What do you think?
Rate this book
Peter Freuchen's Book of the Eskimos
Peter Freuchen's Famous Book of the Eskimos [Mass Market Paperback] Peter Freuchen (Author)
319 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
9 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Peter Freuchen
84 books97 followersPeter Freuchen, born Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen was a Danish explorer, writer and traveler.
He spent many years in Thule, Greenland, living with the Polar Inuit. He worked with Knud Rasmussen, crossing the Greenland icecap with him. In 1935, Freuchen visited South Africa, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to Siberia.
In 1938 he founded The Adventurer's Club (Eventyrernes Klub in Danish), which still exists. They later honoured his memory by planting an oak tree and creating an Eskimo cairn near the place, where he left Denmark for Greenland back in 1906.
He was also employed by the movie industry as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in Arctic-related scripts. Most notably MGM's Oscar winning Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent starring Ray Mala. In 1956, he won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question, an American TV quiz-show on the subject "The Seven Seas".
During World War II, Freuchen was actively involved with the Danish resistance movement against the Germans, despite having lost a leg to frost bite in 1926. He was imprisoned for a time by the Germans.
He spent many years in Thule, Greenland, living with the Polar Inuit. He worked with Knud Rasmussen, crossing the Greenland icecap with him. In 1935, Freuchen visited South Africa, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to Siberia.
In 1938 he founded The Adventurer's Club (Eventyrernes Klub in Danish), which still exists. They later honoured his memory by planting an oak tree and creating an Eskimo cairn near the place, where he left Denmark for Greenland back in 1906.
He was also employed by the movie industry as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in Arctic-related scripts. Most notably MGM's Oscar winning Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent starring Ray Mala. In 1956, he won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question, an American TV quiz-show on the subject "The Seven Seas".
During World War II, Freuchen was actively involved with the Danish resistance movement against the Germans, despite having lost a leg to frost bite in 1926. He was imprisoned for a time by the Germans.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
March 23, 2015
Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) was a Dane who set up a trading post in Greenland in 1910. He spent 50 years among the Inuit, and knew them when they still lived in their traditional Stone Age manner. He married an Inuit woman and had two children. Freuchen’s Book of the Eskimos describes how these people lived, and provides us with a window into a world far different from our own. (Today, the word “Eskimo” is rude.)
The Arctic was the last region to be settled by humans. It’s an extremely cold region, with just two frost-free months, and the sun doesn’t shine for four months of the year. What’s for breakfast? Meat. What’s for lunch? Meat. Dinner? Guess what! They lived almost entirely on animal foods from birds, fish, and mammals of the sea and tundra. These foods were processed and preserved in a variety of different ways, many of which would gag outsiders. Blubber was their fuel for heat, cooking, and light.
Survival in this harsh land demanded cooperation and sharing. Meat was community property, and no one was denied access to it (although regular freeloaders were not warmly regarded). Spoken discourse was typically indirect, non-confrontational, and comically self-effacing. Functional communities had no use for those who suffered from grandiose egos or other anti-social perversions.
Despite their harsh life, the Inuit had a tremendous zeal for living. Sexually, they enjoyed great freedom. Wife swapping was common and perfectly acceptable. Young people (even children) were free to fully explore the mysteries of tender pleasures. Orgies, singing, and storytelling sweetened the monotony of long winter nights. Freuchen writes that “they always enjoy life with an enviable intensity, and they believe themselves to be the happiest people on earth living in the most beautiful country there is.”
Anthropologists have shown us that nomadic foraging cultures had a number of advantages, compared to agricultural societies. Foraging societies in warmer regions typically had a number of aspects in common. Inuit society did not neatly fit into the same pattern of characteristics.
The common pattern is that nomadic foragers did not domesticate animals — they lived in a reality where all animals were wild, sacred relatives, teachers, and equals. But the Inuit sled dogs were owned, controlled, and exploited (it was perfectly acceptable to copulate with a dog when she was in heat, as long as it was done outdoors, in the open). These sled dogs were maybe 80% wild. They would ravage the settlement and eat everything if allowed to run loose, so they were kept tied. Their teeth were filed down to keep them from biting apart their tethers. Sled dogs did not in any way resemble the neurotic, infantilized canines of modern suburbia. They only responded to instructions from the dog whip.
The common pattern believes that women enjoyed their highest levels of respect and equality in nomadic foraging societies. Abuse was one of agriculture’s many hideous offspring. But in numerous passages, Freuchen describes husbands fiercely beating their troublesome wives bloody (“He beat her like a dog.”). He wrote that “a woman is after all born to be the victim of men.” But in another section, he mentioned that Inuit women had “perpetual smiles,” and noted that “they seem to have more natural grace, more zest for life than their white sisters.”
The common pattern celebrates the notion that nomadic foragers enjoyed an easy life with abundant leisure time. They only “worked” one or two days a week. In warmer regions, there was an abundance of food, and starvation was rare. In Inuit country, life was far more challenging, and starvation was a major threat. Sewing needles were vital survival tools. If they broke or wore out, clothing could not be mended, and ripped britches could be a death sentence. There are many reasons why the Arctic was the last region to be settled.
On the other hand, the Inuit did fit into the common pattern with regard to active population management, which was essential to their survival. Infanticide was common and normal, and daughters were not as desirable as sons (future meat producers). When hunting was bad, children were killed to spare the group from the misery of starvation. One woman survived a spell of bad hunting by eating her husband and three children. Folks who could no longer keep up with the hunting party were abandoned. Those who were too old to contribute to the wellbeing of the community committed suicide, or asked their children to hang them or stab them — and these requests were honored without hysteria or drama, often during a party when everyone was in high spirits.
