely cold water and how she has followed the travels of Roald Amundsen, you will like this book and I would therefore recommend it to you. If however you are strictly interested in reading about Roald Amundsen, you should avoid this book as it does not really explore his life in any depth and only has about 60 pages on him.
This book does have information about the life and explorations of Roald Amundsen, but it is mostly about the travels and cold water swimming adventures of Lynne Cox. I am sure that this would have been interesting had I known that was what I was picking up. However since the book title and cover was very misleading, I was unable to get into the author's autobiography and did not enjoy the book.
Bottom line: If you want to read about how Lynne Cox swims in extremely cold water and how she has followed the travels of Roald Amundsen, you will like this book and I would therefore recommend it to you. If however you are strictly interested in reading about Roald Amundsen, you should avoid this book as it does not really explore his life in any depth and only has about 60 pages on him.
June 30, 2019
This book was alright, but not really what I was looking for or expected. I had wanted to read a book about Roald Amundsen after noticing a like 2 sentence mention of him in another book about historical polar exploration. And while this book did go into a fair amount of detail about him, it was ultimately about Lynne Cox's life and all her prestigious connections in swimming in polar waters. The final chapters had nothing to do with Amundsen at all and I ended up only skimming them as it held little interest for me. Cox seems like a nice and accomplished woman and all, but I just feel like the title and summary of this book was a bit deceptive and not very accurate as to what it actually was - a memoir about polar swimming.
July 17, 2012
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 swimming, you might like this book quite a lot. I am not excited whatsoever about either, so that had an impact on my enjoyment of the book.
January 3, 2012
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 own mind. Both the author and publisher should be ashamed for foisting this travesty on the public.
February 24, 2012
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.
June 7, 2015
I struggled through the first 100 pages, hoping for something better. I wanted to like the work, and probably stuck with it longer than I should have due to loving the subject matter.
Cox's account reads as a dizzying school book report. It's as though she feels the need to make sure every. single. name. is mentioned.
Ms. Cox is an amazing adventure persona, with many acheivements under her belt. Writing, is unfortunately not one of them.
Cox's account reads as a dizzying school book report. It's as though she feels the need to make sure every. single. name. is mentioned.
Ms. Cox is an amazing adventure persona, with many acheivements under her belt. Writing, is unfortunately not one of them.
December 17, 2011
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.
February 28, 2012
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.
June 6, 2012
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.
May 13, 2012
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.
did-not-finish
January 3, 2012This looked like an interesting book, pity that it was not well written or edited.
January 24, 2016
More about the author's swim than the Pole
October 28, 2017
South with the Sun is an autobiography of the late arctic explorer Roald Amundsen written by Lynne Cox. Even though very few people have heard of this daring explorer, he has accomplished many extraordinary feats for his time, exploring the icy terrain of both polar environments, successfully traversing the Northwest Passage, and capturing the South Pole. Throughout the course of the book, Cox analyzes the many adventures Amundsen embarks on and compares that to her own goal at attaining an open-water swimming career in the same polar waters Amundsen once conquered.
Throughout the book, Cox has excellently crafted the daring adventures of Amundsen, vividly detailing his various feats. I found this book to be rather interesting, especially considering how few people have heard of this explorer, and liked how Cox is so effectively able to compare her experiences to Amundsen as the book progresses. I also liked how Cox consistently refers to the inspiration motif and referenced Amundsen as an inspiration, when she “had read about Amundsen as a teenager” and would “follow in his wake”. (pg. 67) However, I also found it a little boring due to the lack of action and the book’s main focus on the various interactions of the two different characters with other people. With that being said, I would recommend this book to anybody who likes reading about Matthew Henson, Robert Peary, Balto, the Iditarod, or any topic related to polar exploration and the people who explore the poles.
Throughout the book, Cox has excellently crafted the daring adventures of Amundsen, vividly detailing his various feats. I found this book to be rather interesting, especially considering how few people have heard of this explorer, and liked how Cox is so effectively able to compare her experiences to Amundsen as the book progresses. I also liked how Cox consistently refers to the inspiration motif and referenced Amundsen as an inspiration, when she “had read about Amundsen as a teenager” and would “follow in his wake”. (pg. 67) However, I also found it a little boring due to the lack of action and the book’s main focus on the various interactions of the two different characters with other people. With that being said, I would recommend this book to anybody who likes reading about Matthew Henson, Robert Peary, Balto, the Iditarod, or any topic related to polar exploration and the people who explore the poles.
January 5, 2019
This book is definitely a mixed bag. I found the historical part very interesting. I found the personal recollections a little disjointed. I think the book could have done well with some focused editing. For example, upon meeting our narrator she is a teenager about to swim the English Channel. Scene opens she's already on the plane with her mom. I would have appreciated some back story. I mean I was 15 once, but I never would have thought about swimming the English Channel. I bet it's an interesting story. . . but alas, we never really get to hear it.
