Thursday 22 August 2013

Captain Scott - Ranulph Fiennes

In June 2012 I wrote a blog post about Robert Falcon Scott....Scott Of The Antarctic

Just recently I read Ranulph Fiennes' book about Scott, which addresses the explorer's legacy, considers the criticism from Scott's detractors, examining in detail the circumstances and outcome of his two expeditions to the Antarctic.

The book doesn't simply set out to redress the balance for its own sake, but to lucidly appraise Scott's exploits, taking account of the conventions and attitudes of the times in which they took place, and of course drawing on the author's own extensive experience of polar exploration and endurance.The informative and compact preamble is also valuable by way of setting historical context.

The enquiries are admirably dispassionate and unsentimental, dealing in facts, science and reason, and eschewing fabrication and spurious and skewed interpretation. Misconceptions are corrected utilizing hard evidence. Some reservations which the author considers valid are not obscured, but Fiennes courageously and eloquently takes to task some of the more dubious vilification which Scott has received in recent decades.

The chapters documenting the Terra Nova mission in particular are extremely absorbing and detailed, but the sections dealing with Scott's legacy and modern-day reputation are the most cogent and enlightening. The author dissects some of the "debunking" efforts of recent times.  Strident but measured, and a worthy addition to the library on this topic....






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