A number of aspects of Inuit life are shocking to many in consumer society. But the reverse is also true. The Inuit were dumbfounded by the astonishing foolishness of the Danes: “Alas, you are a child in this country, and a child in your thoughts.” When greed-crazed Norwegians moved in and made a quick fortune by massacring the fur seals, Inuit communities starved. Every way of life has plusses and minuses. Unlike consumer society, the Inuit hunters lived sustainably for several thousand years — until they met the white folks. Is there anything more precious than a sustainable way of life?
Freuchen had great respect for the Inuit, while at the same time believing that Danish society was more advanced. At his trading post he provided guns, bullets, knives, traps, pots, matches, and other things that the Inuit had happily lived without for thousands of years. It made him feel good that he was helping them modernize.
When hunters used bows and arrows to hunt for reindeer in flat wide open tundra with no place to hide, they sometimes had to lay motionless in the snow for two days, waiting for the prey to move within range, which didn’t always happen. Guns allowed them to kill from far away, which led to more meat, which led to more Inuit. Freuchen eventually came to realize that modernization was not a free lunch: “these favorable living conditions brought about an increase in the population that began to overtax the resources of the country.” Whoops!
Modernization is what had driven Freuchen to Greenland in the first place. When he had been attending med school in Copenhagen, a seriously injured man arrived, and none of the doctors thought he’d survive. After six months of careful treatment, the man fully healed — an absolute miracle! The staff proudly watched as the man walked out of the hospital, stepped off the curb, and immediately got killed by a car. There were almost no cars in Copenhagen in 1905. Freuchen’s mind snapped.
Today, the modernized Inuit have guns, televisions, phones, nice wooden houses, and motor boats. Snowmobiles have temporarily replaced the sled dogs. What they’ve lost is a sustainable way of life, and a healthy traditional future for their grandchildren. When the cheap energy is gone, it will be rough sledding.
The Arctic was the last region to be settled by humans. It’s an extremely cold region, with just two frost-free months, and the sun doesn’t shine for four months of the year. What’s for breakfast? Meat. What’s for lunch? Meat. Dinner? Guess what! They lived almost entirely on animal foods from birds, fish, and mammals of the sea and tundra. These foods were processed and preserved in a variety of different ways, many of which would gag outsiders. Blubber was their fuel for heat, cooking, and light.
Survival in this harsh land demanded cooperation and sharing. Meat was community property, and no one was denied access to it (although regular freeloaders were not warmly regarded). Spoken discourse was typically indirect, non-confrontational, and comically self-effacing. Functional communities had no use for those who suffered from grandiose egos or other anti-social perversions.
Despite their harsh life, the Inuit had a tremendous zeal for living. Sexually, they enjoyed great freedom. Wife swapping was common and perfectly acceptable. Young people (even children) were free to fully explore the mysteries of tender pleasures. Orgies, singing, and storytelling sweetened the monotony of long winter nights. Freuchen writes that “they always enjoy life with an enviable intensity, and they believe themselves to be the happiest people on earth living in the most beautiful country there is.”
Anthropologists have shown us that nomadic foraging cultures had a number of advantages, compared to agricultural societies. Foraging societies in warmer regions typically had a number of aspects in common. Inuit society did not neatly fit into the same pattern of characteristics.
The common pattern is that nomadic foragers did not domesticate animals — they lived in a reality where all animals were wild, sacred relatives, teachers, and equals. But the Inuit sled dogs were owned, controlled, and exploited (it was perfectly acceptable to copulate with a dog when she was in heat, as long as it was done outdoors, in the open). These sled dogs were maybe 80% wild. They would ravage the settlement and eat everything if allowed to run loose, so they were kept tied. Their teeth were filed down to keep them from biting apart their tethers. Sled dogs did not in any way resemble the neurotic, infantilized canines of modern suburbia. They only responded to instructions from the dog whip.
The common pattern believes that women enjoyed their highest levels of respect and equality in nomadic foraging societies. Abuse was one of agriculture’s many hideous offspring. But in numerous passages, Freuchen describes husbands fiercely beating their troublesome wives bloody (“He beat her like a dog.”). He wrote that “a woman is after all born to be the victim of men.” But in another section, he mentioned that Inuit women had “perpetual smiles,” and noted that “they seem to have more natural grace, more zest for life than their white sisters.”
The common pattern celebrates the notion that nomadic foragers enjoyed an easy life with abundant leisure time. They only “worked” one or two days a week. In warmer regions, there was an abundance of food, and starvation was rare. In Inuit country, life was far more challenging, and starvation was a major threat. Sewing needles were vital survival tools. If they broke or wore out, clothing could not be mended, and ripped britches could be a death sentence. There are many reasons why the Arctic was the last region to be settled.
On the other hand, the Inuit did fit into the common pattern with regard to active population management, which was essential to their survival. Infanticide was common and normal, and daughters were not as desirable as sons (future meat producers). When hunting was bad, children were killed to spare the group from the misery of starvation. One woman survived a spell of bad hunting by eating her husband and three children. Folks who could no longer keep up with the hunting party were abandoned. Those who were too old to contribute to the wellbeing of the community committed suicide, or asked their children to hang them or stab them — and these requests were honored without hysteria or drama, often during a party when everyone was in high spirits.
A number of aspects of Inuit life are shocking to many in consumer society. But the reverse is also true. The Inuit were dumbfounded by the astonishing foolishness of the Danes: “Alas, you are a child in this country, and a child in your thoughts.” When greed-crazed Norwegians moved in and made a quick fortune by massacring the fur seals, Inuit communities starved. Every way of life has plusses and minuses. Unlike consumer society, the Inuit hunters lived sustainably for several thousand years — until they met the white folks. Is there anything more precious than a sustainable way of life?