The author has done an impressive bit of long distance swimming. Her prose is clunky and at times oddly amateur - I mean nothing a line editor couldn't fix, so. . . so why didn't Knopf hire one? I think this could have been a five star book with a wee bit of re-organization and some basic sentence and paragraph clean up. As it is, the only thing that kept me going was the sheer oddness of the adventure. Cold water swimming is not something I ever thought about before picking up this book. I can honestly say I hadn't know it was a thing.
The author has done an impressive bit of long distance swimming. Her prose is clunky and at times oddly amateur - I mean nothing a line editor couldn't fix, so. . . so why didn't Knopf hire one? I think this could have been a five star book with a wee bit of re-organization and some basic sentence and paragraph clean up. As it is, the only thing that kept me going was the sheer oddness of the adventure. Cold water swimming is not something I ever thought about before picking up this book. I can honestly say I hadn't know it was a thing.
March 16, 2025
I found this book very frustrating. Like many of the other reviewers here, I picked it up expecting a book about Amundsen and his polar adventures. This book did have that, and those parts were interesting, but I would say that only made up about half the book. The other half were stories of the author’s cold water swims and how she “followed in Amundsen’s footsteps.” These parts weren’t terrible, but it wasn’t what I expected to read.
Also, I had a lot of trouble with the last part of this book. The first half is about Amundsen’s and the author’s journeys through the Arctic. This was pretty interesting, as I didn’t know much about this part of Amundsen’s life. The second half however, is about the Antarctic adventures. The description of Amundsen’s Journey to the South Pole and his later interest in polar flights was interesting. However, the story could’ve stopped there. I had to slog through the last four or five chapters, and I found myself skipping sections. It was a lot of the author talking to different people about flying her to Antarctica, and we got a lot of the backstory of these people, but nothing actually happened.
Also, I had a lot of trouble with the last part of this book. The first half is about Amundsen’s and the author’s journeys through the Arctic. This was pretty interesting, as I didn’t know much about this part of Amundsen’s life. The second half however, is about the Antarctic adventures. The description of Amundsen’s Journey to the South Pole and his later interest in polar flights was interesting. However, the story could’ve stopped there. I had to slog through the last four or five chapters, and I found myself skipping sections. It was a lot of the author talking to different people about flying her to Antarctica, and we got a lot of the backstory of these people, but nothing actually happened.
March 16, 2024
The premise of this book was Cox's interest in following in the footsteps mainly of the famous polar explorers Nansen, Amundsen and Byrd. Her purpose was not only to try to understand their experiences and missions but also to see where their research and missions led. Thus the book covers their exploration as well as climate change evidence/research and how important that is to preserving this planet, how their vision laid the foundation for future polar exploration, and the character of those who explore and pursue new paths.
Her method of 'following' is that she swam in their footsteps as closely as she could. (She is a distance swimmer.) So she swam legs in Antarctica, the Northwest Passage, Greenland, etc. The book goes back and forth between her journeys and theirs. Along the way you meet all of the people who were involved with this most interesting enterprise.
There is some repetition throughout and some editorial changes could have been made but it is interesting and her goals are admirable.
Her method of 'following' is that she swam in their footsteps as closely as she could. (She is a distance swimmer.) So she swam legs in Antarctica, the Northwest Passage, Greenland, etc. The book goes back and forth between her journeys and theirs. Along the way you meet all of the people who were involved with this most interesting enterprise.
There is some repetition throughout and some editorial changes could have been made but it is interesting and her goals are admirable.
August 5, 2022
One good value of historical biographies and accounts is that an 11-year-old book is as fresh as a one-month-old book. I had enjoyed Swimming to Antarctica...and enjoyed even more Lynne Cox's description of Roald Amundsen's polar explorations and expeditions. Using the word "polar" implies far more than just "artic" or "anartica" in that she covers trips to both ends of the earth. She brings home the exploration of unknown territories and the types of people who embark on such missions not only by giving family details and financial twists and turns but also by talking about current explorers (hint: astronauts) and brave researchers (service men and women too). As a dog lover, her attention to the sled dogs was the perfect touch.
August 4, 2024
Ugh. The pacing was so wrong and the story was not at all as advertised by the cover and title. Cox gives only chapter-length summaries of amazing exploration stories (e.g. the Jeannette and the Belgica) but then painstakingly describes every minute logistical detail of her various plans to swim in cold water or fly over cold water. Sorry, that doesn't compare. Cox rarely brings up Amudson after the first 20% of the book. Of course, an author is entitled to bring the story to the present day and share journalistic and personal anecdotes. But readers expect the majority of a book to be what it's sold to be. In this case, that's an account of Amundson. Sorry this review is harsh, but I do not recommend this book!
February 25, 2023
As others have noted, the title and book blurb do not indicate that half of the story is about the author's swimming accomplishments and adventures around the globe. She alternates the retelling of Amundsen expeditions with her own personal expeditions. Why she didn't choose to reveal this is weird. The two stories were woven together effectively, but for anyone, including myself, who expected a detailed "deep dive" into Amundsen's explorations, it was surprising and jarring. If the author were to change the title and describe it more honestly, it's likely that the negative reviews would cease.
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