Freuchen had great respect for the Inuit, while at the same time believing that Danish society was more advanced. At his trading post he provided guns, bullets, knives, traps, pots, matches, and other things that the Inuit had happily lived without for thousands of years. It made him feel good that he was helping them modernize.
When hunters used bows and arrows to hunt for reindeer in flat wide open tundra with no place to hide, they sometimes had to lay motionless in the snow for two days, waiting for the prey to move within range, which didn’t always happen. Guns allowed them to kill from far away, which led to more meat, which led to more Inuit. Freuchen eventually came to realize that modernization was not a free lunch: “these favorable living conditions brought about an increase in the population that began to overtax the resources of the country.” Whoops!
Modernization is what had driven Freuchen to Greenland in the first place. When he had been attending med school in Copenhagen, a seriously injured man arrived, and none of the doctors thought he’d survive. After six months of careful treatment, the man fully healed — an absolute miracle! The staff proudly watched as the man walked out of the hospital, stepped off the curb, and immediately got killed by a car. There were almost no cars in Copenhagen in 1905. Freuchen’s mind snapped.
Today, the modernized Inuit have guns, televisions, phones, nice wooden houses, and motor boats. Snowmobiles have temporarily replaced the sled dogs. What they’ve lost is a sustainable way of life, and a healthy traditional future for their grandchildren. When the cheap energy is gone, it will be rough sledding.
April 27, 2008
This book is a weird delight. Freuchen was some white dude who moved to Canada to open a trading post. He eventually became close friends with and married into the local Inuit tribe. His observations about life in the Arctic are keen, thorough, and compassionate. My favorite two chapters, of course, are the ones about sex and food, both of which, to my delicate Westernized eyes, are bizarre in the extreme. Freuchen describes some recipe wherein you fill a seal carcass with some kind of birds, let it rot for a day or two, then freeze for a year. When you rethaw, the rotted feathers slick off the birds, which have been permeated with seal fat. You are then able to eat the birds whole (bones, beaks and all) and raw. He describes the taste of each of the internal organs as well as any James Beard or M.F.K. Fischer. Spleens taste of green walnuts. Oh, and it's ok to copulate with your dog.
February 21, 2012
"She loved children because once, during a hunger period, she had to kill four of her own to spare them from the death of starvation. The oldest girl was then so old that she already could sew mittens... This daughter had understood that it was hopeless to try to subsist, for there were no men at the place who could supply them with meat. She had seen that 'life was heavier than death' and had helped the mother hang three younger children, whereupon she had placed the string around her own neck so that the mother could pull it and fasten it to a hook. Weeping, Itusarssuk had then left this house of death."
This is without doubt one of the most fascinating books that I have ever read. Thanks to my mother-in-law for having a ratty old copy on a dusty bookshelf so that I could randomly pick it up on a boring afternoon.
September 25, 2020
The man amputated part of his own foot. Oh, and he lived in the arctic among the Inuit for a good portion of his life. Please note that the book includes the word "Eskimo" as it was written in the first half of the twentieth century. This book is Freuchen's look at the life of the Inuit and their culture.
Peter Freuchen, author of this book, worked on ships at an early age and it took him to Greenland and other places in the arctic where he ran a trading post. He eventually married a local woman and was one of the only European men at the time to be so immersed into the Inuit culture and accepted. He tells of the first few years and the hunts he went on, meeting his wife, and then he goes into the culture, stories, songs, and other lore of the Inuit people. He finishes with a short history of the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red and what it is like in the modern day (which at the time this book was written was the 1950's).
Freuchen meets a very wide array of people. And because the culture is so different, it makes them all the more exotic. It should be noted that at the time Freuchen stayed with them, there was very little outside influence and so a good many practices that we would be horrified with today, were still practiced. But more on that later. Most of the people he met were very kind and giving. Only a few tried to take advantage of him and that is merely a reflection on people as a whole and universal in culture. I found it interesting how meat and other things were considered communal property and how defacing themselves or insulting themselves was a common practice.
There are many customs practiced by the Inuit that people at this time couldn't relate to. Cannibalism, abuse, murder of children (to keep them from starving to death), and other things are greatly described in this book. These were practices born out of need and I can't even fathom a society struggling so much as to resort to those things. They led very difficult lives. But there was a lot of good and harmony too. A lot of time and effort went into this book and Freuchen is nonjudgmental. He seems to show very little bias and that impressed me. And his writing was clear and modern sounding. If I didn't know better I would have said that this book was written recently by the language. He was approachable without being boring, although he did have a few spots that lagged.
A very interesting book and one that while old, isn't outdated. You'll learn about a very hardy group of people with a culture rich in detail.
Book of the Eskimos
Copyright 1961
441 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Peter Freuchen, author of this book, worked on ships at an early age and it took him to Greenland and other places in the arctic where he ran a trading post. He eventually married a local woman and was one of the only European men at the time to be so immersed into the Inuit culture and accepted. He tells of the first few years and the hunts he went on, meeting his wife, and then he goes into the culture, stories, songs, and other lore of the Inuit people. He finishes with a short history of the colonization of Greenland by Erik the Red and what it is like in the modern day (which at the time this book was written was the 1950's).
Freuchen meets a very wide array of people. And because the culture is so different, it makes them all the more exotic. It should be noted that at the time Freuchen stayed with them, there was very little outside influence and so a good many practices that we would be horrified with today, were still practiced. But more on that later. Most of the people he met were very kind and giving. Only a few tried to take advantage of him and that is merely a reflection on people as a whole and universal in culture. I found it interesting how meat and other things were considered communal property and how defacing themselves or insulting themselves was a common practice.
There are many customs practiced by the Inuit that people at this time couldn't relate to. Cannibalism, abuse, murder of children (to keep them from starving to death), and other things are greatly described in this book. These were practices born out of need and I can't even fathom a society struggling so much as to resort to those things. They led very difficult lives. But there was a lot of good and harmony too. A lot of time and effort went into this book and Freuchen is nonjudgmental. He seems to show very little bias and that impressed me. And his writing was clear and modern sounding. If I didn't know better I would have said that this book was written recently by the language. He was approachable without being boring, although he did have a few spots that lagged.
A very interesting book and one that while old, isn't outdated. You'll learn about a very hardy group of people with a culture rich in detail.
Book of the Eskimos
Copyright 1961
441 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
January 31, 2023
I picked this up on a whim at a thrift store 10 years ago and just recently read it. This was such a hidden gem. The author was a Danish trader who moved to Greenland and married and integrated into the local culture in the 1900s. This was an early time of transition for the Eskimo/Inuit people as the industrialized world was beginning to make more of an influence on them. Freuchen gives anecdotes and examples the society, culture, beliefs and lifestyle of the people of Greenland.
The harsh and unforgiving environment kept the people on the brink of starvation at all times. Most of the country had no wood, so animal products made up nearly 100% of their resources. Cannibalism was accepted as what was done when in extreme need. Mercy killing your children when faced with inevitable starvation was seen as good parenting. This culture developed so independently from the West and the environment is so alien, that every aspect of their life was fascinating. It has been a while since I was this enraptured by a book.
The harsh and unforgiving environment kept the people on the brink of starvation at all times. Most of the country had no wood, so animal products made up nearly 100% of their resources. Cannibalism was accepted as what was done when in extreme need. Mercy killing your children when faced with inevitable starvation was seen as good parenting. This culture developed so independently from the West and the environment is so alien, that every aspect of their life was fascinating. It has been a while since I was this enraptured by a book.
August 29, 2016
Amazingly honest. This book would not be written today, not a chance of anyone being this non-judgemental and forthright. This book contains TRUE Racism -the belief that difference 'races' of people have inherent strengths and weaknesses, but the author doesn't judge 'superior' or 'inferior', but merely denotes the differences according to his understandings and experiences. His love for the Inuit comes through page by page, and I learned so much about how close to the edge of survival they walked every day.
This book has assisted suicide, underage sex, cannibalism, dog-eating, murder; and all of it is put into cultural context without judgement or apologist reasoning. It is truly unique and by itself, and by an author who is an amazing person and had an amazing life. He makes Farley Mowat look like Peewee Herman.
This book has assisted suicide, underage sex, cannibalism, dog-eating, murder; and all of it is put into cultural context without judgement or apologist reasoning. It is truly unique and by itself, and by an author who is an amazing person and had an amazing life. He makes Farley Mowat look like Peewee Herman.
Read
October 8, 2014Book of the Eskimos 09242008
Peter Freuchen (1886-1957)
Freuchen's first travel books appeared in the 1920s. Among his best-known works is FANGSTMÆND IN MELVILLEBUGTEN (1956), in which Freuchen describes his family life, his hunting on whaling ships on the sea or hunting seals and polar bears on the coast. Freuchen also recorded stories in which his Eskimo friends tell about their adventures. Also white men, who do not know how to survive in the arctic surroundings, were a constant source of stories for the natives. The conflict between different cultures is drawn with understanding and humour. With Navarana he visited Copenhagen; she was eager to see Freuchen's home land. However, she found it difficult to understand why any woman would live in Denmark - there are no seals or walruses and everybody must buy their food from a shop. She was especially enthusiastic about ballet. Freuchen's novel IVALU, EN ROMAN FRA POLARESKIMOERNES LAND (1930, Ivalu, the Eskimo Wife) was a tribute to Navarana. Ivalu is an Inuit girl, who hears stories of white men, and knows that they have a great lust for women. She meets Karl Boesen, called Bosi. After the death of Ivalu's husband, Mitserk, her new man Minik treats her badly. Eventually Bosi takes her as his wife. NORDKAPER (1929) tells a story of a polar whaling voyage and HVID MAN (1943) is a historical novel based on life in the Danish colony in Greenland in the early 1700s.
After settling in Denmark in the 1920s, Freuchen joined the Social democrats and contributed to the newspaper Politiken. He also headed a film company. In the late 1930s Freuchen went to Siberia and wrote about his experiences in SIBIRISKE EVENTYR (1939). During World War II Freuchen worked for the Danish underground - he was an outspoken anti-Nazi. He was captured by the Germans occupying his country and sentenced to death. Freuchen managed to escape to Sweden and from there to the United States.
In his new home Freuchen lived in New York City and maintained a country home in Connecticut. His third wife, Dagmar Cohn, was a fashion illustrator. Freuchen's son, half-Eskimo, who could not endure European life, returned back to Greenland; Pipaluk, his daughter was educated in Denmark. Freuchen died of a heart attack in Alaska, Elmendorf, on September 2, 1957. He was a member of the council of the Royal Danish Geographical Society and a fellow of the American Geographical Society. Among his later, highly popular works was Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas (1957).
Book of the Eskimos 09242008
Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) Danish journalist, writer, and explorer, who established with Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) the exploring station in Thule (1910). In addition to Arctic journeys, Freuchen also visited South Africa in 1935. Freuchen has confessed in his book of memoirs, MIN GRØNLANDSKE UNGDOM (1936), that he never planned to become an Arctic explorer, although he had from childhood wanted to go to sea. As a writer-adventurer he belonged to the company of such great names as Henry Morton Stanley, T.E. Lawrence, and Thor Heyerdahl.
"Nomads are always on the move not because restlessness is their nature, but because living conditions drive them from place to place. The Arctic Eskimo must catch seals for meat and kamik skins and other things he needs. He must get walrus tusks in order to have flensing knives and harpoon points. He finds foxes at the mountains where the birds are too numerous to count. He goes north and he goes south. Thus it has been for so long that he no longer knows why he is moving." (from Vagrant Viking, 1954)
Peter Freuchen was born in Nykøbing, on the island of Falster. His father was a businessman. Both of Freuchen's parents were good storytellers. At the age of eight he already had his own small boat, and he spent all his free time sailing - the somber Cathedral School and classical education in Latin did not much interest him. Freuchen became friends with sailors at the local harbor, and listened to their stories from distant countries. He studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen for a time, but he felt that the medical profession was not his true calling. Freuchen made his first expedition to Greenland in 1906, and then he took part in several expeditions from 1910 to 1924, often traveling with the famous Polar explorer Knut Rasmussen. On a journey accross the inland ice in 1912 he was almost killed. These experiences Freuchen recorded in Vagrant Viking (1953) and I Sailed with Rasmussen (1958).
After returning to Denmark from the first journey, he wrote articles for the newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, published serial stories in the magazine Familie-Journalen, and eventually received his M.A. from the university. With Knut Rasmussen he did lecture tours and worked as a reporter for the liberal newspaper Politiken. In 1910 in Greenland he collected articles for Danish museums and in 1913-20 he served as a governor of the colony at Thule. During these years he lived with the Inuits (or Eskimos as he writes), and shared their way of life. Freuchen's opinion of Christian missionaries was negative - he saw them trampling on the traditions of the Inuit people, without understanding them. In 1911 Freuchen married Mekupaluk, an Inuit woman, who started to use the name Navarana. She followed him on some of his later explorations. Navarana died in 1921 during an influenza epidemic. She was buried in Upernavik's old churchyard. Because Navarana was not baptized, the local church refused to participate in the burial and Freuchen himself undertook it. Freuchen settled down in Denmark, and bought himself a little island, Enhoje. In 1924 he married Magdalene Lauridsen, a margarine heiress; the marriage dissolved in 1944. GRØNLAND, LAND OG FOLK, his first book, appeared in 1927. STORFANGER, Freuchen's first novel, was published in the same year.
In 1926 Freuchen got frostbite in his leg; the leg was amputated, and he could not continue his full-time career as an explorer. However, he still continued journeying. Providing his stories with fascinating details, Freuchen claimed to have witnessed polar bears' covering their black noses with their paws while hunting their prey. In 1932 Freuchen was again in Greenland - this time his expedition was sponsored by American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. Freuchen, who was big-boned and stood six feet seven inches in height, was an imposing figure, and also played a major role in the film Eskimo (1933), which depicted the life of an Eskimo hunter and his family.
For further reading: Bogen om Peter Freuchen (1958); World Authors 1900-1950, vol.2, ed. by Martin Seymor-Smith and Andrew C. Kimmens (1996); Dansk forfatterleksikon: Biografier, ed. by John Chr. Jørgensen (2001) - For further information: Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) ; Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) - Eskimo (1933), dir. by W.S. Van Dyke, starring John Lee Mahin, Peter Freuchen. "Curious fated attempt by a major studio to do a northern version of the successful White Shadows in the South Seas. Despite a melodramatic plot and gripping documentary sequences, the locale chilled audiences to the marrow." - "Igloo whoopee variations not sufficiently hotcha to spell. b.o. " From Halliwell's Film&Video Guide, 1998 edition. - White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), directed by W.S. Van Dyke and Robert Flaherty, depicted Tahiti, where an alcoholic doctor finds happiness before he is killed by white colonials.
Peter Freuchen (1886-1957)
Freuchen's first travel books appeared in the 1920s. Among his best-known works is FANGSTMÆND IN MELVILLEBUGTEN (1956), in which Freuchen describes his family life, his hunting on whaling ships on the sea or hunting seals and polar bears on the coast. Freuchen also recorded stories in which his Eskimo friends tell about their adventures. Also white men, who do not know how to survive in the arctic surroundings, were a constant source of stories for the natives. The conflict between different cultures is drawn with understanding and humour. With Navarana he visited Copenhagen; she was eager to see Freuchen's home land. However, she found it difficult to understand why any woman would live in Denmark - there are no seals or walruses and everybody must buy their food from a shop. She was especially enthusiastic about ballet. Freuchen's novel IVALU, EN ROMAN FRA POLARESKIMOERNES LAND (1930, Ivalu, the Eskimo Wife) was a tribute to Navarana. Ivalu is an Inuit girl, who hears stories of white men, and knows that they have a great lust for women. She meets Karl Boesen, called Bosi. After the death of Ivalu's husband, Mitserk, her new man Minik treats her badly. Eventually Bosi takes her as his wife. NORDKAPER (1929) tells a story of a polar whaling voyage and HVID MAN (1943) is a historical novel based on life in the Danish colony in Greenland in the early 1700s.
After settling in Denmark in the 1920s, Freuchen joined the Social democrats and contributed to the newspaper Politiken. He also headed a film company. In the late 1930s Freuchen went to Siberia and wrote about his experiences in SIBIRISKE EVENTYR (1939). During World War II Freuchen worked for the Danish underground - he was an outspoken anti-Nazi. He was captured by the Germans occupying his country and sentenced to death. Freuchen managed to escape to Sweden and from there to the United States.
In his new home Freuchen lived in New York City and maintained a country home in Connecticut. His third wife, Dagmar Cohn, was a fashion illustrator. Freuchen's son, half-Eskimo, who could not endure European life, returned back to Greenland; Pipaluk, his daughter was educated in Denmark. Freuchen died of a heart attack in Alaska, Elmendorf, on September 2, 1957. He was a member of the council of the Royal Danish Geographical Society and a fellow of the American Geographical Society. Among his later, highly popular works was Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas (1957).
Book of the Eskimos 09242008
Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) Danish journalist, writer, and explorer, who established with Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) the exploring station in Thule (1910). In addition to Arctic journeys, Freuchen also visited South Africa in 1935. Freuchen has confessed in his book of memoirs, MIN GRØNLANDSKE UNGDOM (1936), that he never planned to become an Arctic explorer, although he had from childhood wanted to go to sea. As a writer-adventurer he belonged to the company of such great names as Henry Morton Stanley, T.E. Lawrence, and Thor Heyerdahl.
"Nomads are always on the move not because restlessness is their nature, but because living conditions drive them from place to place. The Arctic Eskimo must catch seals for meat and kamik skins and other things he needs. He must get walrus tusks in order to have flensing knives and harpoon points. He finds foxes at the mountains where the birds are too numerous to count. He goes north and he goes south. Thus it has been for so long that he no longer knows why he is moving." (from Vagrant Viking, 1954)
Peter Freuchen was born in Nykøbing, on the island of Falster. His father was a businessman. Both of Freuchen's parents were good storytellers. At the age of eight he already had his own small boat, and he spent all his free time sailing - the somber Cathedral School and classical education in Latin did not much interest him. Freuchen became friends with sailors at the local harbor, and listened to their stories from distant countries. He studied medicine at the University of Copenhagen for a time, but he felt that the medical profession was not his true calling. Freuchen made his first expedition to Greenland in 1906, and then he took part in several expeditions from 1910 to 1924, often traveling with the famous Polar explorer Knut Rasmussen. On a journey accross the inland ice in 1912 he was almost killed. These experiences Freuchen recorded in Vagrant Viking (1953) and I Sailed with Rasmussen (1958).
After returning to Denmark from the first journey, he wrote articles for the newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, published serial stories in the magazine Familie-Journalen, and eventually received his M.A. from the university. With Knut Rasmussen he did lecture tours and worked as a reporter for the liberal newspaper Politiken. In 1910 in Greenland he collected articles for Danish museums and in 1913-20 he served as a governor of the colony at Thule. During these years he lived with the Inuits (or Eskimos as he writes), and shared their way of life. Freuchen's opinion of Christian missionaries was negative - he saw them trampling on the traditions of the Inuit people, without understanding them. In 1911 Freuchen married Mekupaluk, an Inuit woman, who started to use the name Navarana. She followed him on some of his later explorations. Navarana died in 1921 during an influenza epidemic. She was buried in Upernavik's old churchyard. Because Navarana was not baptized, the local church refused to participate in the burial and Freuchen himself undertook it. Freuchen settled down in Denmark, and bought himself a little island, Enhoje. In 1924 he married Magdalene Lauridsen, a margarine heiress; the marriage dissolved in 1944. GRØNLAND, LAND OG FOLK, his first book, appeared in 1927. STORFANGER, Freuchen's first novel, was published in the same year.
In 1926 Freuchen got frostbite in his leg; the leg was amputated, and he could not continue his full-time career as an explorer. However, he still continued journeying. Providing his stories with fascinating details, Freuchen claimed to have witnessed polar bears' covering their black noses with their paws while hunting their prey. In 1932 Freuchen was again in Greenland - this time his expedition was sponsored by American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. Freuchen, who was big-boned and stood six feet seven inches in height, was an imposing figure, and also played a major role in the film Eskimo (1933), which depicted the life of an Eskimo hunter and his family.
For further reading: Bogen om Peter Freuchen (1958); World Authors 1900-1950, vol.2, ed. by Martin Seymor-Smith and Andrew C. Kimmens (1996); Dansk forfatterleksikon: Biografier, ed. by John Chr. Jørgensen (2001) - For further information: Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) ; Peter Freuchen (1886-1957) - Eskimo (1933), dir. by W.S. Van Dyke, starring John Lee Mahin, Peter Freuchen. "Curious fated attempt by a major studio to do a northern version of the successful White Shadows in the South Seas. Despite a melodramatic plot and gripping documentary sequences, the locale chilled audiences to the marrow." - "Igloo whoopee variations not sufficiently hotcha to spell. b.o. " From Halliwell's Film&Video Guide, 1998 edition. - White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), directed by W.S. Van Dyke and Robert Flaherty, depicted Tahiti, where an alcoholic doctor finds happiness before he is killed by white colonials.
April 3, 2021
Ah what a window to look through. The Eskimos. Great stories and wonderfully written.
February 9, 2017
This was an absolutely fascinating read recommended by my dad. Peter Freuchen was an early explorer of the arctic, and he loved the Eskimos enough to learn the language, get married and stay there until his wife died. He documents the Eskimo culture in its pristine state, sharing myths, beliefs and stories of both hardship and laughter.
The Eskimo culture is so completely different and therefore fascinating. One funny story: a man on a long sledding trip with several other men married a girl en route. The girl was pretty fat, and fatness is a highly attractive quality in an Eskimo woman. To compliment his new wife, he put her on his sled and removed everything else he was carrying on it. He told the party, "I'm sorry, I can't carry anything else because my wife is so fat! The dogs can't possibly pull anything else on the sled." This was considered a high compliment of his wife, though the party was definitely annoyed.
The Eskimo culture is so completely different and therefore fascinating. One funny story: a man on a long sledding trip with several other men married a girl en route. The girl was pretty fat, and fatness is a highly attractive quality in an Eskimo woman. To compliment his new wife, he put her on his sled and removed everything else he was carrying on it. He told the party, "I'm sorry, I can't carry anything else because my wife is so fat! The dogs can't possibly pull anything else on the sled." This was considered a high compliment of his wife, though the party was definitely annoyed.
January 21, 2009
Wow. What a look into the Eskimo culture around the 1900's. I've never read anything like it!
May 7, 2019
An amazing book, extremely detailed accounts by Peter Freuchen, who spent close to 70+ years living among Eskimos in various locales, Tons of descriptions of habits, differences in culture, personnel (and others'} accounts, anecdotes, and stories.
Really unique look into another culture and people, especially during the 20th century as life changed, mainly due to interactions with "whites," especially traders and trading posts, which provided the people with access to more (and better) materials, tools, etc.
Fascinating book about a truly alien way of life to those who live in modernity. I accidentally misplaced it, several times, once for more than a year, and was able to get back into it fairly easily.
Really unique look into another culture and people, especially during the 20th century as life changed, mainly due to interactions with "whites," especially traders and trading posts, which provided the people with access to more (and better) materials, tools, etc.
Fascinating book about a truly alien way of life to those who live in modernity. I accidentally misplaced it, several times, once for more than a year, and was able to get back into it fairly easily.
November 30, 2023
Book of the Eskimos is a good read. It's 60 years old, and a little dated, but I appreciate the first hand account of life in the Arctic among the Inuit. Freuchen manages to give a good accounting of his life with the native population, and the book really comes to life in the last section, Adventures With The Eskimos. illustrated by several true life stories well written and astonishing. Freuchen doesn't completely avoid first world paternalism, but the instances he allows can be overlooked.
October 4, 2019
The man cut his way out of an avalanche with his own frozen feces. Peter ate rats that infested his traditional inuit sod house, and married into a local tribe. One of the last great explorers and a fervent anti-racist, I love this Author and anything he writes. This is a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in the Arctic.
April 21, 2023
Super interesting story of the lives of Eskimo’s and the exploration of the Greenland arctic. It follows the exploration by Peter Freuchen a Danish man who went through many challenges, starvation, injury, death etc. in the early 1918 to 1924. The writing is disjointed but the story is very intriguing.
October 14, 2025
I saw a review that said this book is 'a weird delight.' That's a great description. Peter's stories are bananas. Each story will have you asking, "Why is this man still alive?"
This is a fine tale of a lost age of exploration. Peter cared for and respected the Inuit people so much. He is also an unbelievable badass. What a neat book.
This is a fine tale of a lost age of exploration. Peter cared for and respected the Inuit people so much. He is also an unbelievable badass. What a neat book.
February 23, 2019
Some parts very interesting and the reading moved right along. Other parts seemed to drag. Part of it may be trying to keep up with the Eskimo names. Or maybe not in the right frame of mind while reading. An educational read.
April 23, 2021
I wasn't sure if I need to give two or three stars. The first half of the book was interesting, but the second half was boring. Freuchen isn't a good writer, he kept the book too long with unnecessary descriptions and details. It needs editing and a lot of cutting.
September 8, 2021
One of the best books I ever read in my life. Chronicles candidly life with the polar eskimos around 1900. It has amazing observations, stories and cultural descriptions however, overwhelming sexist and racist overtones that were part of those times.
July 6, 2022
This is exactly the type of pop-academic monograph I relish, especially because it dates from a better time when things could be reported as they were seen. The physical edition is beautiful and the text is wise and deep. A pleasure.
September 10, 2019
I read this and was fascinated by it as a kid, especially the author's assertion that children were almost never punished. That probably sounded appealing when I was reading this at age 10 or 11.
April 30, 2020
Fascinating first hand account of the Eskimos
July 24, 2020
Interesting details about life in Greenland from an outsider’s point of view. Some patronizing and belittling comments.
June 9, 2022
Such a sick read (albiet very racist)
July 6, 2022
I read this decades ago and loved it.
September 11, 2022
Excellent overall, however having read is other novel on the same subject, I felt a little bored at times. I would read one versus the other.
March 10, 2023
such an interesting book! i loved to read all the different stories and learn more abt the culture and how they cope w the environment they live in, very eye opening
January 7, 2024
Essential literature for any and all interested.
June 10, 2020
In this one volume Freuchen describes virtually every aspect of native life. And he's qualified for the task. He not only lived and worked in Northern Greenland, he also married a native woman with whom he had two children. They'd been married ten years when she died from the Spanish flu. Freuchen seems to have adapted readily to the harsh living conditions of the far North, but this wouldn't be a life I could step into with ease or comfort. As I think about it, this book, as with the others I've read recently, are about males who have lived in the arctic. Years ago, I read one by a woman - 'Never in Anger' by Briggs. I may want to read that again.
One section of this book is titled, "Arctic Nightmare." WWI was raging, and Freuchen decided to go far North where he "would be utterly isolated from the civilized world." In preparation, he writes that he "got together a whole crate full of books-heavy volumes, hard books. I chose works which could beat some knowledge into me when my isolation and my desire for some mental activity would at last force me into reading what I would otherwise hardly dream of looking at." En route, the contents of one of the sleds was lost; his crate of books was gone. After living for a while "as only happy people know how to live," something strange happened. "Inside of me a great hunger began growing, more noticeable every day ... I missed my books. There were nights when I could not sleep. There were days when I could not say another word about the hunting or the dogs, nor listen to what my friends had to say. It was like a famine in my mind. I was starved for books." The rest of the chapter is written around the importance of the one book that by chance (and amazing luck) happened to return to his hands. I chuckled several times while reading about his interactions with this unlikely 'friend.'
p. 386: This is one of the many gourmet delights Freuchen describes: "Natark cut out the eyes of the seal and pressed the slimy mass out in his hand and held it toward her. But she merely sucked the delicious stuff up with a gulp. ... She expressed no thanks, no surprise exclamation."
In telling this tale, Freuchen explicitly points out how the environment shaped the habits and customs of the arctic peoples. That was a pleasant surprise. I gravitate toward stories of native groups because I value insight into how people have interacted with (and thereby adapted to) specific environmental conditions. Modern civilizations reshape the environment to meet their needs, which is how we, as a people, have been 'homogenizing the world.'
When I shelve the actual book, I want to compare the settings of the memoirs I have on this subject. This one focuses mainly on the 'Kalaallits' of NW Greenland and around the Hudson Bay area. (I referred to the internet and learned that the natives of Greenland prefer the terms "Greenlander" or "Kalaallit," not Inuit.)
One section of this book is titled, "Arctic Nightmare." WWI was raging, and Freuchen decided to go far North where he "would be utterly isolated from the civilized world." In preparation, he writes that he "got together a whole crate full of books-heavy volumes, hard books. I chose works which could beat some knowledge into me when my isolation and my desire for some mental activity would at last force me into reading what I would otherwise hardly dream of looking at." En route, the contents of one of the sleds was lost; his crate of books was gone. After living for a while "as only happy people know how to live," something strange happened. "Inside of me a great hunger began growing, more noticeable every day ... I missed my books. There were nights when I could not sleep. There were days when I could not say another word about the hunting or the dogs, nor listen to what my friends had to say. It was like a famine in my mind. I was starved for books." The rest of the chapter is written around the importance of the one book that by chance (and amazing luck) happened to return to his hands. I chuckled several times while reading about his interactions with this unlikely 'friend.'
p. 386: This is one of the many gourmet delights Freuchen describes: "Natark cut out the eyes of the seal and pressed the slimy mass out in his hand and held it toward her. But she merely sucked the delicious stuff up with a gulp. ... She expressed no thanks, no surprise exclamation."
In telling this tale, Freuchen explicitly points out how the environment shaped the habits and customs of the arctic peoples. That was a pleasant surprise. I gravitate toward stories of native groups because I value insight into how people have interacted with (and thereby adapted to) specific environmental conditions. Modern civilizations reshape the environment to meet their needs, which is how we, as a people, have been 'homogenizing the world.'
When I shelve the actual book, I want to compare the settings of the memoirs I have on this subject. This one focuses mainly on the 'Kalaallits' of NW Greenland and around the Hudson Bay area. (I referred to the internet and learned that the natives of Greenland prefer the terms "Greenlander" or "Kalaallit," not Inuit.)
August 9, 2013
I grew up reading Peter Freuchen’s Book of the Seven Seas, so I had a nostalgic moment when a friend offered me Freuchen’s Book of Eskimos. Freuchen traveled and lived in Greenland and other places in the Arctic for many years starting in the early 1900’s. He worked with explorer Knud Rasmussen and established the Thule Trading Base. He married a Greenland Inuit woman and lived among the Inuit. He liked the Inuit and liked living in the Arctic. His book reflects his knowledge and his admiration of his adopted homeland.
I particularly liked the first half of the book where Freuchen details daily life in the Arctic with a frankness I rarely come across. He covers such topics as igloo building, suicide, bodily functions, courtship, and marriage. The second half of the book (book is over 500 pages) includes a section of Inuit stories and a section of Freuchen’s own tales – not nearly as interesting as the first part, but easy to read.
Freuchen is able to avoid sounding like an anthropologist until the very end when he reflects on the effects of western culture on the Inuit, although I found this section interesting because it cleared up a number of questions I had from reading “An African in Greenland” (set in the 1980’s). If you have any interest in the Arctic and Inuit culture, I recommend reading these two books. The book was published in 1961 (posthumously - he died 1957).
I particularly liked the first half of the book where Freuchen details daily life in the Arctic with a frankness I rarely come across. He covers such topics as igloo building, suicide, bodily functions, courtship, and marriage. The second half of the book (book is over 500 pages) includes a section of Inuit stories and a section of Freuchen’s own tales – not nearly as interesting as the first part, but easy to read.
Freuchen is able to avoid sounding like an anthropologist until the very end when he reflects on the effects of western culture on the Inuit, although I found this section interesting because it cleared up a number of questions I had from reading “An African in Greenland” (set in the 1980’s). If you have any interest in the Arctic and Inuit culture, I recommend reading these two books. The book was published in 1961 (posthumously - he died 1957).
August 1, 2011
A very enlightening and candid read on the Inuit. Interestingly, and I don't know why I hadn't realized this before, there are 4 "groups" of Inuit who have very similar traditions/language but there are some small (but very important) distinctions. Freuchen (a Dane) came to know the Inuit through expiditions and trade. He even married one and had children. The book is written in the late 1950's about exploits that happened turn of the century to the 30's. The language is archaic (like "eskimo") and the superiority (of the whites) is a bit laughable at times. The Inuit culture is certainly shocking to western sensibilities but I have to say I am in awe of how they could survive. Sadly, much of this tradional life has been set aside and replaced by a perversion of western ideals. I remember seeing an Inuit elder once. Her face was so worn and creased...but her smile was electric and I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. I couldn't stop looking. I wish I could paint so I could show you her honest beauty.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews